1980–1984: Heartland In late 1980, Richard Zatorski placed an ad in a
Melbourne newspaper as a keyboard player looking for a guitarist with whom to write songs, and David Sterry responded. The two formed a writing partnership and began work on the material that would eventually become the first songs by Real Life. First using the name The Wires, Sterry and Zatorski started doing gigs accompanied by a primitive
drum machine they named Gloria. In 1981, the pair decided to recruit more musicians, and through another newspaper ad, they found bassist Allan Johnson and drummer Danny Simcic. The group changed their name to avoid confusion with the English band
Wire, and became known as A Private Life, which soon gained a loyal following, opening for bands such as
INXS,
Mi-Sex,
The Church,
Midnight Oil, and others. A band from
Sydney called Private Lives threatened legal action over their name, which prompted them to change it once again, this time to Real Life. After hearing an early version of "
Send Me an Angel", the group's manager,
Glenn Wheatley, was so impressed that he formed his own label, Wheatley Records, to release it as a single in early 1983. "Send Me an Angel" became a top 10 hit in Australia, and featured it in a scene wherein riders on
BMX bikes performed various freestyle stunts as the song played.
1989–2000: Lifetime and Happy 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.
2003–present day: Imperfection In 2003, the band signed to the American independent label
A Different Drum, and released their fifth studio album,
Imperfection. They toured the west coast of the US in 2004 as a trio of Sterry and Pappas with drummer Scott Ingram. In November 2005, Pappas announced his departure from the band, leaving Sterry to continue as Real Life on his own, performing at various 1980s-themed events such as Australia's Absolutely 80s and the US'
Lost 80's Live. Pappas began recording solo material under the name Alien Skin in 2007, and A Different Drum released his debut album, ''Don't Open Till Doomsday'', the following year. On 19 May 2009, Real Life released their sixth studio album, ''Send Me An Angel – '80s Synth Essentials'', on
Cleopatra Records in the US. In addition to another new recording (and two remixes) of "Send Me an Angel", the album includes
cover versions of twelve other 1980s new wave classics by acts such as
Depeche Mode,
The Cure,
Eurythmics,
Tears for Fears, and
Gary Numan. After another lengthy hiatus, Sterry resurrected Real Life again in 2020 with a new studio album,
Sirens. ==Discography==