Love Zone

Love Zone is the sixth album recorded by British R&B singer and songwriter Billy Ocean, released in 1986 through Jive Records. The album includes Ocean's second US #1 hit "There'll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry)" and the US top ten hit "Love Zone". It also features the UK #1 and US #2 single "When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going", which had originally been released on the soundtrack to the 1985 film The Jewel of the Nile.

Love Zone
Studio album by Billy Ocean
Released	1986
Recorded	1985-1986
Studio	Battery Studios, London
Genre	R&B soul
Length	44:56
Label	Jive Arista
Producer	Barry Eastmond Wayne Brathwaite
Billy Ocean chronology
Suddenly (1984) Love Zone (1986) Tear Down These Walls (1988)
Singles from Love Zone
"When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going" Released: 15 November 1985 "There'll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry)" Released: 22 January 1986 "Love Zone" Released: 5 July 1986 "Love Is Forever" Released: 1986

A critical and commercial success, it became his highest charting album in both the UK and the US, being certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments of over 2 million copies.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
People	(favourable)[2]
New York Times	(favourable)[3]

Love Zone received favourable reviews from critics. People noted that "Ocean just floats along on this smooth" album and that "the moods (he) creates are so richly romantic they shouldn’t be inflicted on the brokenhearted".[2]

The album received a Grammy nomination in the category of Best Male R&B Vocal Performance.[4] Ocean also won two American Music Awards, including for Favorite Pop/Rock Single.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Wayne Brathwaite, Barry Eastmond and Billy Ocean, except where noted.

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Get Going"	Brathwaite Eastmond Robert John "Mutt" Lange Ocean	3:41
2.	"Love Zone"		5:37
3.	"Without You"		5:03
4.	"There'll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry)"		4:55

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
5.	"Bittersweet"		4:58
6.	"It's Never Too Late to Try"	Brathwaite Eastmond Ocean Jolyon Skinner	4:54
7.	"Showdown"	Brathwaite Eastmond Ocean Skinner	4:58
8.	"Promise Me"	Jonathan Butler Skinner	4:36
9.	"Love Is Forever"		4:15
Total length:			44:56

Bonus tracks on 2011 reissue

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
10.	"Love Zone (Extended Version)"		6:21
11.	"Bittersweet (Extended Version)"		6:40
13.	"When the Going Gets Tough (Club Mix)"	Brathwaite Eastmond Lange Ocean	6:46
14.	"There'll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry) (12" Version)"		8:12

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1986) Peak position Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[5] 8 Canadian Albums (RPM)[6] 3 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[7] 7 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[8] 10 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[9] 33 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[10] 8 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[11] 3 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[12] 7 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[13] 16 UK Albums (OCC)[14] 2 US Billboard 200[15] 6 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[16] 1

Year-end charts Chart (1986) Position Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[17] 68 US Billboard 200[18] 31 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[19] 14

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[20]	Gold	100,000^^
United States (RIAA)[21]	2× Platinum	2,000,000^^
^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Production credits

• Executive Producer on Track 1 – Robert John "Mutt" Lange
• Producers – Barry J. Eastmond and Wayne Brathwaite
• Engineer – Steve Power
• Mixing – Nigel Green (Tracks 1, 3, 4, 5, 8 & 9); Bryan "Chuck" New (Tracks 2, 6 & 7).

See also

• List of number-one R&B albums of 1986 (U.S.)

References

1. Wynn, Ron. "Billy Ocean: Love Zone". allmusic.com. AllMusic.
2. "Picks and Pans Review: Love Zone". people.com. People. 16 June 1986.
3. Holden, Stephen (21 December 1986). "ULTRA-ROMANTIC POP-SOUL MUSIC REMAINS A POWERFUL FORCE". nytimes.com. New York Times.
4. "Billy Ocean". grammy.com. The Recording Academy.
5. David Kent (1993). Australian Charts Book 1970—1992. Australian Chart Book Pty Ltd, Turramurra, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
6. "Results - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 15 March 2016. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
7. "Dutchcharts.nl – Billy Ocean – Love Zone" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
8. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 227. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
9. "Offiziellecharts.de – Billy Ocean – Love Zone" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
10. "Charts.nz – Billy Ocean – Love Zone". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
11. "Norwegiancharts.com – Billy Ocean – Love Zone". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
12. "Swedishcharts.com – Billy Ocean – Love Zone". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
13. "Swisscharts.com – Billy Ocean – Love Zone". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
14. "Billy Ocean | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
15. "Billy Ocean Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
16. "Billy Ocean Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
17. "Jaaroverzichten – Album 1986". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
18. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1986". Billboard. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
19. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1986". Billboard. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
20. "British album certifications – Billy Ocean – Love Zone". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Love Zone in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
21. "American album certifications – Billy Ocean – Love Zone". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH.