Racey

Racey
The original lineup of Racey, 1979.
Background information
Origin	Weston-super-Mare, United Kingdom
Genres	Power pop, glam rock (before 1980), new wave
Years active	1976-1985
Labels	RAK Records
Associated acts	Richard Gower's Racey (1992 to present), The Original Racey (1990 to present)
Website	www.racey.net www.raceyweb.com/history.htm
Past members	Richard Gower, Phil Fursdon, Pete Miller, Clive Wilson

Racey were a British pop group, formed in 1976 in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, England, by Clive Wilson and Phil Fursdon.^[1] They achieved success in the late 1970s and early 1980s, with hits such as "Lay Your Love on Me" and "Some Girls".^[2] Their 1979 song "Kitty" was an international hit for Toni Basil in 1981, who kept the song's melody and structure but changed the lyric slightly to describe the narrator's preoccupation with a man named "Mickey" rather than a woman named Kitty.

Career

The original line-up featured Richard Gower (born 1955, Hackney, London, England; vocals and keyboards), Phil Fursdon (vocals and guitar), Pete Miller (vocals and bass) and Clive Wilson (vocals and drums). After early success in their local pub circuit, they came to the attention of Mickey Most.^[1] Racey's first single, "Baby It's You", was penned by Smokie members Chris Norman and Pete Spencer and released in 1978. Their second single, "Lay Your Love on Me", was the group's first hit single, peaking at No.3 in the UK Singles Chart in late 1978 through to early 1979.^[1] The third single, "Some Girls", was written for the American band Blondie, for whom Mike Chapman also produced, but was instead given to Racey as a follow-up to "Lay Your Love on Me".^[1] The band then parted company with Chinn and Chapman after the album was released and although they continued to play and tour they released only a few more singles that did not match their previous successes. The only album they made under the original line-up was their 1979 debut album Smash and Grab. The band's hits were either written and/or produced by Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn.^[1]

The band formally split in 1985, and since then two separate groups named Racey exist, one featuring band member Richard Gower and the other featuring Clive Wilson, Phil Fursdon and Pete Miller, the original bass player.^[1] Miller died of cancer on 6 May 2003. Several albums and CDs with re-recordings of the original hits as well as new material are available from both of the present day versions of the group.

Richard Gower appeared in the Countdown Spectacular 2 concert series in Australia between late August and early September 2007. He sang two songs, "Lay Your Love On Me" and "Some Girls".

In May 2009, the reissue of Racey's Smash And Grab album was available on a double CD through 7Ts Records, a division of Cherry Red Records in London. It included the original 1979 album, along with all other recordings made for RAK Records between 1978 and 1982.

Discography

Albums

Smash and grab (1979)

1. "Love’s a Riot" (Chapman / Chinn)
2. "Such a Night" (S. Glen / D. Most / M.Burns)
3. "There’s a Party Going On" (J. Cameron)
4. "Lay Your Cards on the Table" (S. Glen /D. Most / M. Burns)
5. "She's a Winner" (R. Gower)
6. "Some Girls" (Chapman / Chinn)
7. "Lay Your Love on Me" (Chapman / Chinn)
8. "Kitty" (Chapman / Chinn)
9. "Rah Stateway" (R. Gower)
10. "Boy oh Boy" (G. Macari / R. Ferris)
11. "We are Racey" (R. Gower)

(produced by Mickie Most in 1979)

Lay Your Love On Me (1996)

1. Some Girls
2. Lay Your Love On Me
3. She's A Winner
4. There's A Party Going On
5. Rah Stateway
6. Runaround Sue
7. Love's A Riot
8. Such A Night
9. Lay Your Cards On The Table
10. Boy Oh Boy
11. Kitty
12. Not Too Young To Get Married
13. Rock It
14. Little Darling
15. Rest Of My Life
16. Baby It's You
17. We are Racey

(recorded between 1978-1996)

Singles

• "Baby It's You" (1978)
• "Lay Your Love on Me" (1978, UK #3) (Ireland #2) (1979, Australia #1)
• "Some Girls" (1979, UK #2) (Ireland #2) (1979, South Africa #1) (1979, Australia #1)
• "Boy Oh Boy" (1979, UK #22) (Ireland #9) (1979, South Africa #2)
• "Such a Night" (1980)
• "Rest of My Life" (1980)
• "Runaround Sue" (1980, UK #13) (Ireland #9)
• "Shame" (1980)
• "Little Darlin'" (1981)
• "There's A Party Going On" (1981)
• "Not Too Young To Get Married" (1982)
• "Cry Cry Time" (1996)^[3]

References

1. "Racey | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 2015-10-16.
2. Racey website
3. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 447. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.

Bibliography

• Kacey Traver. The Life of Racey Raver, 2009, Penguin House Books.

External links

• Official website