The Real Thing (British band) explained

The Real Thing
Landscape:yes
Origin:Liverpool, England
Years Active:–present
Label:Pye, Calibre, Jive
Associated Acts:David Essex
The Chants[1]
Biddu[2]
Current Members:Chris Amoo
Dave Smith
Past Members:Eddie Amoo
Ray Lake
Kenny Davis

The Real Thing are a British soul group formed in the 1970s. The band charted internationally with their song "You to Me Are Everything", which reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart. They also had successes with a string of British hits such as "Can't Get By Without You" and "Can You Feel the Force?". They returned to mainstream success in 1986 with the Decade Remix of "You to Me Are Everything". By number of sales, they were the most successful black rock/soul act in England during the 1970s.[3] The journalist, author and founder of Mojo magazine Paul Du Noyer credits them alongside Deaf School with restoring "Liverpool's musical reputation in the 1970s" with their success.[4]

History

Founded in 1970 by Chris Amoo, Dave Smith, Kenny Davis and Ray Lake, the Real Thing's live, progressive soul-influenced covers of American hits attracted enough attention for them to secure a recording deal with EMI. The singles they released through EMI in 1972 and 1973 such as "Vicious Circle" were, despite their high quality, not successful sellers (and have not so far been included on any of the band's compilation albums). But the band persisted, even after the departure of Kenny Davis. They did appear on Opportunity Knocks (the TV talent show). The turn-around for their career began with their collaboration with David Essex and Pye Records. They toured internationally with Essex, recording with him a number of popular songs, though none were big charters. After Chris Amoo's brother Eddie joined the band, the Real Thing finally found chart success with the pop-soul single "You to Me Are Everything", which reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart, No. 29 on Billboard's "R&B Singles" and No. 66 on Billboard's "Hot 100". The song was certified silver for 250,000 in sales. Their follow-up, "Can't Get By Without You", did not chart in the US but was still a success in the United Kingdom, where it reached number 2.[5]

In 1976, they released their first album, Real Thing, which included both of their hit singles as well as a third UK hit, "You'll Never Know What You're Missing",[6] which peaked at No. 16.[7] They continued recording prolifically, releasing a steady stream of subsequent albums: 1977's Four from Eight (originally to have been called Liverpool 8 in honour of the racially mixed, economically depressed neighbourhood in which they grew up, before Pye rejected the title), 1978's Step into Our World, (reissued in 1979 as Can You Feel the Force) and 1982's compilation 100 Minutes.[6] During the time period, they accumulated eight more British hits. "Love's Such a Wonderful Thing" peaked at No. 33 in 1977.[7] 1978 saw "Whenever You Want My Love" at No. 18, "Let's Go Disco" at No. 39 and "Rainin' Through My Sunshine" at No. 40. "Can You Feel the Force?" climbed to No. 5 in 1979, the same year that "Boogie Down (Get Funky Now)" hit No. 33. 1980's "She's a Groovy Freak" capped a successful run, at No. 52, coming just a few months too late to be included in the band's first compilation, a K-tel collection of their Greatest Hits released in May 1980.[7] [8]

In 1982, they returned to working with David Essex, performing as backing vocalists on his tour and they also performed as backing vocalists on Essex's 1982 top 20 hit "Me and My Girl (Nightclubbing)" appearing with him on Top of the Pops. They scored a dance-floor hit, reaching No. 58 on the UK Disco chart published in Record Mirror[9] [10] and radio playlisted[11] [12] with a single specially written for them by Lynsey De Paul and Terry Britten, called "We Got Love (Real Thing)" produced by Nick Martinelli in 1984.[13] The song received positive reviews,[14] spending 6 weeks on the UK Top 200 charts and peaking at peaking at #118,[15] and it was included on a greatest hits of 1984 compilation released by Team Records in Indonesia as well as on the album Black Magic.[16]

In 1986, the band enjoyed a chart resurgence with the remixing of several of their hits. "You to Me Are Everything (The Decade Remix)" by DJ Froggy, Simon Harris and KC charted twice in the UK, peaking at No. 5 during a 12-week run in spring and returning in June for an additional week at No. 72.[7] "Can't Get By Without You (the Second Decade Remix)" rose almost as high to No. 6, remaining for a consecutive 13 weeks. "Can You Feel the Force" ('86 Remix) climbed to No. 24, but the band's final UK charter for the year, "Straight to the Heart", peaked at No. 71, remaining for only two weeks.

In 2002, Daft Punk's Thomas Bangalter teamed up with DJ Falcon to release a single under the name of Together, which sampled the Real Thing's 1977 song "Love's Such a Wonderful Thing". The song was entitled "So Much Love to Give" and became a big club hit (though the single only peaked at No. 71[17] in the UK charts for Bangalter & Falcon), so much so that a number of other dance records used the same sample over the following years. One of these releases was by N-Trance's Kevin O'Toole and Dale Longworth, who covered "So Much Love to Give" under the name of Freeloaders and released it as a single crediting the Real Thing's vocal contribution unlike the earlier French duo's release.[18] [19] The single, released by AATW in 2005, peaked at No. 9 in the UK charts, giving The Real Thing their sixth Top Ten hit (including remixes) and last hit single.

On 28 January 2022, the duo released their first album in over 40 years.

Everything - The Real Thing Story

In 2019, the band were featured in a documentary called Everything - The Real Thing Story directed by Simon Sheridan,[20] [21] [22] which charted the history of the band from Eddie's days in Merseybeat doo-wop act the Chants[23] (said to be the only group ever to be backed by the Beatles),[24] [25] [26] through Chris' group's SSB (the Sophisticated Soul Brothers) and Vocal Perfection.[27] The latter act went on to be renamed The Real Thing by manager Tony Hall, after seeing the Coca-Cola advert on a large billboard in Piccadilly Circus. The documentary featured interviews with David Essex, Billy Ocean, Five Star's Denise Pearson, Kim Wilde and Leee John from Imagination; as well as all surviving members of the Chants and the Real Thing. As Eddie Amoo died during the production of the film, the documentary ended up being released two years after his death. After a theatrical run, the film was screened on BBC Four in August 2020.

Group members

Current
Real Thing Band
Former

Discography

Artist:The Real Thing
Studio:5
Live:2
Compilation:4
Singles:37

Albums

Studio albums
YearTitleChart positionsCertifications
UK
AUS
[31]
1976Real Thing3470
19774 from 8
1978 Step into Our World/Can You Feel the Force 73
1980....Saints or Sinners?
2022A Brand New Day
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.
Live albums
YearTitleChart positions
UK
1994The Heart Rock Concert At The Philharmonic
1998The Real Thing Live
Compilation albums
YearTitleChart positionsCertifications
UK
198020 Greatest Hits56
1982100 Minutes
1986The Best of the Real Thing24
2020Best of the Real Thing58

Singles

YearTitleAlbumChart positionsCertifications
UK
AUS
IRL
NZ
[34]
US Pop
[35]
US R&B
1972"Vicious Circle"Non-album singles
1973"Plastic Man"
"Listen, Joe Mcgintoo"
"Humpty Dumpty"
1974"Daddy Dear"
1975"Watch Out Carolina"
"Stone Cold Love Affair"
1976"You to Me Are Everything"Real Thing1223106428
"Can't Get By Without You"2
1977"You'll Never Know What You're Missing"16
"Love's Such a Wonderful Thing"33
"Lightning Strikes Again"4 from 851
1978"Whenever You Want My Love"Step into Our World /
Can You Feel the Force
18
"Let's Go Disco"Non-album single39
"Rainin' Through My Sunshine"Step into Our World /
Can You Feel the Force
40
1979"Can You Feel the Force?"52324
"Boogie Down (Get Funky Now)"....Saints or Sinners?3346
1980"Give Me Your Love"
"Saint or Sinner?"
"She's a Groovy Freak"Non-album singles52
1981"I Believe in You"
"Foot Tappin'"
1982"Love Takes Tears"
"Seen to Smile"
1983"Street Corner Boogie"
1984"We Got Love (Real Thing)"118
"Street Scene"
1986"You to Me Are Everything (The Decade Remix 76–86)"562
"Can't Get By Without You" (The Decade Remix II)68
"Can You Feel the Force?" ('86 Remix)2417
"Straight to the Heart"71
1987"Hard Times"90
"I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)"
1989"The Crime of Love"
1993"I Love Music"
2005"So Much Love to Give" (with Freeloaders)Freshly Squeezed
(Freeloaders album)
930
2005"You To Me Are Everything" (with Darren Deezer)Non-album singles
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

See also

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The Chants – Bill Harry – Mersey Beat. Triumphpc.com. 7 March 2014.
  2. Web site: 34. Biddu. The 50 Greatest Producers Ever. NME. 28 August 2012. 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120422015007/http://www.nme.com/list/the-50-greatest-producers-ever/262849/article/263448. April 22, 2012.
  3. Book: Cohen, Sara. Decline, Renewal and the City in Popular Music Culture: Beyond the Beatles. 24 June 2010. 2007. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.. 978-0-7546-3243-6. 51. Earlier on The Real Thing, Britain's biggest selling black rock/soul act of the 1970s.....
  4. Book: Du Noyer, Paul. Subversive dreamers: Liverpool songwriting from the Beatles to the Zutons. Michael Murphy. Deryn Rees-Jones. Writing Liverpool: Essays and Interviews. https://books.google.com/books?id=zQwWXe9XXREC&pg=PA246. 24 June 2010. 1 September 2007. Liverpool University Press. 978-1-84631-073-7. 246.
  5. Web site: Children of the Ghetto; the Story of the Real Thing. https://web.archive.org/web/20110720091143/http://www.davehaslam.com/control.php?_command=%2FDISPLAY%2F16%2F13%2F%2F3000&_path=%2F102%2F104. North West Labour History Journal. 2002. 20 July 2011.
  6. Web site: The Real Thing - Biography. AllMusic. Andrew. Hamilton. 24 June 2010.
  7. Book: Roberts, David. Guinness World Records British Hit Singles. 15th. 2002. Guinness World Records Ltd.. London. 0-85112-187-X. 392.
  8. Web site: The Real Thing - Greatest Hits: Review. 24 June 2010. AllMusic. Amy. Hanson.
  9. Record Mirror, 20 October 1984.
  10. Web site: October 20, 1984: Champaign, Angela Bofill, Teena Marie, Force MD's, Laura Pallas. Jameshamiltonsdiscopage.com. 20 October 1984. 15 August 2020.
  11. Eurotipsheet, 22 October 1984, p. 4
  12. Web site: Dance 80 - Euro Hits 80'. Dance80.com. 7 January 2023.
  13. Web site: The Real Thing – We Got Love / Street Scene – RCA – UK – RCA 445. 45cat.com. 2013-01-31. 2016-04-22.
  14. Smith, Jerry. Music Week. 20 October 1984, p. 26
  15. "UK Singles Charts: 1984 (including chart panel sales)". Ukmix.org. 27 June 2022. p. 17. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  16. Web site: Various - Black Magic. 7 January 2023. Discogs.com.
  17. Web site: THOMAS BANGALTER/DJ FALCON | full Official Chart History. Official Charts Company. 15 August 2020.
  18. Web site: REAL THING | full Official Chart History. Official Charts Company. 15 August 2020.
  19. Web site: FREELOADERS FEAT. THE REAL THING | full Official Chart History. Official Charts Company. 15 August 2020.
  20. Web site: Everything - The Real Thing Story. 15 August 2020. IMDb.
  21. Web site: Everything: The Real Thing Story review – the searing saga of Britain's soul pioneers. Stuart. Jeffries. 7 August 2020. 15 August 2020. The Guardian.
  22. Web site: Everything - The Real Thing Story. 15 August 2020. BBC. 7 August 2020.
  23. Web site: How to be a Musician: Eddy Amoo. BBC. 10 December 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20091003023758/https://www.bbc.co.uk/liverpool08/video/10/beat_eddy_amoo.shtml. 3 October 2009.
  24. Web site: Chants, The. Nostalgiacentral.com. 15 August 2020.
  25. Web site: Sixties City - Bill Harry's Sixties - articles from the creator of iconic 60s music paper Mersey Beat. Sixtiescity.net. 15 August 2020.
  26. Web site: Mersey Beat - The Chants. Thefootballvoice.com. 15 August 2020.
  27. Web site: The Real Thing singer Eddy Amoo dies at 74. Telegraph. Reporters. 24 February 2018. 15 August 2020. The Daily Telegraph.
  28. Web site: Soul Walking: The Real Thing. Soulwalking.com. 7 April 2018.
  29. News: Eddy Amoo: The Real Thing singer dies at 73. BBC News. 23 February 2018. 24 February 2018.
  30. Web site: The Real Thing: Where are they now?. Smooth Radio. 10 December 2021. 31 January 2018.
  31. Book: Kent, David. David Kent (historian). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. illustrated. Australian Chart Book. St Ives, N.S.W.. 1993. 0-646-11917-6. 247.
  32. Web site: Real Thing - Real Thing. bpi.co.uk . 15 January 2022.
  33. Web site: Real Thing - The Best of the Real Thing. bpi.co.uk. 15 January 2022.
  34. Web site: Discography The Real Thing . charts.org.nz . 14 November 2023.
  35. Web site: The Real Thing - Awards. AllMusic. 24 February 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20160604013304/http://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-real-thing-mn0000405968/awards. June 4, 2016.
  36. United Kingdom. You to Me Are Everything. 8426-636-1. 16 October 2022.
  37. Web site: Real Thing - Can't Get By Without You. bpi.co.uk. 15 January 2022.
  38. Web site: Real Thing - Can You Feel the Force. bpi.co.uk. 15 January 2022.