Alexander O'Neal

Born in Mississippi, Alexander O'Neal moved to Minneapolis when he was 20 and joined covers band The Mystics. His career really took off after joining Flyte Tyme, which also included Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and the group worked with Prince. Through Prince, they signed to Warners Bros and changed their name to The Time but when he fell out with Prince, O'Neal quit to launch his solo career. His self-titled debut album in 1985 was produced by Jam & Lewis and featured three Top 20 R&B singles, including Saturday Love - a duet with Cherrelle, which was a big hit in both the UK and US. He cemented his reputation as a powerful R&B performer with the albums Hearsay (1987), All True Man (1991) and Love Makes No Sense (1993). Success dipped through the 2000s, however, but he returned to public attention with a Greatest Hits collection and the album Alexander O'Neal Live At Hammersmith Apollo (2005) plus appearances on British reality TV shows Just The Two Of Us and Wife Swap UK. He subsequently continued released the albums Alex Loves (2008) and Five Questions - The New Journey (2010).