THE SOUND OF MUSIC HAPPENING THINGS: The Real Thing – You To Me Are Everything.

I LOVE THIS TOWN! 💙

As I plough through the highways and byways of the pop wonderland, it never ceases to amaze where i might end up. At every twist and turn, in every genre, there are hundreds, thousands of opportunities to turn your day with The Sound Of Music. Often we find some of the biggest moments in the entire history of the sport are overlooked in favour of somewhat more obscure items that show off your prowess as the lord of the underground, or summat. Digging ever deeper, desperately looking for cherrystones, when fresh fruit for rotting vegetables is more like what you need. In our rush to nail our credentials of cool to the mast on a ship of fools, we often overlook the most beautiful items on offer in favour of something a little uglier but allegedly more valuable.
The Real Thing is the great Liverpool success story. Never mind what may have happened before or since in the sphere of pop in the city. What they achieved is nothing short of miraculous. Like, The Beatles, The Bunnymen, The La’s, ostensibly white rock musicians working in a white environment, serving ostensibly a white market. With a little hard work and dedication it was far more likely to happen for them, the industry in weighted that way. And, it must be said, at the time when those acts were poplular and makinhg music, that was the sort of music that was holding up the charts. And then there’s The Real Thing, four young men from Liverpool 8 in the 1970’s. Not exactly the noted, fervent hotbed of talent, they had to push and chip away to get noticed in their own city in a way those other groups would never have to.
They were formed in 1970 in Toxteth, a live soul act doing faithful covers of american material. following the arrival of founding member Eddie Amoo’s brother Chris, things began to move in the right direction. They fell into work as backing vocalists with david essex who they worked with for a couple of years. They also signed to EMI and released some sterling sides that got lost in the mid-seventies rush. They even appeared on talent show of the day, Opportunity Knocks, to no avail. The real success came following their signing to Pye Records in 1975. The first two singles from the deal died -including the wonderful, David Essex penned, ‘Watch Out Carolina. The following year they hit the shit with the release of ‘You To Me Are Everything’. It really is a breath of fresh air, one of the all time great British soul recods, if not the number one British soul record. It was, unbelievably, number one on the uk pop charts for most of the blazing hot summer of 1976. Jostling for position among big hitters form Abba, Wings, and other of the biggest pop names at a time when singles sales were astronomical. It reigned supreme for months, long after the sunshine had gone.
As was mentioned, this was no mean feat for a bunch of young Afro-Caribbean lads from a nowhere place like Liverpool. The Real Thing had reminded the nation what we did up here, and in the dark ages between Merseybeat and Punk, they and Deaf School carried the disparate beacons for the city aloft and that should never forgotten. Had this have been their only success in any capacity, that may have been enough. however, they continiued their glorious run of commercial fire into the next year, beyond the decade, right into the eighties. In 1977 Pye released their truly ambitious ‘4 From 8 album, side two of which is the fantastic ‘Liverpool Medley, written by the Amoo brothers.
They were the first big stars of home made soul in the uk, a title they thoroughly deserved. They paved the way for others to follow in their wake. By the time the hits dried up in the early eighties, they were the godfathers of a thriving, successful home grown soul scene that they had helped to create. The genius of You To Me Are Everything will stay around forever, it is now etched into the make up of this city, their wonderful success can no longer be overlooked. It occupies a special place in the canon of pop, it’s not too late to say the melody and lyrics are perfection and if you were hopelessly in love, this is exactly what you’d want your favourite record to say. pow! VIVA THE REAL THING! 💙
(ORIGINALLY WRITTEN SEPTEMBER 2017)