The Real People

The Real People, or "The Realies" as they are known to their fans, formed in 1987 and over the following four years were as pivotal as The La's and The Stone Roses in reinventing rock & roll, after the synth-led new wave music which had dominated the 80s.

They signed to Columbia Records in 1989, releasing their self titled album and the singles "Open Up your Mind", "Window Pane"' and "The Truth"' all to critical acclaim. They sold over 100,000 copies of the album and made significant inroads into Europe, Japan and the US.

The follow up "Marshmellow Lane" led off with the top 40 single "Believer" but their label was sold to Sony and the band became an early victim of major label expansion at the expense of talent. CBS became an imprint of Sony and The Real People left. "Marshmellow Lane" sat on the shelf until some of the tracks from it were included in the compilation "The Calm Before the Storm" which celebrated Liverpool's contribution to Britpop.

There can be no doubt that the Oasis sound borrowed heavily from The Real People and given the circumstances it's obvious why one band, fresh from the other end of the M62, untainted by having been dropped and containing one Liam Gallagher would steal more than the Griffiths' thunder.