Real Life is a Melbourne-based Australian New Wave band that had hits with … Read Full Bio ↴Real Life is a Melbourne-based Australian New Wave band that had hits with its debut single, "Send Me an Angel" (1983) and with "Catch Me, I'm Falling" (1984), both of which were featured on the band's debut album Heartland (1983).

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.

Rescue Me
Real Life Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

What are you thinking of
Do you feel the same
With all the talk of love
All you get is the pain
And when I walk in to walls
If I fall in the sea
I'm only dreaming of you
What can I do

The world is falling on me

Like all desire like I'm on fire
Don't turn your back to me

Come to my rescue
Come to my rescue
Just walk just talk
Just like an angel
Come to my rescue
Rescue me

And when I'm dancing on glass
If I fall to my knees
I'm only screaming for you
What can I do
You make this happen to me

Like all desire like I'm on fire
Don't turn your back to me

Come to my rescue
Come to my rescue

Come to my rescue

Don't turn your back to me

Come to my rescue
Come to my rescue
Just walk just talk
Just like an angel

Come to my rescue
Rescue me

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of "Rescue Me" by Real Life seem to be about someone longing for a person they love to rescue them from their pain and the world falling apart around them. The opening lines could hint towards a scenario where the singer feels as though their significant other might have lost interest or affection towards them. Despite all the talks and promises of love, they end up getting hurt. The singer seems to have fallen hard and is deeply in love with the person, they dream about them and cannot stop thinking of them. The line "I'm only dreaming of you, what can I do, the world is falling on me" could be interpreted in a way that the world would be a better place if they were with the person they love.

In the chorus, the singer sings a plea to their loved one to come to their rescue, to act like an angel and lift them out of their troubles. The lines "Just walk just talk just like an angel, come to my rescue, rescue me" could be seen as the singer not wanting grand gestures, just a simple comforting presence to be with them. They feel helpless and need someone to save them from falling apart completely.

The song might be a representation of how love can give us strength and how it can also make us vulnerable. The lyrics themselves portray the intensity of the emotions of being in love, the longing for someone and how their presence can change everything. There is an element of desperation in the tone of the song that could resonate with a lot of people.

Line by Line Meaning

What are you thinking of
Do you have the same thoughts as me and do you relate to my emotional state?

Do you feel the same
Are you experiencing the same emotions as me about the situation?

With all the talk of love
Despite all the discussions of love and romance

All you get is the pain
No matter how much you hope for love, it always ends up hurting.

And when I walk in to walls
When I am confused and struggling

If I fall in the sea
If I get lost or overwhelmed in my emotions

I'm only dreaming of you
My thoughts and feelings keep coming back to you

What can I do
I am helpless and stuck in my emotions with nowhere to go

The world is falling on me
I feel like I am under so much pressure and weight from everything around me

Like all desire like I'm on fire
My longing and passion for you is overwhelming and intense

Don't turn your back to me
Please don't reject me or leave me alone