Send Me an Angel (Real Life song)

"Send Me an Angel" is a 1983 song by Australian band Real Life. The song was released in May 1983 as the band's debut single from their debut studio album Heartland. The song peaked in the top 10 in Australia and is the band's best-known song. This version peaked in early 1984 in the US at No. 29 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.^[5] The song was No. 1 in Germany and New Zealand and Top 10 in other countries.

"Send Me an Angel"
1983 Spain release
Single by Real Life
from the album Heartland
B-side	"Like a Gun" (original release) "Always" (1989 reissue)
Released	May 1983 (AUS)[1] November 1983 (USA)[2] 1989 (re-release)
Genre	Synth-pop[3] new wave[4]
Length	3:53
Label	Wheatley Curb MCA Intercord Ariola
Songwriter(s)	David Sterry Richard Zatorski
Producer(s)	Ross Cockle
Real Life singles chronology
"Send Me an Angel" (1983) "Openhearted" (1983)

In the US, "Send Me an Angel '89" surpassed the original version from 1983. "Send Me An Angel '89" reached a peak of No. 26 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the summer of 1989 in the US.^[5]

The song features in the soundtracks of the American movies Rad (1986), Teen Wolf Too (1987) and The Wizard (1989).

Track listing

7" single (WRS-001)

1. Send Me an Angel – 3:53
2. Like a Gun – 3:16

12" single

1. Send Me an Angel (Extended Dance Mix) – 5:40
2. Send Me an Angel – 3:53
3. Like a Gun – 3:14

12" Maxi-Single

1. Send Me an Angel (Extended Mix) – 5:43
2. Send Me an Angel – 3:53
3. Burning Blue – 4:43

Charts

Original version Weekly charts Chart (1983–1984) Peak position Australia (Kent Music Report)[6][7] 6 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[8] 9 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[9] 18 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[10] 1 Spain (AFYVE)[11] 19 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[12] 2 US Billboard Hot 100[13] 29 US Cash Box Top 100[14] 22 US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[15] 54 West Germany (Official German Charts)[16] 1 Year-end charts Chart (1983) Position Australia (Kent Music Report)[6] 26 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[17] 8 Chart (1984) Position Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[18] 27 West Germany (Official German Charts)[19] 7

"Send Me an Angel '89" Chart (1989) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[20] 51 New Zealand (RIANZ)[21] 22 US Billboard Hot 100[13] 26 US Cash Box[22] 20 US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[15] 5

Cover versions

"Send Me an Angel" has been covered by various artists including:

• Netzwerk on their 1992 EP Send Me an Angel^[23]
• Pobi on the 1993 album Send Me An Angel. Some of the lyrics were altered to be from the perspective of the other party in the song^[24]

• Atrocity on their 1997 cover album Werk 80^[25]
• Zeromancer on their 2001 album Eurotrash^[26]
• Thrice for the 2002 compilation Punk Goes Pop, which later appears on the 2005 compilation If We Could Only See Us Now^[27]
• Deadstar Assembly on their 2003 self-titled debut album^[28]
• XO Stereo on their 2015 EP The Struggle^[29]
• Highly Suspect on their 2016 album The Boy Who Died Wolf^[30]
• Gunship, released as a standalone single in 2023.^[31]

See also

• List of number-one hits of 1984 (Germany)
• List of number-one singles from the 1980s (New Zealand)

References

1. "Real Life – Send Me an Angel / Like a Gun – Wheatley – Australia – WRS-001". 45cat. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
2. "Real Life – Send Me an Angel / Like a Gun – MCA / Curb – USA – MCA-52287". 45cat. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
3. "Real Life". Chaos Control. 2009. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
4. Matheson, Whitney (24 April 2014). "My favorite '80s New Wave song is..." USA Today. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
5. Whitburn, Joel (2010). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits (9th ed.). Billboard Books. ISBN 978-0-8230-8554-5.
6. "Kent Music Report – National Top 100 Singles for 1983". Kent Music Report. Retrieved 22 January 2023 – via Imgur.com.
7. "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – Chart Positions Pre 1989". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
8. "Real Life – Send Me An Angel" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
9. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 6277." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
10. "Real Life – Send Me An Angel". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
11. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
12. "Real Life – Send Me An Angel". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
13. "Real Life Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
14. "CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending FEBRUARY 25, 1984". Cash Box. Archived from the original on 30 September 2012.
15. "Real Life Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
16. "Offiziellecharts.de – Real Life – Send Me An Angel" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
17. "End of Year Charts 1983". Recorded Music New Zealand. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
18. "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1984". Hitparade.ch (in German). Retrieved 10 February 2018.
19. "Jahrescharts – 1984". Offiziellecharts.de (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Archived from the original on 9 May 2015.
20. "Chartifacts: Week Ending September 23 1990 Issue No. 37". ARIA. Retrieved 24 August 2016 – via Imgur.
21. "charts.nz – Real Life – Send Me An Angel '89". charts.nz. Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
22. "CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending JULY 22, 1989". Cash Box. Archived from the original on 7 October 2012.
23. "Netzwerk – Send Me an Angel". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
24. "Send Me An Angel by Pobi". Discogs. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
25. "Atrocity – Werk 80 Festival Edition". AllMusic. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
26. Anderson, Jason. "Zeromancer – Eurotrash". AllMusic. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
27. Loftus, Johnny. "Thrice – If We Could Only See Us Now". AllMusic. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
28. "Deadstar Assembly – Deadstar Assembly". AllMusic. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
29. "The Struggle by XO Stereo (Another Century Records)". HighWire Daze. 12 September 2015. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
30. Childers, Chad (18 November 2016). "Highly Suspect, 'The Boy Who Died Wolf' – Album Review". Loudwire. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
31. "Send Me An Angel by GUNSHIP". GUNSHIP. Retrieved 27 October 2023.