A lot of my mates ended up doing time and have come out and have got their lives together and maybe it would have been the same for me. 6, remaining for a consecutive 13 weeks. Even now if you go into the town centre of Liverpool you can actually count the number of black people who actually work in the town centre on your hand and thats even now., Its clear the band has been undervalued in Liverpool, even though they made a conscious decision not to move to London; We are a band and weve had about nineteen chart entries and I cant think of one festival or function that we have been invited to do on Merseyside. ray lake the real thing daughter . Get 20% Off Images: JAN20OFF. It would have been Eddy's wish for us to carry on and still feel the force.. His vocal performances were never used. The mid-1970s saw the arrival of some strong independent local radio stations, with some legendary specialist soul shows; Greg Edwards on Capital Radio, the influential Andy Peebles on Manchesters Piccadilly Radio and Mark Jones on Radio City in Liverpool. They worked with Jean Phillippe Illiesco who had just worked on the Magic Fly hit by Space which had emerged on the Casablanca label and been a genuine club hit in New York. They had five top 10 hits, broke into the US charts, and were the most successful black rock and soul act in the UK for the whole of the 1970s. Eddy agrees; We used ghetto as a togetherness term really; that was a part of it, it was poetic, in those terms. Amoos late bandmate Ray Lake is a haunting presence throughout Everything; we learn of his troubled (and, it is implied, abusive) upbringing in childrens care, and we hear his prodigious music talent (he earned the studio nickname One Take Lake). Significantly, unlike bands like Beatles and Oasis, the Real Thing never moved from their hometown to taste the joys, or otherwise, of London. But I think it was possibly the wrong time for audiences to accept it, and radio stations werent interested in playing anything that wasnt commercially viable. McCartney gave Joe a note to produce down at the Cavern, remembers Eddy; We went down to one of the lunchtime sessions and got up onstage and sang for them and they went ape-shit. Such was the rush of records aimed at the discotheques, in one issue of Black Music they introduced a new category on the singles reviews pages; Funk, bump & boogie. We got a standing ovation.) Eddie officially joined The Real Thing, replacing original member Kenny Davis. The Smooth Late Show with Danny Pietroni The song "No Choir of Angels" was backed with "Love Talk". 18, "Let's Go Disco" at No. Why, if the latters versions were so good, didnt we hear them in this film? Lane is a writer who loves entertainment and media and watches as many movies as she reads books. In the studio, the Real Thing recorded some songs written and produced by David Essex, among them Watch Out Carolina which is slightly too obviously indebted to Rock On. The hope was that he would help break the band in America; He just had a different sound in mind to what we had and I think the marriage didnt work. Pye put a sizeable marketing budget behind the release. At Sun City, we sang Children Of The Ghetto; we were then called in, and asked not to do it again. If you would like to comment on this story or anything else you have seen on BBC Culture, head over to ourFacebookpage or message us onTwitter. Things were improving, slowly. As the film depicts, The Real Thing did have a Beatles connection. After Chris Amoo's brother Eddie joined the band, The Real Thing finally found chart success with the single \"You to Me Are Everything\", which reached #1 on the UK Singles Chart, #28 on Billboard's \"R\u0026B Singles\" and #64 on Billboard's \"Hot 100\". We were duped about Sun City being separate, in that it was run by black people, he sighs. 1 on the UK Singles Chart, No. Edyy started his career in The Chants in the 1960s, a band championed by the Beatles' John Lennon. The legendary soul singer, who played in the Liverpool band alongside his brother Chris and pals Dave Smith and Ray Lake, passed away suddenly in Australia today. The family is still close, of course, even though all of the children are now grown. And plenty of her other posts center on food whether eating or making it so it's safe to assume that Romano has found her calling in the foodie biz. We could go into the studio and record an album ourselves but there is absolutely no point if you are not going to get a record company to back you and to market the product. The Chants had run its course by the beginning of the 1970s. The 1970s soul band are best known for their iconic hits including Cant Get By Without You and You To Me Are Everything. In a statement, Chris and Dave said: It is with great sadness that we share the passing of our brother and inspiration, Eddy Amoo, who passed away on February 23, age 74. The bands own songs included a couple which had an element of some of souls social consciousness (Flash seems to owe something to Curtis Mayfields Superfly), which sits a little uneasily with the influence elsewhere of some of the spangly-jacketed groups of the era, like the Stylistics. Download this stock image: Ray Lake of The Real Thing, London 1977 - 2E3RPDD from Alamy's library of millions of high resolution stock photos, illustrations and vectors. Ironically, in retrospect, Eddy feels that as sole songwriters and producers, the band were given too much control over the record; The record company should have made us use a producer. Ray's daughter, Alexandra Romano, got her start in Hollywood alongside her dad. He tells me that Ray Lake from the band died a couple of years ago, reportedly the victim of a drugs overdose. He wasnt surprised when the Toxteth riots erupted in 1981; It was always leading up to that. The turn-around for their career began with their collaboration with David Essex and Pye Records. The Real Thing are a British Soul group from Liverpool, formed in 1970. So basically the album flopped, although out of it Children of the Ghetto has become a bit of a classic.. In the 1970s, DJ Trevor Nelson recalled, the band was the antidote to the primetime unreality of the Black and White Minstrel Show and racist slurs as TV comedy punchlines. The Real Thing certainly werent the only international stars to play Sun City (Liza Minnelli, Elton John, Queen, Stevie Wonder and Tina Turner were among many names who performed there), but Amoo admits that they approached it naively. But although her LinkedIn still shows she's working for Shondaland, taking a look at her Instagram, fans can see that the Romano daughter is repping for two NYC-area eateries (both pasta places). 19 Ocak 2023 . 71, remaining for only two weeks. 16. The Real Thing's Children Of The Ghetto has been covered by musicians like Mary J Blige and Courtney Pine (Credit: Alamy) . Nevertheless, the Real Thing had made their mark. Years active. The Real Thing's last chart appearance was featuring on the dance track 'So Much Love To Give' by the Freeloaders in 2005, which sampled 'Love's Such a Wonderful Thing' and reached number 9. climbed to No. [9] Im not a statistician, Im a music fan, but its undeniable that the most successful Liverpool band of the 1960s was the Beatles, and I would hazard a guess that the 1980s belonged to Frankie Goes to Hollywood. 10pm - 1am, Human Nature Our dear brother #RayLake passed away exactly 20 years ago today. The band charted internationally with their song "You to Me Are Everything", which reached No. RM 2JFBN91 - Guitarist with The Real Thing band performing at the Soultasia music festival in Promenade Park, Maldon, Essex, UK RF 2K2J1D2 - Explaining his ideas. "Can You Feel the Force?" "The Sun", "Sun", "Sun Online" are registered trademarks or trade names of News Group Newspapers Limited. By 1975 the Real Thing had been signed to Pye records and had also gained a somewhat unlikely supporter; the heart-throb pop star David Essex who had been introduced to the band by Jeff Wayne. ), Stewart Morris (Prod. Enterprise. [4], 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. Ballads and love songs dominated, but dancefloors were seeing more action than at any time since the mod explosion in 1964. Children of the Ghetto; the Story of the Real Thing originally appeared in the North West Labour History Journal (Autumn 2002). The latest movie news, trailers, reviews, and more. The disco explosion was upon us, but the rising interest in black music was further fed by radio; radio crossed over soul ballads and funk, bump & boogie into the mainstream. Maybe the same thing would have happened to me; maybe I would have got into trouble with the police, the way you do; basically, thats how its laid out for you.. 1980's \"She's a Groovy Freak\" capped a successful run, at #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. In 2013, his Afghan hound won third place in its class. The natural progression for the Real Thing as Eddys involvement increased, was for him to formally join the band, which he did in 1975 (by this time Kenny Davis had left; with Eddy in the band they were back to four). By the end of the 1960s the Merseybeat boom was long gone, although the Chants had survived The bands last release was in 1969, for RCA; a version of I Get the Sweetest Feeling; Youve got to remember the Chants were never part of the Merseybeat scene, says Eddy, We were a group apart really, because we had moved on from that and wed graduated into being an r&b and soul band.. The Real Thing represented a huge breakthrough in black British music. But the first thing that we noticed at the airport was the signs for whites-only/blacks-only toilets. For Eddy Amoo and the rest of the band these were heady days; Obviously when you get your first big hit, its everything you dream of, but its only the beginning. Eddy will long be remembered as a tour de force in British music and he will be sorely missed.. Eddie Amoo (born Edward Robert Amoo, 5 May 1944, Liverpool; Ray Lake (born Raymond Lake, 11 February 1946, Liverpool; died 2000), This page was last edited on 7 January 2023, at 18:22. "Can't Get By Without You" (The Decade Remix II), Chris Amoo (born Christopher Charles Amoo, 14 October 1952, Liverpool) vocals, Dave Smith (born David Smith, 6 July 1952) vocals. Before that, Romano earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in communication and media studies, worked as a TV Talent Assistant, served as an Executive Assistant to Betsy Beers. It summed up the whole area for me., Communities are sensitive about how they are portrayed and putting all this down on disc inevitably changed the way the Real Thing were viewed locally, although they had mainly positive reactions from the people Eddy grew up with; I think they were made up. There were numerous trios and quartets; vocal groups like the Stylistics, the Detroit Emeralds, and Gladys Knights Pips with silky harmonies, slickly choreographed dance moves, and brightly colourful suits which made the early colour TVs throb with excitement. A fantastic slice of sci-fi jazz-funk with an upbeat, idealistic message about unity and a new era of tolerance, and a gloriously catchy whoop, whoop, whoop chorus, it provided the band with their third top ten. Who is Ray Romano's Daughter Alexandra, And What Does She Do? Menu. The Americans deserved the real thing. Instead they became the Real Thing. Be serious. Is it definitely our Children of the Ghetto? The film was a big hit, but Eddy still regrets Lets Go Disco was ever a single. Eddy Amoo from the Real Thing was recently down at the Albert Dock; I was invited to an unveiling of a plaque they had put up for all the number one artists in Liverpool. We pay for videos too. The complicated history of how Shania Twain swapped husbands with best friend after ex, Michael J Fox's wife and children: A timeline of Back to the Future star's beautiful, George Michael's stunning stripped back version of 'A Different Corner' is a lost, How George Michael bravely defended his sexuality with 1998 single 'Outside' and became, Dirty Dancing the Musical: Johnny and Baby actors reveal their real-life love story. They brought the Toxteth experience to the music that they were playing; they did it in a social way rather than politically. . In 1986, the band enjoyed a chart resurgence with the remixing of several of their hits. Sheridan's lengthy interview with Amoo was shown in full on BBC Four in August 2020. "Can You Feel the Force" ('86 Remix) climbed to No. The area was completely impoverished; there was no regeneration, everything was left to rot, says Amoo. The Chants were invited to sing on-stage with The Beatles that night; they signed a record deal, and were briefly managed by Brian Epstein, although their rave reviews didnt translate into commercial fame despite the fact that white-fronted mainstream music borrowed heavily (as it still obviously does) from black cultural influences. Our pleasure lasted all of three weeks, until mediocrity got its revenge and the Real Thing were toppled from the number one spot by Demis Roussos. Ringo asked our manager: Are those guys related to The Chants? laughs Amoo. And, thirty years since their first release, they are still playing and recording; when I interviewed Eddy Amoo in July 2002, the band were just about to head off to a gig in Amsterdam. Were talking about the police, the Council, shops. [15], In May 2016, he was on the judges panel at the CAC show. And by all appearances, her family is just fine with how she's spending her time, too. 40. Everything: The Real Thing Story (BBC Four) travels back in time to the year when the quartet Chris Amoo, Dave Smith, Kenny Davis and Ray Lake, later joined by Chriss brother Eddie supplied the soundtrack to the hottest summer in living memory. As kids, Amoo, his siblings and friends would develop a love for funky, politically sharp trailblazers, such as Curtis Mayfield (in particular, his 1967 black pride anthem Were A Winner), Marvin Gaye, The Last Poets and Gil Scott-Heron. - Why Pet Shop Boys are the cleverest men in pop - The music that changed America. Its never been a hit, but its earned us a lot of money but more importantly that song has most probably given us the credibility for me and Chris which our career with the Real Thing had never given us., We have little control over history and how our lives are remembered. Its a strange feeling and I bet bands like Sweet Sensation had the same experience as us., The 4 From 8 LP has a great gatefold sleeve featuring photographs of the band and Liverpool 8, and the citys Anglican cathedral amid desolate streets. Despite the forceful things he has to say about racial issues in Liverpool, he seems a very centred, sweet-natured guy. . Eddie had co-founded a 1960s vocal band called The Chants, who wowed The Beatles with an audition at the legendary Cavern Club. \"Can You Feel the Forces ('86 Remix)\" climbed to #24, but the band's final U.K. charter for the year, \"Straight to the Heart\", peaked at #71, remaining for only two weeks. On the the bands debut LP, Real Thing, released in October 1976 there is clear tension between their instincts and commercial pressures, with a diversity of styles reflecting the variety of soul music at the time; there were three tracks recorded before the groups first hit, the two successful Gold/Denne singles, and five new songs written by the Amoo brothers. It was the moment that got us into the business; wed never thought about it seriously until then., Beatlemania was just taking off. The Real Thing's last chart appearance was featuring on the dance track 'So Much Love To Give' by the Freeloaders in 2005, which sampled 'Love's Such a Wonderful Thing' and reached number 9. The first four members of the Real Thing - Chris Amoo, Ray Lake, Kenny Davis and Dave Smith - all grew up together in Liverpool 8, hung out in some of the street gangs of the time, but bit by bit became more interested in singing than fighting. He continues to appear as a judge in various dog show events. The band consisted of Chris and his friends Dave Smith, Ray Lake and Kenny Davis (and later joined by Edward Ankrah, younger brother of Joe Ankrah, from The Chants). The follow-up LP was a concept album entitled 4 From 8, containing only self-penned songs including an eleven minute track, Liverpool 8 Medley, a combination of three songs; Children of the Ghetto, Liverpool 8 and Stanhope Street; The LP was totally where we were at and what we were into, says Eddy. In fact, not only was his daughter on 'Everybody Loves Raymond' named after Alexandra (the on-screen daughter was Ally), but . "Love's Such a Wonderful Thing" peaked at No. The Top of the Pops viewers in our household cheered wildly when the Real Thing knocked the Wurzels off the top of the charts; at last something with a bit of class, something half decent to dance to at the youth club disco. Why were Justin Haywards vocals rather than Amoos used on the hit album? Everything: The Real Thing Story (BBC Four) travels back in time to the year when the quartet - Chris Amoo, Dave Smith, Kenny Davis and Ray Lake, later joined by Chris's brother Eddie -. 1980's "She's a Groovy Freak" capped a successful run, at No. Stanley House [a once-thriving youth community centre], where wed started making music, was gone, and the police were very heavy-handed. ray lake the real thing daughter caroline byron, alan howard. Why Pet Shop Boys are the cleverest men in pop, their tour dates stretch across the year ahead. Black British bands are probably the least well documented part of 70s music and the Real Thing seem to have dropped off Liverpools music map. \"Can You Feel the Force?\" climbed to #5 in 1979, the same year that \"Boogie Down (Get Funky Now)\" hit #33. In March 1984, a single recorded with Debby Bishop was released on EMI. On 28 January 2022, the duo released their first album in over 40 years. Singer, songwriter, dog competition judge, dog breeder. Much of their archive footage has been wiped, including that Opportunity Knocks debut (the first time that an all-black group appeared on a UK TV talent show). Royalties on the songs theyve written have also aided their income, notably from Eddy and Chris Amoos writing credit on the song Children of the Ghetto which has been recorded by Courtney Pine and then by Philip Bailey from Earth, Wind & Fire. [8] 1978 saw \"Whenever You Want My Love\" at #18, \"Let's Go Disco\" at #39 and \"Rainin' Through My Sunshine\" at #40. [13] Also that year he was one of the Easter Team Match judges at The Junior Handlers Club. We thought wed be playing to mixed audiences. S imon Sheridan's solid, efficient documentary pays tribute to the Liverpudlian pop-soul beat combo the Real Thing, who had a No 1 in the UK with the smooth-grooving ballad You to Me Are . 0 . Furthermore, in a small reversal of soul power, the British-made You to Me Are Everything went into the top 30 in the American soul charts, and spawned three cover versions by American artists; none of them was as successful at the Real Things record (one was a b-side by Frankie Valli).