The Real Thing - http://theofficialrealthing.com, a Liverpool based vocal group, had its origins in the Merseybeat boom of the 1960s. Lead Singer Eddie Amoo was a former band member of The Chants, whose beat singles gathered considerable critical acclaim, although they failed to chart. After continuing to record for various record labels, the band name was eventually dropped.
Re-labelled as The Real Thing, and with brother Chris Amoo, Ray Lake and Dave Smith on board, they got their big break following an appearance on the \"Opportunity Knocks\" ITV talent show. Original members of the group who appeared on \"Opportunity Knocks\" were, Chris Amoo, Kenny Davis (deceased) Dave Smith, Eddie Ankrah, and Ray Lake(deceased).
They were spotted by an ex-Radio Luxembourg DJ, Tony Hall, who played a significant part in their early career development. Even so, success was not immediate, and contracts they signed with a couple of major record labels came to nothing. Then, in 1975, they signed to Pye Records. Touring as backing singers with David Essex for a spell also helped to increase their profile.
With a song written and produced by Ken Gold and Mick Denne, The Real Thing finally emerged in 1976 when \"You to me are Everything\" sailed up to the number one slot in the UK Singles Chart. The same song would be re-released as 'The Decade Remix' in 1986 and achieve an even higher UK chart position of number three, being remixed by Froggy, Simon Harris and KC.
This first success led to nine hits on Pye over a three year period, including \"Can't Get By Without You\", and \"Can You Feel The Force\", both of which were top five success stories.
