Song : Caribbean Queen

Year : 1984

Singer: Billy Ocean

Writer:  Billy Ocean & Keith Diamond,

“Caribbean Queen (No More Love on the Run)" is a 1984 song by Trinidadian-British singer Billy Ocean. Co-written and produced by Keith Diamond, it climbed to number-one on both the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and the Billboard Black Singles chart, and number six in the UK Singles Chart.

The song won Billy Ocean the 1985 Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance, making him the first British artist to win in that category.The song was recorded under different titles for different parts of the world—resulting in versions such as "European Queen" and "African Queen". In the US, the song was released under the title "Caribbean Queen (No More Love on the Run)"

This song is about a beautiful and exotic woman who seduces the singer. Ocean came up with the song by tapping out a vocal melody, then filling in the lyrics. Our Kaifi Azmi ( Shabana Azmi’s father) didn’t approve this approach of making the tune first and then fitting the lyrics to the tune. I had read somewhere where he said “should we make the coffin first and then fit body inside the coffin? “ Interesting figure of speech.

Making of a song is a divine process nevertheless…The Director updates the wirter about the situation. Lyricist comes out with the situational song lyrics- Music director takes over and gives a tune to the lyrics- The actors enact the song on screen guided by the choreographer- the camera men shoot the songs- and the product is what we watch and enjoy on screen

Billy Ocean was going nowhere in his career. The Trinidadian-born and UK-raised singer was in his mid-thirties (in the eightes), and he’d been making music for years. He’d had brief and tantalizing moments of success.

Ocean’s latest single was a sleek and infectious club track called “European Queen (No More Love On The Run),” and it was exactly the sort of Michael Jackson-inspired funk-pop that seemed ready to do well in the summer of 1984. But “European Queen” landed with a thud in the UK.

A young exec at Jive’s Media New York office heard “European Queen” and told Ocean that the song was good but that the title didn’t work. “European Queen” sounded too stuffy — as if it was actually a song about royalty. Ocean listened. For the “European Queen” single, Ocean and producer Keith Diamond added a couple of different versions of “European Queen” which were “Caribbean Queen” and “African Queen.” They didn’t re-record the track; they just dropped out the word “European” and dropped in the new title. That one change made all the difference.

When Ocean released his newest single in the US, he didn’t go with “European Queen,” since that song had already bombed in the UK. Instead, Ocean and his label released the “Caribbean Queen” version. The re-edited “Caribbean Queen (No More Love On The Run)” took off, and Billy Ocean became a global pop star for the rest of the ’80s. May be since he was a Caribbean himself it may have clicked this time. Life is weird.

Less than a year earlier, Lionel Richie ( An African American singer) had scored a huge hit by trying on a fake Jamaican accent and singing the smooth dance-pop track “All Night Long (All Night).” “Caribbean Queen” is a track with a similar vibe, and it seems reasonable that plenty of mid-’80s record buyers liked fantasizing about finding romance while going on vacation someplace warm. But then, maybe “Caribbean Queen” clicked because it put Billy Ocean in a context that made sense. After all, he was already a Caribbean king.

Billy’s song talks about “sharing the same dream” with her, but they will not have to live with “love on the run” anymore.

It may be the song is referring to running away from something bad, trying to have a new life with a woman.  You can keep guessing and interpret.

BTW Billy Ocean stopped singing and took a career break for an emotional reason which was his mothers death. He looked at how she’d lived — a hard-working woman, only to die just three years after he was successful enough to take care of her. He said he realized he had to take care of himself. So he took a five-year break from music to spend time with my wife and three children. He became more spiritual and just went off meat.”

The fruits of his labour flourished and today, at age 72, he is looking better than some men half his age, which he states was one of many results from him becoming a vegetarian.

Enjoy this super song and have a super Sunday and yes do eat your greens.

CK Musical Space