Racey

Racey

Company type	Band
Industry	Music
Founded	1976 in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, England
Founder	Clive Wilson, Phil Fursdon
Headquarters	Weston-super-Mare , England
Products	Pop and rock music

Racey is a British pop and rock band that originated in 1976 in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, England. The group was founded by Clive Wilson and Phil Fursdon. They gained popularity during the late 1970s and early 1980s with well-known tracks such as "Lay Your Love on Me" and "Some Girls". Their 1979 track "Kitty" was internationally recognized in 1981 after being adapted by Toni Basil into the hit "Mickey".

Career

The initial members included Richard Gower (vocals, keyboards, guitar), Phil Fursdon (guitar, vocals), Pete Miller (bass, vocals), and Clive Wilson (drums, vocals). Following their early achievements on the local pub scene, they caught the eye of producer Mickie Most. Their debut single, "Baby It's You", written by Chris Norman and Pete Spencer of Smokie, was released in 1978. This was followed by "Lay Your Love on Me", which climbed to No.3 on the UK Singles Chart later that year. Their third release, "Some Girls", written by Mike Chapman, reached No.2 on the charts. ("Some Girls" was subsequently covered by Barry Manilow on his 1982 album Here Comes the Night.)

Their only album featuring the original ensemble was the 1979 debut Smash and Grab. Most of their successful songs were created and produced by Mike Chapman alongside Nicky Chinn. After releasing this album, the band ended their collaboration with Chinn and Chapman. Although they continued to perform live, later singles did not achieve the same level of chart success.

The group officially split in 1985.

In 1990, Racey reunited when Wilson and Fursdon received an invitation to perform at a Fourth of July celebration. Pete Miller died from cancer on 6 May 2003. In 1991, Richard Gower formed a separate incarnation of Racey with Gary Combes, Steven Lawrence, and Simon Ryland. Both versions of the band continue to be active, producing albums and CDs that include re-recorded versions of their classic hits as well as new songs.

In August 2021, Racey issued a new single titled "It's a Glorious Day".

Studio albums

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions
		AUS	AUT	GER	NZ	SWE
Smash and Grab	Released: September 1979 Label: Rak Formats: LP, MC	5	15	29	10	32

Compilation albums

Title	Album information
The Best of Racey	Issued: August 1993 Record Label: EMI Medium: CD
Say Wow! (Greatest & Latest)	Year of release: 1996 Record Company: CMC Medium: CD Exclusive to Denmark
Lay Your Love on Me	Launch date: February 1996 Label: Disky Format: CD Distributed only in Europe
Some Girls	Released: February 1998 Issuer: Wise Buy Format: CD Available only in Europe
The Very Best Of	Release year: 1998 Format: CD Label: Go On Deluxe Exclusive release in Sweden
Racey	Released: 1998 Issuer: Rem!nd Medium: CD Initially released in the Netherlands; reissued in the UK in 2006 as The Best Of
Lay Your Love on Me	Year of release: 1999 Label: Digimode Format: CD Netherlands-only distribution

Singles

Title	Year	Highest chart rankings												Certification	Album
		UK	AUS	AUT	BEL (FL)	DEN	GER	IRE	NL	NZ	SA	SWE	SWI
"Baby It's You"	1978	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—		Template:N/A
"Lay Your Love on Me"		3	1	—	3	4	14	2	2	1	—	—	—	DEN: Silver certification	Smash and Grab
"Some Girls"	1979	2	1	9	3	2	2	2	4	1	1	11	2	DEN: Silver certification
"Boy Oh Boy"		22	12	3	14	1	3	9	24	12	2
DEN: Silver certification
"Such a Night"	"1980"	"—"	"94"	"—"	"—"	"4"	"13"	"—"	"31"	"—"	"—"	"—"	"—"
"Rest of My Life"	"1980"	"—"	"45"	"—"	"—"	"6"	"44"	"—"	"—"	"—"	"—"	"—"	"—"
"Runaround Sue"	"1980"	"13"	"91"	"—"	"4"	"7"	"36"	"9"	"13"	"—"	"—"	"—"	"—"
"Shame"	"1981"	"—"	"—"	"—"	"32"	"—"	"59"	"—"	"—"	"—"	"—"	"—"	"—"
"Little Darlin'"	colspan=12 align=center | —
"There's a Party Going On"|1981 colspan=12 align=center | —
"Not Too Young to Get Married"|1982 colspan=12 align=center | —
"Little Girls Don't, But Big Girls Do"|1992 colspan=12 align=center | —
"Party On!" |1992 colspan=12 align=center | —
"Cry Cry Time"|1996 colspan=12 align=center | —		'Say Wow! (Greatest & Latest)'
"It's a Glorious Day"|2021 colspan=12 align=center | —		Template:N/A Non-album single