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Racey
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Richard Gower, 2006
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, England |
| Genres | Power pop, glam rock (before 1980), new wave |
| Years active | 1976–1985 (original lineup) 1990–present (Racey) 1991-present (Racey featuring Richard Gower) |
| Labels | RAK Records |
| Past members | Richard Gower Phil Fursdon Pete Miller (†2003) Steven Lawrence Clive Wilson Nigel "Woody" Woods |
| Website | www |
Racey are 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 in 1981 for Toni Basil when she reworked it into "Mickey".
The original line-up featured Richard Gower (born 1955, Hackney, London, England; vocals, keyboards, piano, guitar), Phil Fursdon (guitar, vocals), Pete Miller (bass, vocals) and Clive Wilson (drums, percussion, vocals). After early success in their local pub circuit, they came to the attention of Mickie 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] Their third single, "Some Girls", was also written by Mike Chapman and reached No.2 in the UK charts.[1] ("Some Girls" was later recorded by Barry Manilow for his 1982 "Here Comes the Night" album.)
The only album they made with the original line-up was their 1979 debut Smash and Grab. The band's hits were either written and/or produced by Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn.[1] The band 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, which did not match their previous successes.
The band formally split in 1985.[3]
In 1990, Racey reformed after Wilson and Fursdon were approached to play at a Fourth of July party.[3] Miller died of cancer on 6 May 2003.[2][3] In 1991, Richard Gower formed his own version of the group with Gary Combes, Steven Lawrence and Simon Ryland[4] Both groups are still active and performing. 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.
In August 2021, the band released "It's a Glorious Day".[5]
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUS [6] |
AUT [7] |
GER [2] |
NZ [8] |
SWE [9] | ||
| Smash and Grab | 5 | 15 | 29 | 10 | 32 | |
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| The Best of Racey | |
| Say Wow! (Greatest & Latest) |
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| Lay Your Love on Me |
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| Some Girls |
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| The Very Best Of |
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| Racey |
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| Lay Your Love on Me |
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| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certification | Album | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [10][11] |
AUS [6] |
AUT [12] |
BE (FLA) [13] |
DEN [14] |
GER [15] |
IRE [16] |
NL [17] |
NZ [18] |
SA [19] |
SWE [20] |
SWI [21] | ||||
| "Baby It's You" | 1978 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | |
| "Lay Your Love on Me" | 3 | 1 | — | 3 | 4 | 14 | 2 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | Smash and Grab | ||
| "Some Girls" | 1979 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 2 |
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| "Boy Oh Boy" | 22 | 12 | 3 | 14 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 24 | 12 | 2 | — | 2 |
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| "Such a Night" | 1980 | — | 94 | — | — | 4 | 13 | — | 31 | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Rest of My Life" | — | 45 | — | — | 6 | 44 | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | ||
| "Runaround Sue" | 13 | 91 | — | 4 | 7 | 36 | 9 | 13 | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Shame" | 1981 | — | — | — | 32 | — | 59 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Little Darlin'" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "There's a Party Going On" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Not Too Young to Get Married" | 1982 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Little Girls Don't, But Big Girls Do" | 1992 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Party On!" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Cry Cry Time" | 1996 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Say Wow! (Greatest & Latest) | |
| "It's a Glorious Day"[23] | 2021 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||||
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