London - The singer Eddy Amoo of the British soul band The Real
Thing has died aged 74.
"It is with great sadness that we share the passing of our brother
and inspiration, Eddy Amoo, who passed away on [Friday] 23rd
February, age 74," the other two members of the band, Chris Amoo and
Dave Smith, tweeted.
"Eddy was a showman and a legend," the tweet said.
The BBC reported that Amoo died unexpectedly in Australia.
The band was once dubbed "the black Beatles," and had its origins in
the so-called Merseybeat boom of bands from the Liverpool area in the
1960s.
Their greatest hit was their number 1 smash "You To Me Are
Everything" in the 1970s, but they enjoyed success through the decade
with other hits like "Can't Get By Without You" and "Can You Feel the
Force?"
Eddy and Chris are the sons of immigrants from Ghana who settled in
the north-western English port city at the mouth of the river Mersey.
The band had been on tour before Eddy's death. The remaining members
of the band tweeted that they would continue the tour from April 7.
"The fans' support makes us realize how much love there is for The
Real Thing, so we're doing this for them, and for Eddy, whose wish it
would be for us to still feel the force," Chris Amoo tweeted.