Imagination Featuring Leee John

A new 17CD boxset celebrating the career of Imagination and their lead singer Leee John has been announced.

Imagination Featuring Leee John “40 Years” is a career-encompassing retrospective of the band and Leee John’s recorded music output, with 189 tracks across 17 CDs. It includes all the Imagination albums and Leee’s studio LPs up to 2016’s Retropia.

It’s available 10 February 2023 and can be pre-ordered here.

Imagination burst onto the British music scene in May 1981 with their debut single, Body Talk. The single peaked at No.4 in the UK followed by the chart smashes In And Out Of Love, Flashback, Just An Illusion and Music And Lights.

Those singles paved the way for the albums Body Talk, In The Heat Of The Night, Scandalous, Closer, Like It Is and the remix LP Night Dubbing.

Says Leee John: “The 80s were such special times in many ways, especially in the evolution of music technology, with sequencers, synthesisers, computers, samplers, and with music available on multiple formats including vinyl, cassettes to CD. By the time we got to the 90s and 00s with iPods and iPhone, the whole platform and generation of the music industry had vastly changed.

“For me though, reflecting back on my musical experiences through my Imagination and solo projects all came through the songs I wrote, sang, and produced filmed videos for. In fact, the whole visual platform artist-wise has always been a part of my being. Our visual was a world where we had no limits and analogue age where you could follow your dreams as I did.”

“40 YEARS” also features a 2-disc collection of unreleased tracks and mixes, a 2-disc collection of alternate and unreleased mixes from the Closer album, along with a live disc spanning the decades and a disc of the band’s most celebrated extended versions.

“40 YEARS” was conceived and personally curated by Leee John, and to celebrate the boxset’s release, the initial pressing has a limited edition signed print.

Leee is currently producing Flashback, a film of the history of British Black music for which more than 80 interviews are already in the can, including Beverley Knight, Eddy Grant, Trevor Nelson, Omar, Geno Washington, Shalamar’s Jeffrey Daniels, Boney M’s Bobby Farrell, and Ruby Turner.

You can pre-order tickets for Imagination Featuring Leee John’s Just An Illusion tour here.

IMAGINATION

FEATURING LEEE JOHN

‘40 YEARS’

 

CD1: BODY TALK (Imagination)

1          Body Talk

2          So Good, So Right

3          Burnin’ Up

4          Tell Me Do You Want My Love

5          Flashback

6          I’ll Always Love You (But Don’t Look Back)

7          In And Out Of Love

 

CD2: IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT (Imagination)

1          In The Heat Of The Night

2          Heart ‘N’ Soul

3          Music And Lights

4          All Night Loving

5          Just An Illusion

6          All I Want To Know

7          One More Love

8          Changes

 

CD3: NIGHT DUBBING (Imagination)

1          Flashback

2          Just An Illusion

3          Music And Lights

4          So Good, So Right

5          Body Talk

6          Heart ‘n’ Soul

7          Changes

8          Burnin’ Up

 

CD4: SCANDALOUS (Imagination)

1          New Dimension

2          State Of Love

3          Point Of No Return

4          When I See The Fire

5          Shoo Be Doo Da Dabba Doobee

6          Wrong In Love

7          Looking At Midnight

8          The Need To Be Free

 

CD5: TRILOGY (Imagination)

1          Last Days Of Summer

2          Body And Soul

3          One Heart

4          You’ve Got The Lovin’

5          Found My Girl

6          Blue Day Gone

7          Sunshine

8          Breathless

9          Thank You My Love

10        Rock Me Slow

11        I’m Coming To Get You

12        Trilogy

 

CD6: CLOSER (Imagination)

1          I Know What Love Is

2          Hold Me In Your Arms

3          Paranoia

4          Where Are You Now

5          The Last Time

6          For Members Only

7          Touch (Part One)

8          Instinctual

9          Who (Tell Me Who)

10        Operator

11        Over

12        Hot Nights

13        Skin Time

14        Closer

 

CD7: LIKE IT IS (Imagination)

1          Changes

2          Burning Up

3          Just An Illusion

4          Body Talk

5          L.T.O. (Love’s Taking Over)

6          In And Out Of Love

7          Instinctual

8          So Good So Right

9          Flashback

10        Music And Lights

11        Give Into Love

12        In The Heat Of The Night

13        Megamix (Edited Version) Just An Illusion/Music And Lights/So Good So Right/Flashback

 

CD8: THE FASCINATION OF THE PHYSICAL (Imagination featuring Leee John)

1          Work

2          I Like It

3          The Best Of My Life

4          Ooh Aah

5          Loving Tight

6          Fascination Of The Physical [12″ Version]

7          The Night We Loved

8          I Can’t Wait

9          Private Hearts

10        Call On Me

 

CD9: FEEL MY SOUL (Leee John)

1          Sensuality

2          Now Is The Time

3          The Thin Line

4          Embraceable You

5          Feel My Spirit

6          Someone To Watch Over Me

7          Jazzamatazz

8          Flamingo Blue

9          U Never Know

10        Small World

11        Strange Fruit

12        Jazzamatazz (Funk Version)

13        Now Is The Time (C’est Le Moment)

 

CD10: THE VOICE OF ILLUSION VOL. 1 (Leee John of Imagination)

1          Leee John Medley by Symix: Passion/Mighty Power Of Love/Love Me Like You Do/Call On Me/Pearls

2          Just An Illusion (21st Century Mix)

3          Just An Illusion (Dero’s Mix)

4          I Can C 4 Miles

5          Everybody Wakeup (Soul Version)

6          Slippin’ Slowly

7          Mind, Body And Soul (Funk Version)

8          Come On Over

9          Fool In Love

10        Alone Again

11        Groove Thing

 

CD11: RETROPIA (Imagination featuring Leee John)

1          Utopia

2          Secrets

3          Fantasia

4          Solitude

5          Do It Right Now

6          Hello Goodbye

7          Tell Her Love Has Felt The Need

8          Highway To Hell

9          Brighter Day

10        Make Your Mind Up

11        The Best I Could

12        Visions

13        Just An Illusion (21st Century Version) – Remastered

14        Krash (All Night Long) (New Radio Mix)

15        Police And Thieves

16        The Truth (Alternative Version)

 

CD12/13: ‘CLOSER’ REVISITED (Imagination)

DISC 1

1          Instinctual [Dave Morales Mix Edit]

2          For Members Only [7″ Mix]

3          I Know What Love Is [7″ Version]

4          The Last Time [Special DJ edit of The Cool Sax Remix]

5          (Wanna Get) Over [LP with Horns]

6          Instinctual [Dave Morales Mix – Def Vocal Mix]

7          Who (Tell Me Who) [A-Side With Solo]

8          The Last Time [The Long Cool Mix]

 

DISC 2

1          For Members Only [12″ Mix]

2          Hold Me In Your Arms [12″ Master]

3          I Know What Love Is [The Philadelphia After Dark Mix]

4          Instinctual [Def Groove Mix]

5          One Day I Found Me

6          Paranoia [12″ Mix]

7          The Last Time [The Cool Sax Remix]

8          Instinctual [Dave Morales Mix – Stink Mix]

 

CD14/15: UNRELEASED TRAX, MIXES AND DEMOS (Various)

DISC 1

1          The Key (Only You) (Imagination)

2          Give Into Love – Dub Version (Leee John & Adam Pendse)

3          Fly (Imagination)

4          In The Heat Of The Night – Alt Version (Imagination)

5          Changing Times (Leee John & Sinitta)

6          Gyration (Imagination)

7          Casualty (Leee John)

8          Daydreamer (Leee John)

9          Two Of A Kind (Leee John)

10        Keep A Lite (Leee John)

11        Make Your Mind Up – Original Version Demo (Leee John)

12        Are You Ready (Leee John)

13        Ay Ay [Version 1] (Leee John ft Ezzy)

14        Best Of My Love (Leee John)

15        Cherish (Leee John)

16        Turn It Out (Leee John)

17        When Love Calls (Leee John)

 

DISC 2

1          New Dimension [Alternative Chorus “In A Mans World”] (Imagination)

2          Looking At Midnight [Alternative Mix] (Imagination)

3          Heart ‘N’ Soul [Alternative Vocal Version Mix] (Imagination)

4          Passion [Original Leee John vocal] (Imagination ft Leee John)

5          Passion [duet English/French version] (Imagination ft Leee John and Mourad)

6          Passion [Deevious Mix by Dee Vaz] duet English/French version (Imagination ft Leee John and Mourad)

7          Passion [Tefa French Rap] duet English/French version] (Imagination ft Leee John and Mourad)

8          Too Late (Leee John)

9          Notorious [Original Demo became ‘Wrong In Love’ from ‘Scandalous’] (Imagination)

10        Happiness [Original Demo which became ‘One More Love’] (Imagination)

11        Going Round In Circles [Demo] (Imagination)

12        Halfway To Paradise [Demo which became ‘So Good, So Right’] (Imagination)

13        Stop, Look & Listen (Leee John)

14        Some People (Leee John)

 

CD16: LIVE TRAX (Imagination/Leee John)

1          Tell Me Do You Want My Love [Live circa 1984]

2          Found My Girl [Live Leeds 1985]

3          Shoo Be Doo Da Dabba Doobee [Live UK circa 1985]

4          Thank You My Love Live UK circa 1986]

5          Heart ‘N’ Soul [Live Leeds circa 1986]

6          We Turn The World -Pt 1/ Pt 2 [Live, Leningrad Russia circa 1989/90]

7          In And Out Of Love – Reggae [Live, Russia 1989/90]

8          Love’s Takin Over [Live, Russia]

9          Body Talk [Live, Russia]

10        Instinctual [Live, Russia]

11        Slippin’ Slowly [Live UK circa 1999] (Leee John)

 

CD17: 12″ SINGLES SELECTION

1          New Dimension [US Remix Edit] (Imagination)

2          State Of Love (Imagination)

3          Body And Soul (Imagination)

4          Thank You My Love (Imagination)

5          Last Days Of Summer (Imagination)

6          Changes (Dimitri From Paris Is Nightdubbin’ Remix)

7          The Best Of My Life [12″ Re-Edit]

8          No More Lies (Nelson Leeroy ft. Leee John of Imagination)

9          Do It Right Now [Victor Simonelli Remix] (Imagination featuring Leee John)

10        Burnin’ Up [New Vocal Extended Mix] (Leee John)

 

IMAGINATION

FEATURING LEEE JOHN

‘40 YEARS’

 

SIGNED LIMITED EDITION 17-CD BOX SET

CONCEIVED & CURATED BY LEEE JOHN

 

RELEASED 10th FEBRUARY

AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER NOW 

https://leeejohn.lnk.to/imagination40

 

IMAGINATION FEATURING LEEE JOHN

THE JUST AN ILLUSION TOUR

CELEBREATING 40 YEARS OF IMGATINATION

O2 SHEPHERDS BUSH EMPIRE, LONDON 20th MAY 2023

 

EXLUSIVE PRE-SALE TICKETS AVAILABLE TOMORROW FROM  

https://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/event/1F005D37DFB14131