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Philip Ernest Pottinger (born 29 April 1967), known professionally as Phillip Leo, is a British reggae singer, songwriter and producer. He is the last of five children from South London who were born to Jamaican parents.
Phillip Leo | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Philip Ernest Pottinger |
| Born | 29 April 1967 Greenwich, London, UK |
| Origin | Peckham, South London |
| Genres | Reggae, soul, R&B, reggae fusion |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter, record producer |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, keyboards, guitar |
| Years active | 1988–present |
| Labels | Fashion, Finestyle, Breakin' Loose, Sharma Productions, EMI, Big Lion Productions |
| Website | www |
Biography edit
Born in Greenwich, he played in the Sir Roger Manwood's School's steel band, and learned drums and keyboard.[1] In February 1988 Phillip Leo signed with UK label Fashion Records as a singer/songwriter. By September of that year he had reached No. 6 in the UK Reggae Charts with his first single, "Rocking the Night Away"/"Food of Love".
Leo went on to establish himself as songwriter/producer, with a string of reggae hits by other Fashion acts, including the no. 1 hit single "Two Timing Lover" by Janet Lee Davis,[2] "Crazy Feeling" by Peter Spence, "Lets Show the World" by Nerious Joseph,[1] and producing the lovers duo Zuruchi's first single "Celebrate Our Love", winning Reggae Songwriter of the Year two consecutive years in row in 1989 and 1990. Leo also did sessions on drum programming, keyboards and backing vocals on a string of recordings by artists like Barry Boom, Nerious Joseph, and Cutty Ranks, and also producing two songs for the Sandra Cross album Foundation Of Love.
As an artist in his own right, Leo reached no. 2 with "I Wanna be Loved by You". He then produced the hit singles "Why do Fools Fall in Love", "Good Thing Going",[3] and "Young, Gifted & Black", which were duets with DJ CJ Lewis.[1] His debut album in January 1990, entitled Lover of Music, which included nine of his own original compositions, reached no. 3 in the Reggae Album Chart and featured top ten reggae singles "I'm Missing You", "We Belong Together" (duet with Marie Dawn) and debut single "Rocking The Night Away".
Leo began a writing partnership with bassist/songwriter Steve Bingham and together they wrote over 170 songs. This led to them forming the Breakin’ Loose record label. The first single entitled "Hypnotic Love",[4] which included four entirely different mixes of the song featuring DJ CJ Lewis,[5] and spent seven weeks at no. 1 in the UK Reggae Charts in 1993.[3][6] "Hypnotic Love" remained in the chart for six months. This was followed by the single "Today", which had the same format of four mixes and was also the title track of his second album.[7] "Today" reached no. 5 in the UK Reggae Chart and showcased the different genres Leo had expanded into, side A featured songs in the Soul/R & B genre while side B stayed within the reggae/lovers rock genres which Leo was known for.
After a string of releases, Leo was approached by EMI Records. He then signed as a recording artist. This led to two top 75 UK Singles Chart positions with "Second Chance" (no. 57) and "Thinking About Your Love" (no. 64) which featured the DJ Top Cat on the street versions.[8] Whilst he was with EMI Records, Leo produced CJ Lewis’ album, Dollars, recorded for MCA Records, from which he had a no. 3 with "Sweet's for My Sweets", and another two consecutive releases which reached the UK top twenty in the UK Singles Chart.[9] The album went on to sell over 500,000 copies worldwide. Lewis's second album, Rough & Smooth, again produced by Leo, went platinum in Japan, and had a no.1 single taken from it called "R to the A" in France and sold over 1,000,000 copies worldwide. Leo then got his own record company Sharma Productions back on the road. His next release his third album entitled Just 4 U. The first single from the album, "Angel Heart"/"I Wanna be the One", sparked a lot of interest especially in Japan. This led to being asked to appear alongside other British and Jamaican reggae acts on Japansplash, a yearly event which takes place in different towns across Japan over the course of six weeks.
In 1997, a limited release of Phillip Leo's fifth album Down 2 Earth was circulated, from which the top ten reggae single "Summer Girl" featuring Glamma Kid was taken. Leo also embarked on more music production and remixing for other artists including Louchie Lou & Michie One, Carroll Thompson, Jack Radics, Japanese DJ Nahki, Judy Cheeks, Sean Mcguire, Musical Youth, Charlene Smith, Awesome, and Rick Clarke.
In May 2017, Leo's seventh album, Faithfully was released; the first single off the album was "Feel So Good" and the second was "Your Life". Space Dub 2 is a follow-up to Space Dub originally released in 1996. Just 4 U, Down 2 Earth and Space Dub have been reissued and remastered for digital download.
Discography edit
Albums edit
| Year | Album | Record Label |
|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Lover of Music | Finestyle |
| 1991 | Today | Breakin' Loose |
| 1996 | Just 4 U | Sharma Productions |
| 1996 | Space Dub | |
| 1997 | Love vs. Pain (Germany) | G.I.B. Music |
| 1997 | Down 2 Earth | Sharma Productions |
| 2017 | Faithfully | Big Lion Productions |
| 2017 | Space Dub 2 | |
| 2017 | Just 4 U (digitally remastered) | |
| 2017 | Down 2 Earth (digitally remastered) | |
| 2017 | Space Dub (digitally remastered) | |
| 2018 | The Universe | |
| 2018 | Space Dub 3 | |
| 2019 | New Horizon | |
| 2020 | Rolling River | |
| 2021 | The Best of Phillip Leo |
Singles and EPs edit
| Year | Single | Record Label |
|---|---|---|
| 1989 | "Rocking the Night Away" / "Food of Love" | Finestyle |
| 1989 | "I Wanna Be Loved By You" | |
| 1989 | "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" (with C.J. Lewis) | Fashion Records |
| 1989 | "Good Thing Going" / "Stop Fooling Around" (with C.J. Lewis) | |
| 1989 | "I'm Missing You" / "Come On and Dance" | Finestyle |
| 1989 | "Run You Could a Run" | Fashion Records |
| 1990 | "One Night" / "We Belong Together" (with Marie Dawn) | Finestyle |
| 1990 | "One Life to Live" | Gussie P Records |
| 1991 | "Girl of My Dreams" / "One Life to Live" | Finestyle |
| 1990 | "Young Gifted & Black" (with C.J. Lewis) | Fashion Records |
| 1991 | "Mission Impossible" (with C.J. Lewis and Nerious Joseph) | |
| 1991 | "Hypnotic Love" (4 mixes) | Breakin' Loose |
| 1992 | "Today" (4 mixes) | |
| 1992 | "All Our Fathers Children" (featuring General Levy) | Fashion Records |
| 1992 | "Let Your Love Run Wild" (featuring C.J. Lewis) | Breakin' Loose |
| 1993 | "The Vibe Is Right" / "Remote Control" | Sharma Productions |
| 1993 | "So Alive" (with C.J. Lewis) | |
| 1994 | "Second Chance" | EMI Records |
| 1995 | "Thinking About Your Love" (mixes featuring Top Cat) | |
| 1996 | "Angel Heart" / "I Wanna Be the One" | Sharma Productions |
| 1996 | "Let Me Hold You" / "I Thank You" | |
| 1996 | "No Temporary Love" | Pacific Sound Records |
| 1997 | "Summer Girl" (featuring Glamma Kid) | Sharma Productions |
| 1998 | "Sexafect" | |
| 2017 | Your Life (EP) | Big Lion Productions |
| 2023 | Happy New Year (Auld Lang Syne) with Paul Phillips | |
| 2023 | 2 Sides of the Story (EP) |
Remix releases edit
| Year | Release | Record Label |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Feel So Good (Remixes) | Big Lion Productions |
| 2017 | On My Own (The Remixes) | |
| 2017 | The Creators Children (The Remixes) | |
| 2017 | I Believe in Your Love (The Remixes) | |
| 2017 | Mellow Soul Moods (The Soul Remixes) | |
| 2017 | Dancehall Moods (The Dancehall Remixes) | |
| 2017 | Dance Moods (The Dance Remixes) | |
| 2018 | The Gift (Remixes) | |
| 2018 | Hold On (Remixes) | |
| 2018 | Love Your Life (Remixes) | |
| 2018 | Don't Judge Me (Remixes) | |
| 2018 | Escape (Remixes) | |
| 2018 | A Heart That's Pure (Remixes) | |
| 2018 | Dancehall Moods Volume 2 (The Dancehall Remixes) | |
| 2018 | Dance Moods Volume 2 (The Dance Remixes) | |
| 2018 | Mellow Soul Moods Volume 2 (The Soul Remixes) | |
| 2019 | Together We'll Abide (Remixes) | |
| 2019 | Times Will Change (Remixes) | |
| 2019 | The Border (Remixes) | |
| 2019 | The Future (Remixes) | |
| 2019 | Peaceful Party (Remixes) | |
| 2019 | Violation (Remixes) | |
| 2020 | Let Love Be Your Guide (Remixes) | |
| 2020 | Love Grows (Remixes) | |
| 2020 | Never Lose That Feeling (Remixes) | |
| 2020 | The Sun Will Shine (Remixes) | |
| 2020 | Heavens Beauty (Remixes) | |
| 2020 | A Losing Game (Remixes) | |
| 2020 | Dancehall Moods Volume 3 (The Dancehall Remixes) | |
| 2020 | Dance Moods Volume 3 (The Dance Remixes) | |
| 2020 | Mellow Soul Moods Volume 3 (The Soul Remixes) |
References edit
- ^ a b c d "Phillip Leo Biography". Allmusic. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
- ^ Larkin, Colin (2006) "Janet Lee Davis" in The Encyclopedia of Popular Music, OUP USA, ISBN 978-0195313734, K-M, p. 143
- ^ a b Larkin, Colin (2000) The Virgin Encyclopedia of Nineties Music, Virgin Books, ISBN 0-7535-0427-8, p. 232
- ^ "The Top 100 Singles Of 1991". zobbel.de. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
- ^ "Phillip Leo feat. C.J. Lewis: Breakin' Loose BLPTO 14 Hypnotic Love (mixes)", Blues & Soul, Issue 595, 1991, p. 11
- ^ "The Top 50 Singles Acts Of 1991". zobbel.de. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
- ^ "Phillip Leo Today", The Beat, vol. 12, p. 15
- ^ "Phillip Leo", Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 October 2017
- ^ "C J Lewis", Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 October 2017
- As of this edit, this article uses content from "About Phillip Leo", authored by P. Pottinger, which is licensed in a way that permits reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, but not under the GFDL. All relevant terms must be followed.
External links edit
- Phillip Leo at discogs.com
- Big Lion Productions