Billy Ocean is finding out about the important things in life

Right at the height of his global fame, Billy Ocean walked away from the music business, preferring to spend time with his family. He tells Ed Power why he did it

IN 1986, Billy Ocean was king of the world. He had sold more than 20 million records and made history as the first black Briton to achieve a US number one, with cheesy masterpiece ‘When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Get Going’.

And then, at the height of it all, Ocean walked away. He had come to understand there were more important things in life than wealth and the approving shrieks of strangers.