River City People were a

folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers s ...

quartet formed in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

, England, in 1986, by

vocalist Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

Siobhan Maher Siobhan Maher Kennedy (born 11 January 1964) is an English singer and songwriter. She was the lead vocalist of the Liverpool-based band River City People during the late 1980s and early 1990s. The band released two albums, '' Say Something Good'' ...

, guitarist Tim Speed, his drummer

brother A brother is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to non-familia ...

Paul Speed, and bassist Dave Snell. Siobhan, Tim and Dave had all been with Liverpool Band "Peep Show" until summer 1987 – at one point both bands co-existed. The

group A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic ide ...

appeared on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

's ''

The Chart Show ''The Chart Show'' (also known as ''The ITV Chart Show'' between 1989 and 1998) was a popular weekly syndicated music video programme which ran in the United Kingdom from April 1986 until August 1998, with revivals in 2003 and 2008–2009. ''T ...

'' and soon afterward signed with

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...

, releasing their debut single "(What's Wrong With) Dreaming?" in mid-1989. Their

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...

'' Say Something Good'' followed a few months later, recorded in

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and produced by

Don Gehman Don Gehman is an American record producer, engineer, and executive, best known for his work with John Mellencamp and Hootie & the Blowfish. He was one of "the most successful producers of the 1980s and 1990s." As a sound engineer, he also helped ...

. In summer 1990, the band scored their biggest

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with a

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The Mamas & the Papas The Mamas & the Papas were a folk rock vocal group formed in Los Angeles, California, which recorded and performed from 1965 to 1968. The group was a defining force in the music scene of the counterculture of the 1960s. The group consisted of Am ...

' "

California Dreamin' "California Dreamin'" is a song written by John Phillips and Michelle Phillips and first recorded by Barry McGuire. The best-known version is by the Mamas & the Papas, who sang backup on the original version and released it as a single in 1 ...

". This was a double A-side with "Carry the Blame". '' This Is the World'' followed in late 1991, but the group disbanded shortly after. Maher then teamed with ex- Bangle

Debbi Peterson Deborah Mary Peterson (born August 22, 1961) is an American musician and the drummer of the band The Bangles. She sang lead vocals on two of the band's released singles, "Going Down to Liverpool" (1984) and " Be with You" (1989). She is the you ...

in the duo Kindred Spirit, releasing a self-titled 1995 album on I.R.S. Records. She released a

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album in 2002 called ''Immigrant Flower''. After River City People disbanded, the two brothers, Paul and Tim, formed the band Speed.

Discography

Albums

*'' Say Something Good'' (1990) UK #23 *'' This Is the World'' (1991) UK #56 *''(What's Wrong With) Dreaming - The Best Of'' (2006) (iTunes download only, includes previously unreleased tracks)

Singles

*"(What's Wrong With) Dreaming?" (1989) UK #70 *"Say Something Good" (1989) *"Walking On Ice" (1990) UK #62 *"Carry The Blame" / "

" (1990) UK #13 *"(What's Wrong With) Dreaming?" (remix) (1990) UK #40 *"When I Was Young" (1991) UK #62 *"Special Way" (1991) UK #44 *"Standing In The Need Of Love" (1992) UK #36

References

External links

* Allmusic.com listingbr> Profile of River City People (getreadytorock.com)Live performance clip: "Find a Reason" ''What's Wrong With Dreaming'', River City People music video
accessed 5 April 2013
''This is the World'', River City People live performance
accessed 30 May 2014 {{Authority control English folk rock groups Musical groups from Liverpool