With record sales in excess of over 30 million+ albums, the incomparable award-winning Leee John of 80’s crossover soul hit-makers IMAGINATION is set to go on tour with a series of UK tour dates planned for 2025, performing all their unforgettable greatest hits as well as tracks from his diverse music solo career.
“When I think of Leee John & IMAGINATION, the words music trailblazers come to mind, whose unique sound, definitive style, and body of work have unquestionably left an incredible music legacy, paving the way ahead for so many black British bands that have followed on“
– Trevor Nelson, MBE
To coincide with the40th anniversary of Leee John and his group IMAGINATION, the “Flashback (40th Anniversary) Greatest Hits 2025 UK Tour” comes to Manchester – The Blues Kitchen on Thursday 9th October 2025, with further dates soon to be added, this tour will reflect an incredible musical journey of songs from some of the UK’s finest recording artists, spanning over a spectacular four decades.
The inimitable Leee John and his group IMAGINATION first burst onto the British music scene in 1981 with their unforgettable debut single ‘Body Talk’ becoming a favourite of pirate soul, jazz, and funk stations, eventually propelling the track into the charts and the band onto their debut appearance on Top of the Pops. The track was soon followed by so many amazing global classic hits singles and platinum, gold, and silver albums, with further chart hits such as ‘In and Out of Love’, ‘Flashback’, ‘Just An Illusion’, and ‘Music and Lights’, and the influential albums ‘Body Talk’,
‘In the Heat of the Night’, ‘Scandalous’, ‘Closer’, and ‘Like It Is’ and many more, all delivering them smash hits in over 30 countries and securing their perfect Brit Soul/Jazz/Funk songs, establishing their position as essential 80’s crossover hit-makers and an influence for future generations in the music industry. Following on from his recent music collaboration with the super talented Damon Alban, in which he co-wrote and sung with Leee on the last Gorillaz album “Song Machine,” with the phenomenal global track release “The Lost Chord,” which has gone on to date to receive rave Intl reviews and has surpassed over 15 million streaming downloads to date. See video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJVV8o6vgso
Also, an exciting musical collaboration written and composed be LEEE JOHN, with the smooth and sultry sounding Latin single “SOLITUDE” with x 2 Latin Grammy Award winning Brazilian Artist Jorge Vercillo a bilingual duet sung in English & Portuguese, which includes the following main x 2 mixes.
Mix 1: – “Solitude” (Dario CAMINITA RADIO EDIT) – Main Radio Edit
Mix 2: – “Solitude” (Original Mix) https://soundcloud.com/leeejohnofficial/solitude-short-version/s-GMuuu3rq1ti?si=45bd915634d3448182c47a264f6d308c&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing
Fast forward and following a successful series of live tour dates in 2024 and the release of “40 Years,” a career-encompassing retrospective of IMAGINATION’s and Leee John’s recorded music output. With 189 tracks across a 17-CD box set curated by Leee, celebrating 40 years as one of the UK’s finest soul-stirring voices with their perfect genre-defining Brit Soul/Jazz/Funk songs, IMAGINATION established their landmark position and influence for future generations in the music industry. See the link here: https://leeejohn.lnk.to/imagination40.
In terms of new music, smooth soul jazz legends Leee John and Bill Sharpe have together joined forces in presenting a brand new album, “Intimate Glow,” https://secretrecordslimited.com/products/seccd235 available now. Presenting two phenomenal singles releases taken from the album, the first “Take Me Back” https://social.tunecore.com/linkShare?linkid=igHfefkVyuGlr-5llxUFmg Feat the phenomenal Mark King from Level 42 on bass and MEZZOFORTE’s Friðrik Karlsson, which promises to be more than interesting.
Added to this first release package will be a further two mixes with Ernie Mckone, Boogie Back Mix: https://social.tunecore.com/linkShare?linkid=ZsVI9wtcgha3lc-T-60LKA which we are delighted to say has gone in at Number 1 on the UK Soul Charts: https://www.uksoulchart.com/?fbclid=IwAR3VEDlzH8Gr2wdQG25stJU7Ghbs0E6R0husEl73Gx0flueeblLFX-45Edw followed by Wade Teo Mix: https://social.tunecore.com/linkShare?linkid=P_mfz4LJ4cUDL_Mtx5FZfA
Followed by the recently released “Double Dilemma” https://open.spotify.com/album/472M3VBlmPVRCIbBRNvXCH – available now on good digital platforms.
In other creative projects, Leee has been busy producing and directing 5 documentaries, taking him as far away as Zambia, Tunisia, South Africa, and France. He is currently producing and directing “Flashback,” a film of the history of British black music for which more than 100 interviews are already in the can, including Dizzee Rascal, Beverley Knight, Eddy Grant, Heather Small, Billy Ocean, Maxie Jazz of Faithless, Ali Campbell of UB40, Mike Lindup of Level 42, Trevor Nelson, Omar, Geno Washington, Maxie Priest, Sonique, Hamish Stuart of Average White Band, Courtney Pine, Ruby Turner, and many more. Flashback Documentary: – http://www.flashbackprojectuk.com
More recently, we see Leee John joining forces in support of the Justice4Windrush Campaign: – https://justice4windrush.org/ working alongside a host of other Actors, musicians and campaigners including Lady Doreen Lawrence, Adrian Lester and Annie Lennox among those putting pressure on Home Office to speed up the process in a call for faster Windrush compensation: see Guardian link here: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/jan/15/actors-musicians-and-campaigners-call-for-faster-windrush-compensation
LEEE JOHN OF IMAGINATION continues to tour the world and has appeared with many world-renowned artists such as The Jacksons, Earth Wind and Fire, Kool and the Gang, Nile Rogers of Chic, Incognito, Kid Creole, and the Coconuts. Recently, he was honoured and given a lifetime achievement award in the UK and a humanitarian award in France for his continuous ongoing charity work support in aid of SOS Children, a world orphan charity.
Singer, Songwriter, Live Performer, Producer, and Director Leee John is an artist who continues to forever challenge his own unique creativity and driving force in its endless boundaries and remains to delight fans around the globe with his timeless global classic hits and new music releases. – www.leeejohn.com
Tickets for the LEEE JOHN (IMAGINATION) – October 2025 show are available from:
Thursday 9th October
MANCHESTER – The Blues Kitchen
Tickets available from – https://theblueskitchen.com/manchester/event/soul-sacrifice-29/
Prices from – £28.00
Doors – 7.00pm