Liverpool soul that waited years for its number one

The Real Thing came from Liverpool 8, a racially mixed and economically depressed neighborhood. Founded in 1970 by Chris Amoo, Dave Smith, Kenny Davis and Ray Lake, the group began with live, progressive soul-influenced covers of American hits, which was enough to win a deal with EMI. Singles such as “Vicious Circle” in 1972 and 1973 did not sell, though the band persisted even after Kenny Davis left, and appeared on the TV talent show Opportunity Knocks.

The turnaround began with a link to David Essex and Pye Records. They toured internationally with Essex and recorded with him, though none of those songs were big hits. Then Chris Amoo’s brother Eddie joined, and the pop-soul single “You to Me Are Everything” reached number one on the UK Singles Chart, number 29 on Billboard’s R&B chart and number 64 on the Hot 100. Its follow-up, “Can’t Get By Without You”, reached number 2 in the United Kingdom.

A first album, Real Thing, arrived in 1976 with both hits and a third, “You’ll Never Know What You’re Missing”, which reached number 16. Albums followed steadily. Four from Eight in 1977 was originally going to be called Liverpool 8, but Pye rejected the title. “Can You Feel the Force?” climbed to number 5 in 1979, and altogether they collected eight more British hits, ending the run with “She’s a Groovy Freak” in 1980. By sales, they were the most successful black rock and soul act in England during the 1970s.

In 1982 they were back with Essex as backing vocalists, on tour and on his hit “Me and My Girl (Nightclubbing)” on Top of the Pops. A change to RCA brought a dance-floor entry in 1984, “We Got Love (Real Thing)”, written for them by Lynsey De Paul and Terry Britten. In 1986 a remix of “You to Me Are Everything” by DJ Froggy, Simon Harris and KC charted twice in the UK. Writer Paul Du Noyer credits the group, with Deaf School, for restoring Liverpool’s musical reputation in the 1970s.