Racey
Racey were a British pop group, formed in 1976 in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, England, by Clive Wilson and Phil Fursdon. They achieved success in the late 1970s and early 1980s, with hits such as "Lay Your Love on Me" and "Some Girls". Their 1979 song "Kitty" was an international hit in 1981 for Toni Basil when she reworked it into "Mickey".
Career
The original line-up featured Richard Gower, Phil Fursdon, Pete Miller and Clive Wilson. After early success in their local pub circuit, they came to the attention of Mickie Most. 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. 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". 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.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. 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.
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)
- *
- "Love’s A Riot"
- "Such A Night"
- "There’s A Party Going On"
- "Lay Your Cards On The Table"
- "She's A Winner"
- "Some Girls"
- "Lay Your Love On Me"
- "Kitty"
- "Rah Stateway"
- "Boy Oh Boy"
- "We Are Racey"
''Lay Your Love On Me'' (1996)
- *
- "Some Girls"
- "Lay Your Love On Me"
- "She's A Winner"
- "There's A Party Going On"
- "Rah Stateway"
- "Runaround Sue"
- "Love's A Riot"
- "Such A Night"
- "Lay Your Cards On The Table"
- "Boy Oh Boy"
- "Kitty"
- "Not Too Young to Get Married"
- "Rock It"
- "Little Darling"
- "Rest Of My Life"
- "Baby It's You"
- "We are Racey"
Singles
| Year | A-Side | B-Side | Label | Other |
| 1978 | "Baby It's You" | "Rudi"" | RAK 277 | |
| 1978 | "Lay Your Love on Me | "I Believed You" | RAK 284 | UK #3, Ireland #2, Australia #1 |
| 1979 | "Some Girls" | "Fighting Chance"" | RAK 291 | UK #2, Ireland #2, South Africa #1, Australia #1 |
| 1979 | "Boy Oh Boy" | "Sensational Buzz"" | RAK 297 | UK #22, Ireland #9, South Africa #2, Australia #12 |
| 1980 | "Such a Night" | "There's A Party Going On"" | RAK 301 | Australia #94 |
| 1980 | "Rest of My Life" | "Cry Baby Cry"" | RAK 317 | Australia #45 |
| 1980 | "Runaround Sue" | "Hold Me Close" | RAK 325 | UK #13, Ireland #9, Australia #91 |
| 1981 | "Shame" | "Let Me Take You Home Tonight" | RAK 329 | |
| 1981 | "Little Darlin'" | "Rock It" | RAK 335 | |
| 1981 | "There's A Party Going On" | "High Street Sunset" | RAK 338 | |
| 1982 | "Not Too Young to Get Married" | "Love Games" | RAK 348 | |
| 1996 | "Cry Cry Time" | CMC records |
List of Songs
The following is a sortable table of all songs by Racey:- The column Song list the song title; bold means released as a single.
- The column Writer lists who wrote the song.
- The column Time shows the length of the song.
- The column Album lists the album the song is featured on.
- The column Producer lists the producer of the song.
- The column Year lists the year in which the song was released.
| Song | Writer | Time | Album | Producer | Year | Other |
| Baby It's You | Chris Norman, Pete Spencer | 4:32 | non-album-song | Mickie Most | 1978 | A-side of Rudi |
| Boy Oh Boy | Gloria Macari, Roger Ferris | 2:54 | Smash and Grab | Mickie Most | 1979 | A-side of Sensational Buzz |
| Crazy | 3:40 | The Best Of 2006 | 2006 | |||
| Cry Baby Cry | Richard Gower | 2:37 | The Best Of Racey | Racey | 1980 | B-side of Rest of My Life |
| Cry Cry Time | ? | 4:04 | non-album-song | 1986 | A-side of ? | |
| Fighting Chance | Richard Gower | 3:47 | The Best Of Racey | Mickie Most | 1979 | B-side of Some Girls |
| High Street Sunset | Richard Gower | non-album-song | Racey | 1981 | B-side of There's A Party Going On | |
| Hold Me Close | Richard Gower | 2:44 | The Best Of Racey | Racey | 1980 | B-side of Runaround Sue |
| I Believed You | Richard Gower | 3:07 | The Best Of Racey | Mickie Most | 1978 | B-side of Lay Your Love on Me |
| I Mean It This Time | 3:10 | Say Wow! | 1996 | |||
| Judy in Disguise | John Fred, Andrew Bernard | 3:44 | The Best Of | 2006 | ||
| Kitty | Nicky Chinn, Mike Chapman | 3:38 | Smash and Grab | Mickie Most | 1979 | |
| Lay Your Cards On The Table | Steve Glenn, David Most, Mike Burns | 3:08 | Smash and Grab | Mickie Most | 1979 | |
| Lay Your Love on Me | Nicky Chinn, Mike Chapman | 3:16 | Smash and Grab | Mickie Most | 1978 | A-side of I Believed You |
| Let Me Take You Home Tonight | Richard Gower | 3:26 | non-album-song | Mickie Most | 1981 | B-side of Shame |
| Little Darlin' | Maurice Williams | 2:40 | non-album-song | Mickie Most | 1981 | A-side of Rock It |
| Little Girls | 2:50 | The Best Of 2006 | 2006 | |||
| Little Girls | 2:46 | 2006 | ||||
| Love Games | Richard Gower | 3:19 | non-album-song | Richard Gower | 1982 | B-side of Not Too Young to Get Married |
| Love's A Riot | Nicky Chinn, Mike Chapman | 2:54 | Smash and Grab | Mickie Most | 1979 | |
| Mad About The Girl | 3:14 | |||||
| Not Too Young to Get Married | Phil Spector, Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry | 3:01 | non-album-song | Steve Glen | 1982 | A-side of Love Games |
| Rah Stateway | Richard Gower | 3:47 | Smash and Grab | Mickie Most | 1979 | |
| Rest of My Life | Steve Wolfe, Ronnie Scott | 3:36 | The Best Of Racey | Mickie Most | 1980 | A-side of Cry Baby Cry |
| Rock It | Richard Gower | 2:42 | non-album-song | Mickie Most | 1978 | B-side of Little Darlin" |
| Rudi | Richard Gower | 2:53 | non-album-song | Mickie Most | 1978 | B-side of Baby It's You |
| Runaround Sue | Dion DiMucci and Ernie Maresca | 2:57 | The Best Of Racey | Mickie Most | 1980 | A-side of Hold Me Close |
| Satin 'N' Lace | 4:13 | The Best Of 2006 | 2006 | |||
| Say Wow | 3:53 | |||||
| Sensational Buzz | Richard Gower | 3:23 | The Best Of Racey | Mickie Most | 1979 | B-side of Boy Oh Boy |
| Shame | Richard Gower | 2:35 | non-album-song | Mickie Most | 1981 | A-side of Let Me Take You Home Tonight |
| She's A Winner | Richard Gower | 2:49 | Smash and Grab | Mickie Most | 1979 | |
| She's Different | 3:52 | Say Wow! | 1996 | |||
| Some Girls | Nicky Chinn, Mike Chapman | 3:46 | Smash and Grab | Mickie Most | 1979 | A-side of Fighting Chance |
| Still The One | 4:08 | The Best Of 2006 | 2006 | |||
| Such a Night | Steve Glenn, David Most, Mike Burns | 2:40 | Smash and Grab | Mickie Most | 1980 | A-side of There's A Party Going On |
| There's A Party Going On | Jimmie Cameron | 3:10 | Smash and Grab | Mickie Most | 1980 | B-side of Such a Night |
| There's A Party Going On | Jimmie Cameron | 3:10 | Smash and Grab | Mickie Most | 1981 | A-side of High Street Sunset |
| We Are Racey | Richard Gower | 3:05 | Smash and Grab | Mickie Most | 1979 | |
| Worlds Apart | 3:43 | The Best Of 2006 | 2006 |