MILB: "Send Me an Angel" by Real Life (1989 Remix)

This is a lost classic of the late 1980s.  Real Life never really got the credit they deserved from this song.  I was listening to it this morning and decided it'd be my song for the day.

Real Life were a band from Australia that really only released three albums with the original line-up.  Their biggest hit, "Send me an Angel" came from their first album, Heartland.  Since then, the lead singer has basically recorded by himself under the name.  To make matters worse, most people in the US think this song is from the Pet Shop Boys due to it being mislabeled by downloads when Napster was big.  How much does that suck?

Anyways, onto the song.  It was pretty big in the States.  It featured in two movies, RAD (which is where I first heard the song) and The Wizard starring a young Fred Savage and Jenny Lewis, lead singer for Rilo Kiley.  Pretty random hookups, don't you think?

Real Life decided to release a Greatest Hits album in 1989, and featured "Send Me An Angel (1989 Remix)" which went to No. 26 on the charts in the US.  Not too bad really.  So what is it about this song that brings me back to it?

Well, in 1989, I was 13.  Right about the time when I realized that heartbreak was an actual thing, and something that I would have to get used to for a bit.  (Again, Nick Hornby was right: Did I listen to Pop Music because I was sad?  Or was I sad because I listened to Pop Music.  Seriously, the man is an awesome writer.)  Listening to the song with lyrics like, "Empty drinks will only disappoint/ in a room behind your smile./  But don't give up/ don't give up/ you can be lucky in love" how can you NOT love this as a pubescent adolescent.  It's both sad and hopeful at the same time!  If you've been unlucky in love, while all of your friends are in relationships (even if it is only junior high school relationships) then you kind of feel left out.  Listening to music, I've always said, can be a cheap form of therapy.  Plus, it reminds me that even though I was down for a bit, I've picked myself up.  (I was no Lothario, however.  And yes, I did say that just to use Lothario.  11 pts in Scrabble my friends!)

The music is strictly 1980s synth pop, with a dash of unnecessary electric guitar.  However, it's a great song, and one that definitely takes me back to that time.  There are so many songs that have been forgotten in the US from that time period.  (I hear them here, due to, as I've said previously, South Africa being about 10 years behind in their music.)  I might start picking some of them out so people can remember them.  Give Real Life a listen, and most especially "Send Me an Angel."  Great song from a great time in life.  Now if they'd only release "RAD" on DVD, it'd be perfect.