Billy Ocean speaks ahead of Birmingham show

Billy Ocean has sold more than 30 million records and collected a pile of Gold and Platinum records across the world. He has hit the number one spot worldwide on pop charts including the USA, Australia, Germany, and the UK.

And now he's back to celebrate his career, following the release of his new album, Here You Are: The Best of Billy Ocean.

The record features a personal collection of Billy's interpretations of songs, alongside a career spanning celebration of his biggest hits. Billy will play tracks from it on Monday at Birmingham's Symphony Hall.

He says: "It just seemed to fit perfectly; the songs that made me into the singer I became, and where those songs took me to. Hence, Here You Are

"I really do enjoy touring here in the UK. People like myself like to go out there and make people happy. If we are not there doing what we do who is going to make the people happy.

"The world as it is is not the happiest of places, although the world is supposed to be a beautiful place. It is a beautiful place but because of all of the nonsense around us it can become a very frustrating place. So people like myself will go out occasionally and get into the same room as the other people, we enjoy ourselves for a couple of hours and then go home feeling really good."

Billy's thrilled to be back on the road and delighted that he's still making music after 48 years on stage.

"Life for me is always very good. I could be one of those people that is always dissatisfied about something but the older you get the more you appreciate life and you realise that life is a struggle anyway. But it really is down to you to get the most out of life and find your contentment and happiness within it. You only come to that conclusion with age, wisdom and knowledge."

The singer was born Dr Leslie Sebastian Charles in Trinidad and Tobago. He moved to Romford, near London, and started singing.

"Back in the very early days, the music industry was controlled by the independent producers who would give us all names.

They would give you a name, write you a few songs and then take you as a package to the record companies. So at that stage in my career Billy Ocean was born."

And the rest is history...