Racey are a British pop group, formed in 1976 in

Weston-super-Mare Weston-super-Mare, also known simply as Weston, is a seaside town in North Somerset, England. It lies by the Bristol Channel south-west of Bristol between Worlebury Hill and Bleadon Hill. It includes the suburbs of Mead Vale, Milton, Oldmixon ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, 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 "Lay Your Love on Me" is a pop song by the British pop group Racey; it was their second single release. The song was written by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, produced by Mickie Most and released in 1978 on the RAK Records label. It was their ...

" and "

Some Girls ''Some Girls'' is the 14th UK and 16th US album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 9 June 1978 by Rolling Stones Records. It was recorded in sessions held between October 1977 and February 1978 at Pathé Marconi Studios in ...

". Their 1979 song "Kitty" was an international hit in 1981 for

Toni Basil Antonia Christina Basilotta (born September 22, 1943), better known by her stage name Toni Basil, is an American singer, choreographer, dancer, actress, and director. Her song "Mickey" topped the charts in the US, Canada and Australia and hit th ...

when she reworked it into "

Mickey Mickey is a given name and nickname, almost always masculine and often a short form (hypocorism) of Michael (given name), Michael, and occasionally a surname. Notable people and characters with the name include: People Given name or nickname Men ...

Career

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 A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

circuit, they came to the attention of

Mickie Most Michael Peter Hayes (20 June 1938 – 30 May 2003), known as Mickie Most, was an English record producer behind scores of hit singles for acts such as the Animals, Herman's Hermits, the Nashville Teens, Donovan, Lulu, Suzi Quatro, Hot Chocolate ...

. Racey's first single, "Baby It's You", was penned by Smokie members

Chris Norman Christopher Ward Norman (born 25 October 1950) is an English soft rock singer. Norman was the original lead singer of the English rock band Smokie (band), Smokie, (1964–1986), who found success in Europe in the 1970s. "Stumblin' In", a 1978 ...

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 The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in late 1978 through to early 1979. Their third single, "Some Girls", was also written by

Mike Chapman Michael Donald Chapman (born 13 April 1947) is an Australian-American record producer and songwriter who was a major force in the British pop music industry in the 1970s. He created a string of hit singles for artists including The Sweet, Suz ...

and reached No.2 in the UK charts. ("Some Girls" was later recorded by

Barry Manilow Barry Manilow (born Barry Alan Pincus; June 17, 1943) is an American singer and songwriter with a career that spans seven decades. His hit recordings include "Could It Be Magic", " Somewhere Down the Road", " Mandy", "I Write the Songs", " Can ...

for his 1982 "Here Comes the Night" album.) 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 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

and

Nicky Chinn Nicholas Barry Chinn (born 16 May 1945) is an English-American songwriter and record producer. Together with Mike Chapman he had a long string of hit singles in the UK and US in the 1970s and early 1980s, including several international number- ...

. The band formally split in 1985. In 1990, Racey reformed after Wilson and Fursdon were approached to play at a Fourth of July party. Miller died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

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 August 2021, the band released "It's a Glorious Day".

Discography

Albums

Studio albums

Compilation albums

Singles

References

External links

* {{Authority control English pop music groups English glam rock groups English new wave musical groups People from Weston-super-Mare Rak Records artists Musical groups established in 1976 Musical groups disestablished in 1985