Eddie Amoo
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The Real Thing are a
British soul British soul, Brit soul, or (in a US context) the British soul invasion, is soul music performed by British artists. Soul has been a major influence on British popular music since the 1960s, and American soul was extremely popular among some yo ...
group formed in the 1970s. The band charted internationally with their song "
You to Me Are Everything "You to Me Are Everything" is a song by British soul group The Real Thing, released as a single in 1976. Written by Ken Gold and Michael Denne and produced by Gold, "You to Me Are Everything" was the Real Thing's sole number-one single on the ...
", 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 Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...
rock/soul act in England during the 1970s. The journalist, author and founder of ''
Mojo Mojo may refer to: * Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in Hoodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * ''Mojo'' (2017 film), a 2017 Indian Kannada drama film written and directed by Sreesha Belakvaadi * '' ...
'' magazine
Paul Du Noyer Paul Du Noyer (born Paul Anthony Du Noyer; 21 May 1954) is an English rock journalist and author. He has written and edited for the music magazines ''NME'', '' Q'' and '' Mojo''. Du Noyer is the author of several books on the music industry, ro ...
credits them alongside
Deaf School Deaf School is an English art rock/New wave music, new wave band, formed in Liverpool, England, in January 1974. Overview Between 1976 and 1978, the year in which they split up, Deaf School recorded three albums for the Warner Brothers Music, ...
with restoring "
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
's musical reputation in the 1970s" with their success.


History

Founded in 1970 by
Chris Amoo Christopher Charles Amoo (born 14 October 1952) is a British singer-songwriter, and the lead singer of English soul group, The Real Thing. Background Amoo was born on 14 October 1952 in Liverpool, England. He comes from a mixed-race backgr ...
, 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 EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...
. 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 David Essex (born David Albert Cook; 23 July 1947) is an English singer-songwriter and actor. From 1973 to 1994, he attained 19 Top 40 singles in the UK (including two number ones) and 16 Top 40 albums. Internationally, Essex had the most suc ...
and
Pye Records PYE or Pye Records is an independent British record label. It was first established in 1955 and played a major role in shaping rock 'n' roll and pop music history. The Pye name was dropped in 1980 due to trademark issues, after which it produced ...
. 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. In 1976, they released their first album, ''Real Thing''. The album included both of their hit singles as well as a third UK hit, "You'll Never Know What You're Missing", which peaked at No. 16. 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''. During the time period, they accumulated eight more British hits. "
Love's Such a Wonderful Thing "Love's Such a Wonderful Thing" is a song released in 1977 by the UK band The Real Thing taken from their album ''4 from 8''. The song peaked at #33 on the UK Singles Chart. Background The song was written, arranged and produced by brothers C ...
" peaked at No. 33 in 1977. 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 K-tel International Ltd is a Canadian company which formerly specialized in selling consumer products through infomercials and live demonstration. Its products include compilation music albums, including ''The Super Hits'' series, ''The Dynamic ...
collection of their ''Greatest Hits'' released in May 1980. 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 ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...
''. After a label change to RCA, they scored a dance-floor hit, reaching No. 50 on the Music Week "Top Disco & Dance Songs" chart as well as No. 58 on the UK Disco chart published in
Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper published between 1954 and 1991, aimed at pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after ''New Musical Express'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK Album ...
and radio playlisted with a single specially written for them by
Lynsey De Paul Lynsey de Paul (born Lyndsey Monckton Rubin; 11 June 1948 – 1 October 2014) was an English singer-songwriter and record producer. After initially writing hits for others, she had her own chart hits in the UK and Europe in the 1970s, starting ...
and
Terry Britten Terence Ernest Britten (born 17 July 1947) is an English-Australian singer-songwriter and record producer, who has written songs for Tina Turner, Cliff Richard, Olivia Newton-John, Status Quo (band), Status Quo and Michael Jackson amongst many ot ...
, called "
We Got Love (Real Thing) "We Got Love" is a song written by Lynsey de Paul and Terry Britten that was first recorded by British soul group, The Real Thing. It was produced by the American R&B and pop record producer, Nick Martinelli, and released on the RCA label, both a ...
" produced by
Nick Martinelli Nicholas J. Martinelli (born 5 July 1952) is an American R&B and pop record producer. During the 1980s he worked with many R&B and pop music artists, some of them based in the UK. Acts he has worked with include Loose Ends, Phyllis Hyman, Fiv ...
in 1984. The song received positive reviews, spending 6 weeks on the UK Top 200 charts and peaking at peaking at #118. The song was included on a greatest hits of 1984 compilation released by Team Records in Indonesia as well as on the album ''Black Magic''. In 1986, the band enjoyed another chart resurgence with the remixing of several of their hits. "You to Me Are Everything (The Decade Remix)" by
DJ Froggy Steven Howlett (8 November 1950 – 28 March 2008), aka DJ Froggy, was an English DJ who worked as a 'beatmixer DJ' on the British club music scene in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. He was a member of the Soul Mafia group of DJs which included Ro ...
,
Simon Harris Simon Harris (born 17 October 1986) is an Irish Fine Gael politician serving as Tánaiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and Minister for Defence since January 2025, having previously served as Taoiseach from 2024 to 2025. He has ...
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. "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. Ray Lake took his own life on 9 March 2000. He was suffering from a heroin addiction. 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 "Love's Such a Wonderful Thing" is a song released in 1977 by the UK band The Real Thing taken from their album ''4 from 8''. The song peaked at #33 on the UK Singles Chart. Background The song was written, arranged and produced by brothers C ...
". The song was entitled "So Much Love to Give". It became a big club hit (though the single only peaked at No. 71 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. 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. Eddie Amoo died on 23 February 2018. 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, which charted the history of the band from Eddie's days in
Merseybeat Beat music, British beat, or Merseybeat is a British popular music genre that developed around Liverpool in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The genre melded influences from British and American rock and roll, rhythm and blues, skiffle, tradit ...
doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a subgenre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, ...
act the Chants (said to be the only group ever to be backed by
the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
), through Chris' group's SSB (the Sophisticated Soul Brothers) and Vocal Perfection. The latter act went on to be renamed The Real Thing by manager Tony Hall, after seeing the
Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...
advert on a large billboard in
Piccadilly Circus Piccadilly Circus is a road junction and public space of London's West End of London, West End in the City of Westminster. It was built in 1819 to connect Regent Street with Piccadilly. In this context, a ''List of road junctions in the Unite ...
. The documentary featured interviews with
David Essex David Essex (born David Albert Cook; 23 July 1947) is an English singer-songwriter and actor. From 1973 to 1994, he attained 19 Top 40 singles in the UK (including two number ones) and 16 Top 40 albums. Internationally, Essex had the most suc ...
,
Billy Ocean Leslie Sebastian Charles (born 21 January 1950), known professionally as Billy Ocean, is a Trinidadian-born British singer and songwriter. Between 1976 and 1988, he had a series of hit songs in the UK and internationally. After releasing sev ...
, Five Star's
Denise Pearson Denise Lisa Maria Pearson (born 13 June 1968), sometimes credited as Deniece Pearson, is an English singer-songwriter. She was the lead vocalist with the British pop/ R&B group Five Star, which comprised herself and her four siblings. The group ...
,
Kim Wilde Kim Wilde (born Kim Smith, 18 November 1960) is an English pop singer. She first gained success in 1981 with her debut single "Kids in America", which peaked at no. 2 in the UK. In 1983, she received the Brit Award for Best British Female solo ...
and Leee John from
Imagination Imagination is the production of sensations, feelings and thoughts informing oneself. These experiences can be re-creations of past experiences, such as vivid memories with imagined changes, or completely invented and possibly fantastic scenes ...
; 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 BBC Four is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002
in August 2020.


Group members

Current * Chris Amoo (born Christopher Charles Amoo, 14 October 1952, Liverpool) – vocals * Dave Smith (born David Smith, 6 July 1952) – vocals Real Thing Band * John Chapman – saxophone/percussion * Sam Edwards – keyboards * Stuart Ansell – guitar * Jon Bower – bass * Danny Rose – drums Former * Eddie Amoo (born Edward Robert Amoo, 5 May 1944, Liverpool; died 23 February 2018, Melbourne, Australia) – vocals, guitars * Ray Lake (born Raymond Brian Lake, 11 February 1952, Liverpool; died 9 March 2000, Bristol)
falsetto Falsetto ( , ; Italian language, Italian diminutive of , "false") is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ...
backing vocals * Kenny Davis – vocals * Steve Dixon – drums


Discography


Albums

Studio albums Live albums Compilation albums


Singles


See also

*
List of disco artists (S–Z) S *Saint Tropez **"On A Rien A Perdre" (1977), "Hold on to Love" (1978), "Fill My Life with Love" (1978), "One More Minute" (1979) * The Salsoul Orchestra **"Tangerine" (1975), "Nice 'n' Naasty" (1976), "You're Just the Right Size" (1976), "C ...
*
Brit funk Brit funk (or Britfunk) is a musical style that has its origins in the British music scene of the late 1970s and which remained popular into the 1980s. It mixes elements from jazz, funk, soul, urban dance rhythms and pop hooks. The scene origina ...
*
Jazz-funk Jazz-funk is a subgenre of jazz music characterized by a strong back beat, electrified sounds, and analog synthesizers. The integration of funk, soul, and R&B music and styles into jazz resulted in the creation of a genre that ranges from ...
*
List of bands and artists from Merseyside This is a list of notable bands and artists from Merseyside, North West England. For over fifty years, the area has had a thriving pop and rock music scene, particularly since The Beatles popularised Merseybeat. 0-9 * 28 Costumes * The 74 ...
* List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart *
List of performers on Top of the Pops __NOTOC__ This list of performers on ''Top of the Pops'' includes popular music recording artists and musical ensembles who have performed on ''Top of the Pops'', a weekly BBC television programme that featured artists from the UK Singles ...


Further reading


''The Guardian:'', The Real Thing: soundtrack to the Toxteth riots


Notes


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Real Thing, The English dance music groups Musical groups established in 1970 English pop music groups Musical groups from Liverpool Black British musical groups Pye Records artists British rhythm and blues musical groups British soul musical groups British disco groups