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. 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. Hes led a charmed life in comparison to other children of the ghetto. Interview with Ginger and Nuts, January 2021. One day in 1972, a pop picker called Tony Hall was driving through Piccadilly Circus when he noticed a Coca-Cola billboard. Who is Ray Romano's Daughter Alexandra, And What Does She Do? 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 The Best of The Real Thing compilation is out on BMG. The Chants had run its course by the beginning of the 1970s. The four promising black soul singers he was managing would have to change their name. 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. The band made enough of an impact to release Vicious Circle on Bell Records which unfortunately flopped. One of Britains most successful black groups has been overlooked for decades. Worse yet was Ray Lakes decline into heroin addiction and, eventually, suicide. Back in Britain, the foursome were written up as the black Beatles and became sex symbols to a generation of overwhelmingly white women, including the young Kim Wilde, who visited them backstage. And we were wrong!, The Chants signed to Pye, and released four singles on the label, starting with I Dont Care in 1963. 4 From 8 is a good album Im not knocking it it didnt have that commercial edge you need. 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. The youth then werent as willing as the youth in the early Sixties had been to just accept things and go along with it. Our dear brother #RayLake passed away exactly 20 years ago today. We thought they were the coolest thing on Earth.The show eloquently explains why, with a fast-cut montage of the white competition. Eddy was a showman, a songwriter, and a legend in British music with Liverpudlian band The Real Thing. He is also a dog breeder, and a judge at dog shows including Crufts, where he has had great success with his Afghan Hound . The Real Thing were buff before buff was a thing, and looked good in sleeveless waistcoats. 9 in the UK charts, giving The Real Thing their sixth Top Ten hit (including remixes) and last hit single. 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. I went down and I was totally ignored by the Liverpool media; the only people they were interested in were Atomic Kitten and Paul McCartneys brother!. They did appear on New Faces (the TV talent show). Stanley House [a once-thriving youth community centre], where wed started making music, was gone, and the police were very heavy-handed. Lightboxes. Sheridan was certain that The Real Things story needed to be told. The band formed in the 1970s and have been performing and touring ever since. This inspiration would pulse throughout The Real Things own compositions. Kenny Davis left the group relatively early on, and member Ray Lake sadly passed away in 2000. Shot entirely on location in Liverpool, London, Bristol and Brighton, the movie features interviews with all the band members - Eddy Amoo, Chris Amoo and Dave Smith . [7][8] 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. similarities between federal and confederal system of government; johnny carson last show sign off; is mark grossman leaving y&r 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. 58 on the UK Disco chart published in Record Mirror[9][10] and radio playlisted[11][12] with a single specially written for them by Lynsey De Paul and Terry Britten, called "We Got Love" produced by Nick Martinelli in 1984. 71, remaining for only two weeks. 64 on the . We didnt venture beyond it; we had our own clubs and restaurants, and a fantastic community. These bleak retro images feel disturbingly resonant in the present day. [13] Also that year he was one of the Easter Team Match judges at The Junior Handlers Club. 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. 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. To see all content on The Sun, please use the Site Map. Mainstream success certainly didnt provide a safety net. We were caught in a bit of a vacuum., Most of The Real Things repertoire has impressively stood the test of time but one band decision immediately seemed ill-judged. The documentary ends happily, though, with the band on stage recently. No longer would they be called Vocal Perfection a gift to hostile critics. [5] The song was certified silver for 250,000 in sales. [5] 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). 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). 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). In 2019, the band were featured in a documentary called Everything - The Real Thing Story,[19][20][21] which charted the history of the band from Eddie's days in Merseybeat doo-wop act the Chants[22] (said to be the only group ever to be backed by the Beatles),[23][24][25] through Chris' group's SSB (the Sophisticated Soul Brothers) and Vocal Perfection. Manchester-based band Sweet Sensation had hits eighteen months before the Real Thing; they were the first Black British soul act to get to number one in October 1974, with Sad Sweet Dreamer. Eddy leaves behind a large and loving family, a community he adored in Toxteth, Liverpool and his beloved music and band, The Real Thing. 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 Real Thing were one of the most popular groups of the 1970s in the UK. 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. Meanwhile, Eddys younger brother, Chris, had declared his desire to form band; the Real Thing were born. Movies. Eddy Amoo describes conflicts with their record company in 1978 when the Real Thing were persuaded to sing and then release a lightweight song called Lets Go Disco that had been written for the soundtrack to the Joan Collins / Oliver Tobias film The Stud. The heatwave only ended when Downing Street ordered sports minister Denis Howell to bust a rain dance in Birmingham. Why were Justin Haywards vocals rather than Amoos used on the hit album? Whats strangely less documented is that one of Britains most successful black groups also hailed from Liverpool: The Real Thing, a quartet whose sleek pop-soul smashes included You To Me Are Everything (1976), Cant Get By Without You (1976) and Can You Feel The Force? "The Sun", "Sun", "Sun Online" are registered trademarks or trade names of News Group Newspapers Limited. [7] 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. The Real Thing were arguably the alternative (and overlooked) Fab Four. And by all appearances, her family is just fine with how she's spending her time, too. The single flopped, and Pye were still in search of that elusive hit. Im not the kind of person to turn away, but Id also think of my mother and father; if it was heavy when we were growing up, they had no chance of saying anything.. He tells me that Ray Lake from the band died a couple of years ago, reportedly the victim of a drugs overdose. Turns out Nelson is right: I do have a problem. THE REAL THING | full Official Chart History", "Everything: The Real Thing Story review the searing saga of Britain's soul pioneers", "Sixties City - Bill Harry's Sixties - articles from the creator of iconic 60s music paper Mersey Beat", "The Real Thing singer Eddy Amoo dies at 74", "Eddy Amoo: The Real Thing singer dies at 73", "Real Thing - The Best of the Real Thing", "British certifications You to Me Are Everything", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Real_Thing_(British_band)&oldid=1132191350, Pages using infobox musical artist with associated acts, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. Eddy recalls Liverpool 8 in the early 1970s as a very tight-knit community; It was from the early 70s onwards that people started to realise that if they stuck together politically they could achieve a lot more than they had in the past. The Sun website is regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), Our journalists strive for accuracy but on occasion we make mistakes. Though she's not listed on those businesses' team lists,Alexandra does have photos of herself working the counter at one of the pasta places. I think were hearing the legacy of that breakthrough in many acts today., They were the first all-black British band to have a UK number one single, You To Me Are Everything (Credit: Alamy), The Real Thing stood out because they were this amazing R&B band that made pioneering music that was the equal of, if not better then, their American contemporaries, agrees writer/DJ Bill Brewster, co-author of Last Night A DJ Saved My Life. The only failing of Simon Sheridans fond documentary is in explaining what went wrong when Jeff Wayne asked Chris Amoo to sing Forever Autumn and Thunder Child for his musical version of HG Wellss novel. The most successful Liverpool-based band of the 1970s, meanwhile, were probably the Real Thing. Despite the forceful things he has to say about racial issues in Liverpool, he seems a very centred, sweet-natured guy. We pay for videos too. Slade? The Real Things Children Of The Ghetto has been covered by musicians like Mary J Blige and Courtney Pine (Credit: Alamy). Much missed.. 24, but the band's final UK charter for the year, "Straight to the Heart", peaked at No. They showed you can make timeless pop, and still address the realities of urban life. jefferson county alabama hazardous waste day 2022; greg . Their creative range inevitably made them harder to categorise for pop markets; after their floor-filling romantic tunes, their brilliantly gritty 1977 album 4 From 8 was initially regarded as a misfire. The band charted internationally with their song "You to Me Are Everything", which reached No. [4] The singles they released through EMI in 1972 were not successful sellers, but the band persisted even after the departure of Kenny Davis. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. In the charts, the first hit song of the long hot Summer of 1976 was Abbas Fernando, the next was the excruciating Combine Harvester single by the Wurzels. In March 1984, a single recorded with Debby Bishop was released on EMI. 5 during a 12-week run in spring and returning in June for an additional week at No. Clearly, Alexandra is not about the "desk life," as she captioned one of her Instagram posts. 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. The Beatles stronghold is unmissable, across numerous tours and landmarks, including a dockside sculpture, where you can snap a selfie with the Fab Four before catching a ferry across the Mersey. 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. It should have been a more gradual process and Real Thing fans werent ready for it. Back in 1972 Eddy watched as his brothers band won themselves a slot on the TV show Opportunity Knocks. 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 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. For one thing, it's still earning the seasoned actor quite a large chunk of change. Looking back, he finds it hard to imagine how things might have been for him if it wasnt for that career in music; Its had to say, its difficult. . What must it be like for them if its like that for us? 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. "We would love to do that, and we most probably will no doubt but it is really difficult. He had a brainwave. More like this: - Is this the ultimate comfort song? Watch a recent Real Thing performance below: "We have got a huge library of material but it is not that simple. In 1986 their three big hit records reached a new and enthusiastic audience in remixed formats and all went top 30 again. Born:11th February 1946, in Liverpool, Lancashire, England. The Americans deserved the real thing. 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. The institutions of Liverpool are racist; they were then and they still are. 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. Eddy's brother and bandmates paid tribute to their inspiration in a touching post online. 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. Id be made up if I knew Mary J Blige was doing it., That artistic recognition for the Real Thing, just out of reach for most of their career, has come via America, Clockers, and Mary J Blige is ironic given that from the outset the band had looked to America for inspiration. The summer of 1976 is commonly celebrated as the Summer when punk broke, but the first stirrings of punk were no more than flea bites in the ear of the great pop monster. In 2013, his Afghan hound won third place in its class. Some of The Real Things intriguing expressions were frustratingly lost along the way including their original vocals for Jeff Waynes 70s sci-fi musical epic (based on HG Wellss novel), The War Of The Worlds. Can You Feel the Force had actually started out as a slightly different song (they called it Get the Message when it was in a raw demo form), but then Eddy got inspired by the film Star Wars; I remember going to watch it and being really impressed with the force is with you and all that. 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). Christopher Charles Amoo (born 14 October 1952) is a British singer-songwriter and the lead singer of English soul group, The Real Thing. minecraft god bow command; sunderland echo court roundup; rick james house orchard park address; brunch buffet overland park. By 1973 and 1974 American soul records were again featuring high in the British pop charts; some were by old favourites like Stevie Wonder, but there was also a new generation like the OJays, and Barry White and his Love Unlimited Orchestra. Ringo asked our manager: Are those guys related to The Chants? laughs Amoo. ms monarch; in . During the Summer even the New Musical Express had barely registered punks existence. In an extraordinary if neglected byway of pop history, they recorded an album called Four From Eight in 1978 that, as soul protest, warrants comparison to Marvin Gayes Whats Going On with the twist that their version dealt with what was going on in Toxteth, Liverpool. They moved to EMI and Plastic Man got the band their first Top of the Pops appearance (it was a song Eddy Amoo had originally written for the Chants). their version dealt with what was going on in Toxteth, Liverpool. They have been overwhelmed by the love and support of fans, colleagues, and the people of Liverpool. They also had successes a string of British hits such as "Can't Get By Without You" and "Can You Feel the Force?". They began making music together in 1970. 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 Smooth Late Show with Danny Pietroni But in 1976 the conditions were right for more British soul music to make an impact; in June 1976 it was the turn of the Real Thing to get to hit the top of the charts. But it also sparked at least one of his kid's careers. 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. [4] During the time period, they accumulated eight more British hits. Chart position is from the official UK "Breakers List". She may not be on the same path toward multi-millionaire status like her comedian dad (not that she needs to, because, inheritance, right? Eddy now lives barely a mile from the house he grew up in Toxteth; and in our interview we were to return a number of times to his memories of the city and Toxteth (or Liverpool 8 as the district was known back in the 1970s, then, as now, home to many people from the citys black community). It was always soul, high life [the Amoo family heritage included Ghanaian roots], reggae, Music writer Paul Du Noyer, whose works have included an excellent book dedicated to his native Liverpool, admits that I always get a kick out of telling people The Real Thing are a Liverpool band, when some people dont even realise they were British, and praises the groups extraordinary range. "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. "" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. 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. The world was unaware of punk until Bill Grundy introduced the Sex Pistols to teatime TV in December 1976. 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. We got a standing ovation.) Eddie officially joined The Real Thing, replacing original member Kenny Davis. 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. 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. 29 on Billboard's "R&B Singles" and No. The Real Thing are a British Soul group from Liverpool, formed in 1970. Real Name: Ray Lake. There were some false steps in their later career. [16] Also in 2016, he was a judge at E.I.W.C 2016.[17]. Meanwhile, as Chris Amoo explains, The Real Things formative sound stemmed from a different side of the inner-city: Toxteth (aka Liverpool 8), a largely black working-class neighbourhood which has been likened to Harlem. 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. [8] The Real Thing are a British soul group formed in the 1970s. A new film aims to end that, writes Arwa Haider. No longer would they be called Vocal Perfection a gift to hostile critics. 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 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. In Groups: The Real Thing. The racial aspect is a landscape through the whole film; heres the era that we grew up in, says Amoo. [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. [9] Although because of the advent of social media that does give you an outlet; you dont have to go cap in hand to record companies now in order to get played. 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.. Pye put a sizeable marketing budget behind the release. The Real Thing are pleased to announce that for the past few months they have been busy filming a new feature-length documentary about their long and eventful career in music. 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. ray lake the real thing daughter . I really dont know; maybe I would have ended up working in a car factory or something like that. That, for me, is typical of Liverpool. Offer ends Sun 16th Jan. Stock photos, 360 images, vectors and videos. 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 -. Real Thing fans were being sent confusing signals about the band. 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. Songs like Children of the Ghetto proved too much of a stretch for the fans and so the band reverted to plan A: the Star-Wars-inspired, loved-up Can You Feel the Force? THE Real Thing star Eddy Amoo has died aged 74. 0 . [8] 1978 saw \"Whenever You Want My Love\" at #18, \"Let's Go Disco\" at #39 and \"Rainin' Through My Sunshine\" at #40. Singer-songwriter and the lead singer of English soul group, The Real Thing. Kenny Davis. For other inquiries, Contact Us. ne day in 1972, a pop picker called Tony Hall was driving through Piccadilly Circus when he noticed a Coca-Cola billboard. \"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. Eddie had co-founded a 1960s vocal band called The Chants, who wowed The Beatles with an audition at the legendary Cavern Club. Today, Cokes rights department would shut that rebrand down before you could say Id like to teach the world to sing. 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. We thought wed be playing to mixed audiences. They had arrived; four long years after Opportunity Knocks the Real Thing picked up the Daily Mirror Best New Group award. On 28 January 2022, the duo released their first album in over 40 years. In fact, not only was his daughter on 'Everybody Loves Raymond' named after Alexandra (the on-screen daughter was Ally), but . Inspired by his elder sibling, Chris formed his own vocal group, extravagantly-called The Sophisticated Soul Brothers. Through 1973 and 1974 Eddy Amoos input in the band continued, but further releases on EMI failed to chart. Menu. In addition to a string of British hits, the band charted internationally with their song " You to Me Are Everything ", which reached No. Instead they became the Real Thing. But what does Alexandra, who is now 30, do these days? 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. 1970s-present. To inquire about a licence to reproduce material, visit our Syndication site. We were duped about Sun City being separate, in that it was run by black people, he sighs. When I joined the Chants I was working a paper warehouse in town somewhere, and it was just a Saturday job basically. 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. \"Love's Such a Wonderful Thing\" peaked at #33 in 1977. "Love's Such a Wonderful Thing" peaked at No. ), but Alexandra is very obviously happy with the life she's chosen. red house restaurant allegany state park menu; keystone bar and grill nutrition facts; jeff passolt daughters; what did smurf do to julia; 26 Feb. call back after mammogram for asymmetry. And credit is definitely due. 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. Theyre now down to a duo, Chris Amoo and childhood friend Dave Smith (Chriss older brother Eddie died in 2018; fellow bandmate Ray Lake died in 2000), but The Real Things beat hasnt stopped for half a century. RELATED:Kevin Hart And His Comedian Friends Want You To Meditate With Them. Amoo was born on 14 October 1952 in Liverpool, England. email digishowbiz@the-sun.co.uk or call us direct on 02077824220. Ray Romano's kids mostly stay out of the spotlight, but who is his daughter Alexandra and what does she do? 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. Michael Jackson, 31 January 2018, 15:25 | Updated: 7 March 2018, 10:59. it's still earning the seasoned actor quite a large chunk of change, Kevin Hart And His Comedian Friends Want You To Meditate With Them, list of travel essentials as celebs like Kendall Jenner, Here's How Dave Chappelle Landed A $60 Million Netflix Deal. [7] "Can't Get By Without You (the Second Decade Remix)" rose almost as high to No. Ray's daughter, Alexandra Romano, got her start in Hollywood alongside her dad. [17][18] The single, released by AATW in 2005, peaked at No. 19 Ocak 2023 . I remember sitting there with Chris one day and I said Can you feel the force? and it just dropped in. 2019 Everything - The Real Thing Story (Documentary) Self Getting Started . 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.. Some things just fall together, like magic., The record was a big success; We thought that would put us where we wanted to be, says Eddy, At the time we were really being looked upon as a serious band and people were beginning to forget the pop thing, and we thought wed got it together here, but we were wrong!, Looking back, he now believes that they chose the wrong producer for the follow-up album Saints or Sinners?. 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.