Phillip Leo
Phillip Leo | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Birth name | Philip Ernest Pottinger |
Born |
Greenwich, London, UK | 29 April 1967
Origin | Peckham, South London |
Genres | Reggae, soul, R&B, dance |
Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter, record producer |
Instruments | Vocals, keyboards, guitar |
Years active | 1988 – present |
Labels | Fashion, Finestyle, Breakin' Loose, Sharma Productions, EMI, Big Lion Productions |
Associated acts | C.J. Lewis, Louchie Lou & Michie One, Cutty Ranks, Top Cat, General Levy, Sweetie Irie, Tenor Fly, Janet Davis, Glamma Kid, Nerious Joseph, Carrol Thompson |
Website | biglionproductions.com |
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.
Biography
In February 1988 Leo signed with Fashion Records as a singer/songwriter. By September of that year he had reached No. 6 in the Reggae Chart with his highly acclaimed first single Rocking the Night Away”/”Food of Love”.
Phillip went on to establish himself as a successful songwriter/producer, with a string of reggae hits by other Fashion acts, including the No. 1 hit single “Two Timing Lover” by Janet Lee Davies, “Crazy Feeling” by Peter Spence, “Lets Show the World” by Nerious Joseph 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. Phillip also did sessions on drum programming, keyboards and backing vocals on a string of artists like Barry Boom, Nerious Joseph, & Cutty Ranks and also producing 2 songs for the Sandra Cross album “Foundation Of Love” for Mad Professor at Ariwa.
As an artiste in his own right, Phillip reached No. 2 with “I Wanna be Loved by You”. He then Produced covers of the hit singles “Why do Fools Fall in Love”, “Good Thing Going” and "Young, Gifted & Black" which were duets with DJ superstar CJ Lewis. His debut album in January 1990, entitled “Lover of Music”, which included 9 of his own compositions, reached No. 3 in the Reggae Album Chart to great critical acclaim and featured top ten reggae singles "I'm Missing You", "We Belong Together" (duet with Marie Dawn) and debut single "Rocking The Night Away".
A desire to expand his talents into other areas of music, ie: soul/dance, led to a prolific writing partnership with bassist/songwriter Steve Bingham of which they wrote over 170 titles together, this led them to forming the Breakin’ Loose Record Label as an outlet for their songs. The first single entitled “Hypnotic Love”, which featured DJ CJ Lewis reached No. 1 in the UK Reggae Chart and remained in the chart for an outstanding 6 months. This was followed by “Today”, which was the title track of his second album that reached No. 5 in the UK Reggae Chart.
Having learnt about running a record company Phillip went on to form his own company of which he called “Sharma Productions” (which he later renamed Big Lion Productions).
After a string of releases Phillip was approached by EMI Records. He then signed as a recording artist. This led to 2 top 60 National Chart positions “Second Chance” and “Thinking About Your Love” which featured the DJ Top Cat on the street versions, opening up a whole new market for him. Whilst he was with EMI Records Phillip also Produced CJ Lewis’ first major album “Dollars” recorded for MCA Records of which he had a No. 3 with "Sweet's for my Sweets" and another 2 consecutive releases which reached the UK top twenty in the British Mainstream National Chart. The album went on to sell over 500,000 copies worldwide. CJ’s second album “Rough & Smooth” again produced by Phillip went platinum in Japan, had a No.1 taken off it called “ R to the A” in France. Phillip 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 is called “Angel Heart”/”I Wanna be the One”, which sparked a lot of interest especially in Japan.
In 1997 a limited release of Phillip Leo's fifth album "Down 2 Earth" was circulated of which the top ten reggae single "Summer Girl" featuring Glamma Kid was taken. Phillip also embarked on music production & remixing for other artists like: Louchie Lou & Michie One, Carrol Thompson, Jack Radics, Japanese DJ Nahki, Judy Cheeks, Sean Mcguire, Musical Youth, Charlene Smith, Awesome, Rick Clarke and many more.
Present
In May 2017 Phillip Leo made a come back with a new album called "Faithfully" which was made available on download only, from this album the first single "Feel So Good" was the first single.
A digital reissue of Phillip Leo's past albums "Just 4 U", "Down 2 Earth" and "Space Dub" were also released to his relaunch his career as a recording artist.
Discography
Albums
Year | Album Release | Record Label |
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1989 | Lover Of Music | Finestyle |
1991 | Today | Breakin' Loose |
1996 | Just 4 U | Sharma Productions |
1996 | Space Dub | Sharma Productions |
1997 | Down 2 Earth | Sharma Productions |
2017 | Faithfully | Big Lion Productions |
2017 | Space Dub 2 | Big Lion Productions |
2017 | Just 4 U (Digitally Remastered) | Big Lion Productions |
2017 | Down 2 Earth (Digitally Remastered) | Big Lion Productions |
2017 | Space Dub (Digitally Remastered) | Big Lion Productions |
Singles
Year | Single Release | Record Label |
---|---|---|
1989 | Rocking The Night Away / Food Of Love | Finestyle |
1989 | I Wanna Be Loved By You | Finestyle |
1989 | Why Do Fools Fall In Love (duet with C.J. Lewis) | Fashion Records |
1989 | Good Thing Going / Stop Fooling Around (duet with C.J. Lewis) | Fashion Records |
1989 | I'm Missing You / Come On And Dance | Finestyle |
1989 | Run You Could A Run | Fashion Records |
1990 | One Night / We Belong Together (duet with Marie Dawn) | Finestyle |
1990 | One Life To Live | Gussie P Records |
1991 | Girl Of My Dreams / One Life To Live | Finestyle |
1991 | Mission Impossible (with C.J. Lewis and Nerious Joseph) | Fashion Records |
1991 | Hypnotic Love | Breakin' Loose |
1992 | Today | Breakin' Loose |
1992 | All Our Fathers Children (Feat. General Levy) | Fashion Records |
1992 | Let Your Love Run Wild (Feat. C.J. Lewis) | Breakin' Loose |
1993 | The Vibe Is Right / Remote Control | Sharma Productions |
1993 | So Alive (duet with C.J. Lewis) | Sharma Productions |
1994 | Second Chance | EMI Records |
1995 | Thinking About Your Love (Mixes Feat. Top Cat) | EMI Records |
1996 | Let Me Hold You / I Thank You | Sharma Productions |
1997 | Summer Girl (feat. Glamma Kid) | Sharma Productions |
1998 | Sexafect | Sharma Productions |
2017 | Feel So Good | Big Lion Productions |
2017 | Your Life - EP | Big Lion Productions |
2017 | On My Own (The Remixes) | Big Lion Productions |
References
- ↑ All Music. "Phillip Leo Biography & History". All Music.
External links
- https://www.discogs.com/artist/38286-Phillip-Leo
- http://www.officialcharts.com/search/singles/second%20chance/
- https://www.biglionproductions.com/about
- http://unitedreggae.com/search/?query=fashion+records
- https://www.discogs.com/Musical-Youth-The-Best-Of-Musical-Youth-Maximum-Volume/release/1200802
- https://www.facebook.com/Biglion467/
- https://twitter.com/lion467