Real Life - Down Comes The Hammer (1986)

Formed in Melbourne, Australia in 1981 by keyboardist Richard Zatorski and vocalist/guitarist David Sterry Real Life is a new wave / synthpop group best known for their international hit “Send Me an Angel.” Adding Allan Johnson (bass) and Danny Simcic (drums) to the band’s line-up, their manager Glen Wheatley was so impressed by one of their early songs - “Send Me An Angel” – that he set up his own label, Wheatley Records, to release it. The 1983 single was an international hit, reaching Number 6 in Australia, Number 29 in the United States and #1 in Germany. The band released their debut album, Heartland, in 1983, which featured the previous hit as well as their next smash single “Catch Me I’m Falling.” The group released the remix EP Master Mix in 1984 and followed that with Flame, their sophomore album, in 1985. The album reached Number 42 in Australia but failed to chart elsewhere. Richard Zatorski, the keyboardist that started the band with David Sterry, left the group and the group was never able to fully recover from his absence. Their US label, Curb Records, released the compilation album Down Comes the Hammer (1986), which featured tracks from the first two albums plus a song called “Babies,” which had been penned by Holly Knight, Michael Des Barres, and Mike Chapman. The song became an underground hit and was played on new wave-oriented radio stations. “Babies” became the group’s third most recognizable song after “Send Me An Angel” and “Catch Me I’m Falling.” However, the band’s commercial standing was continuing to decline. Curb Records released a remix of “Send Me an Angel” in 1989 and followed that with a compilation entitled Send Me an Angel ’89, which was another compilation. The group returned in 1990 with the album Lifetime, which was not a success. Subsequent albums – Happy (1997), Imperfection (2004), and Sirens (2020) – were lovingly embraced by fans but were not commercially successful. Thanks to “Send Me an Angel,” the group is still fondly remembered and was introduced to a new generation of listeners with it was featured in the 2013 vide game Grand Theft Auto V.