Biography
Emerging from the London soul scene of the early 1990s alongside Brand New Heavies, Jamiroquai, and Incognito, Driza Bone drew from the same acid-jazz currents. Billy April and Vincent Garcia assembled the collective, which cycled through several female singers during its formative period; Sophie Jones laid down the first demo versions of the group’s sole Top 20 single, “Real Love,” while Dee Heron featured on the eventual commercial release. Following remix work for Alison Limerick, Lisa Stansfield, and Shanice, the pair scored a number-two hit on both the U.K. and U.S. charts with their reworking of “I Love Your Smile” and then turned to their first album. Recorded exclusively with Atlanta-based actress/singer Kimberly Peer, Conspiracy yielded two additional Top 40 singles, yet the band fell silent after the 1995 reissue of its biggest success. April resurfaced in 2010 under his birth name, Billy Freeman, fronting the five-piece Drizabone Soul Family project and issuing the album All the Way with vocalists Anneka Johnson and Nataya.