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In the mid-seventies, the growth of soul and its prominence on the British pop charts was epitomized by three Liverpool childhood pals, the REAL THING. It was their success between 1976 and 1980 that, undoubtedly, encouraged the growth of what is now one of Britain's' thriving musical forms. As the style of the band took shape, so did the writing abilities of Chris and Eddy Amoo and within a short period of time their songs complimented the group's vocal harmonies perfectly, this inevitably broadened their appeal and thus their following grew.
The only thing missing was that one exclusive single that would rocket them into the charts. In 1976 the boys found that song. YOU TO ME ARE EVERYTHING was both an immediate and massive success hitting the No 1. spot within a few weeks. This was to mark the beginning of a four year period between 1976 and 1980 in which they were rarely out of the hit parade, with such tracks as CAN'T GET BY WITHOUT YOU, YOU'LL NEVER KNOW WHAT YOU'RE MISSING, WHENEVER YOU WANT MY LOVE and the classic CAN YOU FEEL THE FORCE, which crossed over from the dance charts into the main UK charts where it was a smash. The early 80’s saw the band out of the limelight in terms of recording, but they had maintained an extremely busy agenda on the performing front, becoming one of the most sought-after acts on the student and club circuit. Although to an extent out of the public eye, this period in their career proved that they were once more going to be a force on the jazz-funk scene, due to their resilience and knack of cultivating a whole new group of followers. 1986 arrived, and all at once, a decade after their initial successes, the REAL THING found themselves back once again in the limelight. In fact, it was one of their close friends who saw their potential. He had been playing a number of their songs on his radio shows and at his gigs and the response to them was extraordinarily strong. On his advice they re-released YOU TO ME ARE EVERYTHING and history began to repeat itself, with the track once again becoming a Top 10 hit. As their record label released two more of the band's seventies hits with similar results, the boys began to look further ahead and wished to broaden their musical horizons and not merely re-hash their classic's. This inevitably brought about a parting of the ways with their old record company and in turn, them signing in mid-'86 to a label that shared their aims and could visualize their potential: Jive. Not only had they been impressed by the band's previous success, but they also recognized the writing potential of Chris and Eddy Amoo, especially when such artists as Philip Bailey and Courtney Pine had been eager to cover one of their songs, the haunting CHILDREN OF THE GHETTO which in the 80’s has became somewhat of an anthem for the band's Toxteth counterparts. The future is going to be extremely busy with the REAL THING being involved in a great deal of recording, culminating in their debut album for Jive. The release date of their newest single will be probably in the second half of the year.
Hits from REAL THING:
* YOU TO ME ARE EVERYTHING 9 Weeks in Charts - Nr. 4
* CAN'T GET BY WITHOUT YOU 8 Weeks in Charts - Nr. 11
* CAN YOU FEEL THE FORCE 9 Weeks in Charts - Nr. 11
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