Recorded with Ken Gold at the Roundhouse Studios, You to Me Are Everything is a warm, catchy, stirring dance single with perfect soul strings and a singalong chorus. 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. Real life businesspeople shot on location. I think we got a peck on the cheek as well. The Real Thing have recorded two different versions of Children of the Ghetto; Courtney Pines jazz version is based on the track on the 4 From 8 LP, but Eddy and Chris Amoo also re-wrote it in a different form which they distributed it as a demo version, and Philip Bailey picked up on it; it was his version that is featured on the soundtrack to the film Clockers. In fact, not only was his daughter on 'Everybody Loves Raymond' named after Alexandra (the on-screen daughter was Ally), but . To my mind, that says it all., Eddy has had to answer the phone a number of times, and hes given me an hour of us his time, despite being a busy man, and he draws the interview to a close by offering me a lift to the station. The most successful Liverpool-based band of the 1970s, meanwhile, were probably the Real Thing. As a successful dog breeder, he and his wife Julie Amoo entered their Afghan Hound, named Viscount Grant, into Crufts dog show, where he won the 1987 Best in Show title. But Dave McAleer was an A&R man for Pye at the time, and for him it was Radio One which was the key; The great radio victory for black music in Britain wasnt getting specialist shows on the air, it was getting David Hamilton playing Barry White and Tony Blackburn playing the Commodores.. 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 -. 0 . 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. 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. Eddy was still in the Chants, but gave Chris every encouragement, sitting in on rehearsals, coaching the group; I liked the idea because I was into something that would keep them off the streets, so I was really up for it., Black American music had always been revered in Britain, and white youth had devoured releases on the Chess, Stax and Motown labels from the mod era and beyond; bands like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones had begun their careers in the early 1960s doing cover versions of Chuck Berry and Motown. Eddy Amoo remembers particular problems for the black community; From my personal point of view, Liverpool was OK. Its always been pretty racist not racist so much in the people that you meet on the streets- but racist in the institutions in Liverpool. 71, remaining for only two weeks. He is also a dog breeder, and a judge at dog shows including Crufts, where he has had great success with his Afghan Hound, Viscount Grant. By the mid-70s, The Real Thing had earned a record deal, made their debut on BBCs Top Of The Pops, and honed their trademark harmonies with lush instrumentation; they worked regularly with British pop rocker David Essex, supporting him on a US tour and also finding themselves playing alongside Miles Daviss musicians at hip Greenwich Village venue The Bottom Line. 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 Aus (1979). Dave Smith is still in the Real Thing, as is Chris Amoo, although Chris has also carved out a parallel career as an award-winning dog breeder. Weeks later the Real Thing won Opportunity Knocks, and in 1976 became the first black British band to get a No 1 hit with You to Me Are Everything. [26] 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. Ray Lake. 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. By number of sales, they were the most successful black rock/soul act in England during the 1970s. 29 on Billboard's "R&B Singles" and No. Why, if the latters versions were so good, didnt we hear them in this film? We thought they were the coolest thing on Earth.The show eloquently explains why, with a fast-cut montage of the white competition. In 2013, his Afghan hound won third place in its class. I'd have liked this film to have explored his story a little more, though obviously I appreciate that there's only so much you can tell in ninety . To inquire about a licence to reproduce material, visit our Syndication site. But the band persisted, even after the departure of Kenny Davis. Instead, she's apparently moved on to other pursuits. Eddy says he feels for the guys from the Chants; I look back on it as my apprenticeship but for the guys in the Chants they came out with nothing and now its like we never existed., Hes aware that growing up in Liverpool 8 could have cut down his chances in life, but hes made it. That, for me, is typical of Liverpool. 71[16] 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. [2] His elder brother Eddie Amoo was also a member of The Real Thing; he died 23 February 2018. Chart position is from the official UK "Breakers List". Playing Sun City was one of them. 14th October 1952, Liverpool, England, U.K.) Edward Robert Amoo (b. My intention was to uncover as much of the story of the Real Thing as I could. View our online Press Pack. The Real Thing were buff before buff was a thing, and looked good in sleeveless waistcoats. Instead they became the Real Thing. As the film depicts, The Real Thing did have a Beatles connection. 6th July 1952) and What must it be like for them if its like that for us? 4 From 8 is a good album Im not knocking it it didnt have that commercial edge you need. David Smith (b. It was alsoNicki Swift that pointed out that per Alexandra's LinkedIn page, she was a marketing and communications manager at Shondaland in Hollywood, at least as of mid-2020. If youre black in Liverpool its well nigh impossible to make any headway in any business; youve really got to fight and fight hard., The 1970s saw the biggest rise in overt racial conflict since the 1930s, with the National Front gaining electoral credibility in some pockets of the country and pressure building through the decade on the streets of Liverpool 8. 28 on Billboard 's R&B Singles chart and No. [7], In 1981, his single "This Must Be Love", (a Phil Collins composition) b/w "You'll Never Know What You're Missing" was released on the Precision label. These bleak retro images feel disturbingly resonant in the present day. The area was completely impoverished; there was no regeneration, everything was left to rot, says Amoo. 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). Nevertheless, the Real Thing had made their mark. [4][5], As a member of The Real Thing, he had great success with "You to Me Are Everything", "Can't Get By Without You", and "Can You Feel the Force?". [7] "Can't Get By Without You (the Second Decade Remix)" rose almost as high to No. Both of these pivotal changes happened while the young group were competing on prime-time TV talent show Opportunity Knocks (The X Factor of its era) in 1972, and provoked the ire of irascible host Hughie Green (We were beaten the next week by a yodeller, so that shows yer, deadpans Amoo). Since these locations are the real thing, and not shot in an 'office studio', high ISO levels are sometimes needed to catch the moment. 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. They did appear on New Faces (the TV talent show). Lake struggled with mental health issues and drug use, leading to his eventual departure from the band, and he was just 48 when he tragically died in 2000. To me that is totally bizarre., He still finds it hard to accept the way he was cold-shouldered when the number one artists were invited down to the Albert Dock; I just got up and walked away. 20 the previous week. [17][18] The single, released by AATW in 2005, peaked at No. Theyre amazingly under-rated; they also released lots of really good records later on, including street soul on small labels.. Learn how and when to remove this template message, The Real Thing bring their 40th anniversary tour to Edmonton Mattie Lacey-Davidson, "Eddy Amoo: The Real Thing singer dies at 73", Page 75 Billboard Hits Of The World, Britain, Record Details, Chris Amoo, Catalogue: PAR 118, Record Details, Chris Amoo And Debby Bishop, Catalogue: EMI 5455, Marti Caine, BBC Two England, 10 April 1984, Contributors, TV: Compiled by DAVID BELCHER, BBC2, 9.0 Marti Caine, The battle to be top dog is on as Birmingham prepares for Crufts, Irish Wolfhound- Levriero irlandese 25th French Breed Show Nationale DElevage RALIE, CAC Show For all Sighthound and Mediterranean Breeds, Crufts 88, BBC Two England, 7 February 1988, Motown on the Mersey, BBC Radio 2, 6 March 2007, "Everything: The Real Thing Story review the searing saga of Britain's soul pioneers", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chris_Amoo&oldid=1130872808, Short description with empty Wikidata description, Wikipedia articles with style issues from March 2017, Pages using infobox musical artist with associated acts, Articles with unsourced statements from April 2020, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Singer, songwriter, dog competition judge, dog breeder, Credited to Sunzet featuring Chris Amoo of the Real Thing, Brian Whitehouse (Dir. [1] He comes from a mixed-race background, with a Ghanaian grandfather and an Irish grandmother. In fact, not only was his daughter on 'Everybody Loves Raymond' named after Alexandra (the on-screen daughter was Ally), but she also guest-starred as Ally's best friend, Molly. In 1986 their three big hit records reached a new and enthusiastic audience in remixed formats and all went top 30 again. dominica prime minister who married his daughter; angus rowing boat sliding seat; discontinued blue diamond almond flavors; love beauty and planet discontinued. We didnt venture beyond it; we had our own clubs and restaurants, and a fantastic community. It would have been Eddy's wish for us to carry on and still feel the force.. Originally named The Sophisticated Soul Brothers, Chris Amoos band took on a savvy manager, Tony Hall (a multi-faceted journalist, promoter and jazz producer), and a snappy new name (The Real Thing was inspired by a famous soft drink advert). For once, black British musicians could rival African Americans. and 'Can't Get By Without You', we'd argue that The Real Thing are a somewhat overlooked and underrated group. A songwriting and production team, Ken Gold and Mickey Denne, played the Real Thing, and their manager Tony Hall, some demos of five songs theyd written, and one song in particular impressed them; You to Me Are Everything. Chris added after the statement: The fans' outpouring of support makes us realise how much love there is out there for The Real Thing, and we're doing this for them, and for Eddy, who was the greatest showman. It makes sense, though, given her entire family's zest for experiencing and making jokes about everything in life. I remember sitting there with Chris one day and I said Can you feel the force? and it just dropped in. But by 1967 and 1968 the scene began to moved on, away from basement clubs playing black American dance records; to live rock music on the college circuit for example. We got a standing ovation.) Eddie officially joined The Real Thing, replacing original member Kenny Davis. 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). So basically the album flopped, although out of it Children of the Ghetto has become a bit of a classic.. 40. This was the era that we grew up in; it was almost acceptable, as a joke, you were so used to it, he replies, earnestly. The Real Thing: soundtrack to the Toxteth riots, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. 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. "You to Me Are Everything (The Decade Remix)" by DJ Froggy, Simon Harris and KC charted twice in the UK, peaking at No.