The Real People

The Real People Bio

The Real People, from Liverpool, England, were one of the very first bands to play what is today known as �Britpop�, and have been quoted by Oasis as being one of their major influences. They were formed (as Jojo and The Real People) in 1988 by brothers Christopher and Anthony Griffiths, the original lineup consisted of Chris Griffiths (guitar and vocals) Tony Griffiths (bass and vocals) Tony Elson (drums) (later to be replaced by Garry Ford) and Sean Simpson (guitar) (later to be replaced by Alan Gillibrand).

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 and Ocean Colour Scene.

In 1990 they were signed by Warners on the Columbia label, and released their self titled debut album ''The Real People'' in 1991. All the songs were written by Chris and Tony Griffiths. This reached #59 in the album charts. Despite having five singles that reached the top 75, the band was subsequently dropped, and they went on to start their own label Egg Records.

Their second album, ''What's On The Outside'', wasn't released until 1996. Although another album was reported to be in preparation in 2001, it was never released.

Despite this the band have continued to play live. In 2002 they supported Meatloaf at Leeds and toured the UK as support for Simple Minds.

The Real People and Oasis

Oasis were still unsigned when Noel Gallagher first met Tony Griffiths of The Real People when he was roadie to the Inspiral Carpets. In 1992, determined to make a professional sounding demo, he contacted Tony and asked him to help record something decent to send out to record companies.

Paul Moody of the N.M.E reported:-
'Used to the hard-knock school of the Manchester scene, Oasis were shocked by the co-operation of their scouse mates. "Because we'd got our own eight-track studio we let them come down to the Dock Road and record there," says Tony. "They were quite naive about recording, so we'd show them how to play the songs, how to think about the structure of the songs and the dynamics. We were just helping them because that's what bands do in Liverpool. I don't think it's quite the same in Manchester, because no one had done anything for them before."'

The result was the now legendary eight song music demo recorded in Liverpool in 1993 that got Oasis their first record deal. The tape included many of the songs that eventually featured on the band�s first album ''Definitely Maybe''.

#"Rock 'N' Roll Star"
#"Strange Thing"
#"Bring It On Down"
#"Fade Away "
#"Columbia"
#"Cloudburst"
#"D'Yer Wanna Be A Spaceman"
#"Married With Children"

Armed with the demo, Oasis finally got their deal and the band ended the year with a series of low-key support dates with The Verve [then just plain Verve] and the Real People.

The white-label demo version of Columbia caused a buzz in music industry circles. As plugger Gary Blackburn recalls: "When we first heard the Oasis tapes over at Creation, Alan McGee said: ' Right Gary, you're at Wembley. It's the World Cup Final. The ball's on the penalty spot and there's no goal keeper. If you stick this one away, you've won the cup. And it turned out to be like that. It was incredibly easy. We started off with this white-label of Columbia., took it to a few radio stations and they put it on the playlist straight away."

Chris and Tony Griffiths' input into the writing and recording process has since been fully acknowledged by Oasis. Tony Griffiths is credited with providing vocals on ''Definitely Maybe''. Chris Griffiths also co-wrote "Rockin Chair" with Noel in 1993. This was released as the B side to the single of "Roll With It" in 1995, and also appears on the album ''The Masterplan''. (Chris Griffiths also claimed to have actually written the lyrics for "Columbia", with Liam Gallagher being responsible for the chorus). They are both included in the doumentary made for the ''Definitely Maybe'' 10th anniversary DVD.

Current work

Despite having relatively little chart success themselves, The Real People have received massive critical acclaim from the music press and from their more successful contemporaries. Chris and Tony Griffiths have also written chart hits for several other artists, including Oasis, Ocean Colour Scene and Cher (The number 7 hit ''One by one'' from her covers album It's a Man's World).

The Griffiths brothers have continued to champion new talent, recently recording a demo for the launch of West London band The History. They are currently co-writing songs with singer/songwriter Alistair Griffin for his second album, due for release in 2006.

Discography

Albums

#1991 ''The Real People'' UK#59
#1996 ''What's On The Outside''

Singles

#1990 "Window Pane" UK#60
#1991 "Open Up Your Mind (Let Me In)" UK#70
#1992 "The Truth" UK#41
#1992 "Believer" UK#38
#1992 "Too Much Too Young"
#1995 "Bring You Down"
#1995 "The Real People EP"
#1995 "Every Vision Of You"
#1996 "Rayners Lane"
#1996 "Rolling Stone"
#1997 "The People In The Telly"

Copyright Citations

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The Real People Biography