The band consisted of:
* Leee John was born John Lesley McGregor in Hackney, London, on 23 June 1957, of St Lucian descent. He was educated in New York, later studying drama at the Anna Scher Theatre School. He was working as a backing singer for The Delfonics, Chairmen of the Board, The Velvelettes and The Elgins when he met ...
* Ashley Ingram, a guitarist/bassist born on 27 November 1960, in Northampton. John and Ingram formed a songwriting partnership, resolving to start their own 'slinky, sexy and erotic' group, working in a short-lived band called Fizzz. Whilst auditioning for another short-lived band, Midnight Express, they met ...
* Errol Kennedy, born on 9 June 1953, a drummer who was born in Montego Bay, Jamaica, and learned to drum in the Boys' Brigade and Air Training Corps.
Leee John's drama studies paid off when, among other roles, he was in the cast of the Doctor Who story 'Enlightenment' in 1983.
Imagination's success began to wane after 1983. It coincided with a shift away from their signature sounds toward a more mainstream sound. Their fifth released, "Triology" included the moderate hits, "Thank You My Love", Found My Girl" and the minor hit, "Last Days Of Summer." Imagination's sixth release titled "Closer" found them working the producers of another British band Loose Ends. It includes the hits "Instinctual" (#62 UK and #1 U.S. Dance), "The Last Time" and "Love's Taking Over." By the time Imagination's seventh and final album "Fascination Of The Physical" was released Lee John was the only original member featured in the music video for the lead single, "I Like It." After the album failed to gain significant sales or an audience, Imagination disbanded in 1995. Lee John has since went on to have a moderately successful solo career in both the Dance and Jazz music world.
BURNING UP
Imagination Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Burnin'
Up like a fire
Burning up
Burnin' up with desire
These lyrics express intense passion and desire. The singer is burning up like a fire, consumed by their overwhelming feelings. It's a metaphor for how powerful these emotions are and how they cannot be contained. The repetition of "burnin' up" emphasizes the intensity of these feelings, while the addition of "with desire" adds an element of lust to the mix.
The lyrics could also be interpreted as a representation of love or attraction. The singer is burning up with desire, possibly for someone they have feelings for or are attracted to. The fire imagery suggests that these feelings are all-consuming, and the singer can't help but be consumed by them.
Overall, the lyrics to Imagination's "Burning Up" encapsulate the intense emotions of desire, passion, and love. The repetition of "burnin' up" and the fire imagery illustrate just how intense and all-consuming these feelings can be.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm burnin' up
I am consumed with intense emotions
Burnin'
Fueled by passion, desire or anger
My mind's outta control
My thoughts are overriding my actions
Can't stop thinkin'
I am fixated on a singular thought
'Bout some kind of love
I am ruminating about a romantic connection
My heart's beatin'
My heart is pounding or racing quickly
Like a rhythm of a drum
The beat of my heart is steady and rhythmic
I'm burnin' up
I am consumed with intense emotions
Move, can't you hear what I sayin'
Listen to me and follow my lead
Tempted by a love
I am enticed by a strong romantic passion
That is so demanding
This love is all-consuming and requires my full attention
I'm burnin' up
I am consumed with intense emotions
Gotta have it now
I need this immediately
It's burnin' down deep inside
This passion is intense and all-encompassing
Oh, feelin's so right
My emotions about this feeling is optimistic
It's my love that you're takin'
My love is what is driving this passion forward
I'm burnin' up
I am consumed with intense emotions
Burnin'
Fueled by passion, desire or anger
I'm burnin' up
I am consumed with intense emotions
Burnin'
Fueled by passion, desire or anger
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: STEVE JOLLEY, LEEE JOHN, ASHLEY INGRAM, TONY SWAIN, ERROL KENNEDY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
metaldaduk
Really bugs me that they never got the credit they deserve as a band, here they are producing house music 5 years before it was a thing.
Lou Rivera
People used to ingest this joint like a drug. With a melodic thump that rode an emotional roller coaster to a crescendo who could pass this one up. This was one of the best songs for serious hustlers of the time. Miss those days badly!!
Mortis xx
Back then I thought of it as an album filler. But in retrospect, it's really a piano house classic. Absolutely marvellous
Olz Dee
Yeah a piano house classic made in 1984 !!!!!!
Mortis xx
Olz Dee Which was part of my point. House before house was even invented :)
Geoff Lewis
Olz Dee Except it was 1981 ;)
Mortis xx
+Geoff Lewis True
WE DA BRUTES?
Always special
ivystoneres
I think it may be safe to say that Imagination invented HOUSE!!!! This was freakin' 1981! Miles ahead of its time...unbelievable!
Judith Parris
1980s New York club scene!