The Real People

The Real People are an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1988. The band consists of Tony Griffiths (bass guitar, vocals), Chris Griffiths (guitar, vocals), Martin Lappin (guitar) and Tony McGuigan (drums).

Formed in 1987 by brothers Christopher and Anthony Griffiths, the original line-up consisted of Chris Griffiths (guitar, vocals), Tony Griffiths (bass, vocals), Dave Reilly (drums, ex-China Crisis), Jay Norton (keyboards, ex-It's Immaterial), and Gordon Morgan (guitar, ex-Black). Tony Elson replaced Dave Reilly on drums and was later replaced by Garry Ford. Gordon Morgan was replaced by Sean Simpson, followed by Alan Gillibrand, then by Ian 'Sitar'.

The band

Originally influenced by The Stone Roses and the Inspiral Carpets, as well as by the Mersey sound of the 1960s, the band started playing in local clubs and later toured as support act for the Inspiral Carpets, Ocean Colour Scene, Nelly Furtado, The Pixies, Simple Minds, David Bowie, and others throughout the 1990s and onwards.

Real People

Real People is an NBC reality television series that aired from 1979 to 1984, on Wednesday and then Sunday nights. Its initial episodes aired live in the Eastern and Central Time Zones.

Synopsis

Real People featured a panel of seated hosts in front of a large studio audience. The hosts introduced pre-filmed segments and engaged in comedic banter about them. Each segment was a visit to someone with a unique occupation or hobby. Occasionally someone was brought into the studio to interact with the audience.

In its early seasons, Real People was NBC's most popular series, often scoring at the top of the ratings, and was a rare hit for the network at a time when NBC was a distant third in the ratings and struggling with numerous flops. Segments included "funny pictures" and funny newspaper errors sent in by viewers, who were awarded a Real People T-shirt. According to a 2008 interview with producer George Schlatter, who also co-created Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In for NBC, the series also covered serious topics, such as war heroes.

Real People (album)

Real People is the fourth studio album by American R&B band Chic, released on Atlantic Records in 1980. It includes the singles "Rebels Are We" (US R&B #8, Pop #61), "Real People" (#51 R&B, #79 Pop), and "26" (issued only in the UK).

The album was one of four written and produced by Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers in 1980, the other three being Sister Sledge's Love Somebody Today, Sheila and B. Devotion's King of the World, and Diana Ross' multi-platinum selling album Diana.

The album peaked at #30 on the US Albums chart and #8 on the US R&B chart, a modest commercial success in comparison both to the Diana Ross project and their previous albums, most likely due to the so-called "anti-disco backlash". Though in spite of the backlash, all of the album cuts peaked at #29 on the American dance charts.

Real People was released on CD by Atlantic Records/Warner Music in 1991. It was digitally remastered and reissued by Wounded Bird Records in 2003.

Track listing

All tracks written by Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers.

Real People (song)

"Real People" is from Chic's fourth album Real People. It was the second single from this album and like its predecessor, featured a solo lead vocal by Luci Martin. Exploring new directions in the post-Disco era, CHIC continued incorporating harder rock elements into their sound as evident by Nile Rodgers' blaring guitar solos which kick-off and end the song. Audiences were caught off guard by the new CHIC sound. Prompting some radio programmers to flip the single and play the more upbeat/dancable B-side "Chip Off The Old Block" instead of the A-side. This, combined with other factors, resulted in the single not making much impact on the charts; peaking at #51 on Billboard's "Hot Soul/Black Singles" chart and #79 on Billboard's "Hot 100" chart. In the UK, the song "26" was released as a single in lieu of "Real People". It failed to chart.

Track listings