The band originally consisted of David Sterry (lead vocals/guitar), Richard Zatorski (violin/keyboard), Alan Johnson (bass) and Danny Simcic (drums). Steve Williams (keyboard) replaced Zatorski in 1986, who was then replaced by George Pappas in 1996 after a long hiatus of band activity.
Real Life released their second and final album with the original lineup in 1985 titled Flame, which spawned minor hits "One Blind Love" and "Face To Face" although neither the album nor the singles repeated their previous success. The first single "No Shame" failed to chart, a video was shot for the second single "Face to Face" and it got airplay in Australia but nothing in the way of success. In 1986, they recorded the controversial song "Babies", which was even less successful, for a new North American release Down Comes the Hammer. "Babies", was the first new recording by the band that was not written by David Sterry and Zatorski. There were two other new songs and a re-mix of "Send Me an Angel". Incredibly this was to be the first of three best of albums after the band had only recorded two studio LPs. Zatorski left the band due to management pressure and attended law school and is now a practising lawyer in Melbourne.
At some stage Zatorski formed a new band called Zatorski, and recorded an updated version of "Send Me an Angel". In 1989 Real Life released a new version of "Send me an Angel", titled "Send Me an Angel '89", which fared slightly better than the original in the United States. The video for the 1989 version was identical to the original except Zatorski was edited out of all shots. The Australian video of "Send Me An Angel '89" was shot in Ormond College, The University of Melbourne, with Steve Williams on keyboard. In 1990, they released Lifetime, their first album of all-new material in five years, which spawned minor hits with "God Tonight" and "Kiss The Ground".
Steve Williams (keyboard) was the post Zatorski musician and was followed by George Pappas. A falling out occurred between Sterry and the remaining two original members Simcic and Johnson.
In 1998, they released Happy, which was followed in 2004 by Imperfection, this time featuring only David Sterry and George Pappas. In November of 2005, George announced his departure from the band. David has continued to carry the band name on his own. In 2004 toured the West coast of the U.S. to promote the album Imperfection with additional member Scott Ingram on drums. For this tour the band consisted of David Sterry, George Pappas and Scott Ingram.
In 2006, a new album of new mixes Send Me an Angel was released, bring the total number of versions of the song to approximately seventeen, including: * 1983: the original recording * 1983: the extended version * 1986: "Down Comes the Hammer" version * 1989: 4 versions in remix form on the "Send Me an Angel 89" single * 2006: 10 versions in remix form on the Send Me an Angel album which has the same cover as the 2004 release Send Me an Angel - Real Life's Greatest Hits, which has two 1989 versions of the song.
In spring 2008 Real Life (David Sterry) performed live for the first time in the Philippines along with When in Rome and A Flock of Seagulls as part of the Lost 80's Tour in Manila.
In 2009 they released a sixth album of covers of 80s songs called Send Me an Angel - '80s Synth Essentials.
In 2020 they released their seventh album Sirens.
There is another artist with the same name:
2. A performer by the name of Castle uses the moniker "Real Life" on the NinjaTune label (and its sublabel NTone) where they have released several 'space-bass' electronic works, including "Leysh" which featured vocals by Natasha Atlas. These songs are generally in a mid-tempo ambient-dub style.
Face To Face
Real Life Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Looking for the words but they just won't start
How can I say that I feel the same
Don't tell me
One two three this is how it starts
Listen for the sound of the breaking hearts
I stand in the rain
Come back again
Face to face we talk
Like children we walk away
Like lovers we start again
Face to face
And face to face we talk
Like children we walk away
Like lovers we start again
Face to face
Some way some how I believe
We can make it happen but it's turning me
Around and around and around again
Don't tell me
One two three this is how it starts
Listen to the sound of the breaking hearts
I stand in the rain
Until I hear you say
Come back again
Face to face we talk
Like children we walk away
Like lovers we start again
Face to face
The song "Face to Face" by Real Life is about the struggle to communicate and connect with someone you care about. The lyrics express the difficulty of finding the right words to express your feelings and the frustration of feeling emotionally distant from someone who is physically near. The song begins with the line "Face to face, so far apart," which sets the tone for the theme of disconnect throughout the song.
The chorus emphasizes the desire to fix the distance and regain the connection with the person being addressed. It talks about the cyclic nature of relationships where people walk away from each other like children, but eventually, like lovers, they start over again. The bridge expresses hope, that despite the challenge of reconnecting, they can find a way to make things work. The line "Some way somehow I believe we can make it happen" expresses this hope while acknowledging the difficulty they are going through.
Overall, the song is a reflection of the complexities of human relationships and the ways in which our emotions can cause us to feel distant from those we care about. It is a hopeful yet hesitant anthem for anyone who has experienced this kind of disconnection from a significant other.
Line by Line Meaning
Face to face so far apart
Despite being in the same physical space, emotionally we are distant from each other. We are experiencing some conflict or misunderstanding.
Looking for the words but they just won't start
We are struggling to communicate and express ourselves effectively to each other.
How can I say that I feel the same
I want to let the person know that I understand how they feel, but I'm having difficulty finding the right way to express it.
Don't tell me
I am feeling overwhelmed or frustrated and don't want to hear any more at the moment.
One two three this is how it starts
A conflict or a disagreement is beginning to manifest.
Listen for the sound of the breaking hearts
We are about to encounter emotional pain and heartache.
I stand in the rain
I am enduring difficult circumstances or emotions.
Until I hear you say Come back again
It would mean a lot to me if you would express interest in reconnecting in the future.
Face to face we talk Like children we walk away Like lovers we start again Face to face
Despite our difficulties, we remain committed to working through our problems and reconnecting. We have faith that we can find a way to come back together.
And face to face we talk Like children we walk away Like lovers we start again Face to face
We encounter obstacles and setbacks, but we still believe that we can regain what we once had.
Some way some how I believe We can make it happen but it's turning me Around and around and around again Don't tell me
Despite my fear and uncertainty, I still maintain hope that our relationship can be mended. However, I don't want to be discouraged or pressured.
Face to face we talk Like children we walk away Like lovers we start again Face to face
Amid the difficulties and the uncertainty, we maintain our connection and work on finding a way to bridge the gap and restore our relationship.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: DAVID THOMAS STERRY, RICHARD ZATORSKI
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Darth Quiverous
Real Life was truly an underrated band in the eighties. Their albums were excellent, I have two of them on cassettes
stefan diesel
i ve got all records they ve released ever incl. all maxis
DKashman
Such a great Aussie group, their songs are fantastic.
Sadly Beautiful
The glory days of synth pop. What a beautiful time in music.
Martin Von WunderGass
Made my pre-teen years feel magical.
Doteatsurpants
one of the most underrated bands of the 80s .
Victor Rodriguez
Feliz Año Nuevo Real Life a la distancia... gracias por tan buena música.....un abrazo inmenso de Perú...
Michael Orick
all their songs are great
David Mastroianni
One of the greatest songs of the 80's
Mirko Sasic
Such a great song of the 80s that was underrated, undesrevedly !