Real Life

Guitarist/vocalist Dave Sterry and synthesizer player/violinist Richard Zatorski had been members of the final line-up of 70’s Australian band Kush.

They began writing songs together in 1980 and by 1981 had acquired a bass player (Alan Johnson) and a drum machine. By 1982, a real drummer (Danny Simcic) had been added to the lineup and fashion-conscious Melbourne audiences flocked to see this new electropop band.

With their sights unashamedly on the international market, Real Life took musical inspiration from England’s New Romantic movement. Everything from their clothes to their stage persona was carefully chosen and they were soon signed to a prestigious management company, record company, publishing company and booking agency.

Real Life’s debut single, Send Me An Angel (June 1983), reached #1 in Germany in May 1984. The song was eventually adopted by the American baseball team the California Angels as their theme song.

The group returned to the charts in 1984 with Catch Me I’m Falling and Open Hearted but lost their recording contract after their second album, Flame, proved a commercial and critical failure.

Dave Sterry 
Vocals, guitar
Richard Zatorski 
Keyboards, violin
Steve Williams
Keyboards
Alan Johnson
Bass
Danny Simcic
Drums
George Pappas
Keyboards

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