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Cover of Heart Land by Real Life — Cover: Heart Land

Song · Real Life

“Send Me an Angel” by Real Life

From the album Heart Land (1983)

“Send Me an Angel” by Real Life appears on 22 radio countdowns from 10 stations between 1983 and 2023. It was first released in 1983 on the album Heart Land. Its best result is #25 on the Channel 104.9 Top 101 Songs of the '80s (February 1999). In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #37 alternative song of 1983, #1,196 alternative song of all time and #233 of the '80s.

22countdowns

10stations

#25best position

0#1 finishes

0top 10 finishes

1983–2023years charted

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Send Me An Angel

Video from YouTube (Real Life - Topic). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"Send Me an Angel" was the calling card of Real Life, an Australian synth-pop band who put it out in 1983 as their very first single, the song that opened the door for their debut album. Richard Zatorski wrote the music and David Sterry the words, and Ross Cockle and Glenn Wheatley produced it for Curb Records.

It's all shimmer and pulse: chilly synths stacked like glass, a beat marching steadily through the dark, and a vocal reaching upward for rescue. It went top 10 at home and all the way to number one in Germany and New Zealand, and it still ranks as the thing everyone knows them for. The band clearly agreed, re-cutting it as "Send Me an Angel '89", and that remake climbed higher in America than the original ever did.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

#787 of the '80s

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year	#	Station	Countdown	of
1983	67	KROQ Los Angeles, CA	KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1983	107
1983	30	91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana	91X Top 91 Songs of 1983	91

All-time and decade countdowns

Year	#	Station	Countdown	of
1988	246	Live 105	Live 105 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1988)	501
1989	144	KROQ	KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1989)	495
1991	486	CFNY 102.1 The Edge	CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (1991 Edition)	1002
1992	114	KROQ	KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1992)	500
1992	136	Live 105	Live 105 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1992)	299
1994	406	KROQ	KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1994)	497
1995	332	KROQ	KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1995)	500
1995	291	Live 105	Live 105 Revolutionary 300 (July 1995)	300
1996	439	KROQ	KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1996)	500
1996	134	Q101	Q101 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (1996)	500
1998	227	KROQ	KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1998)	488
1999	25	Channel 104.9	Channel 104.9 Top 101 Songs of the '80s (February 1999)	104
1999	394	91X	91X Fat 500 Songs of All-Time (July 1999)	500
1999	721	Q101	Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999)	1017
1999	330	107.7 The End	The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999)	1077
1999	288	CFNY 102.1 The Edge	CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999)	1002
2002	1671	Fred (XM 44)	Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002)	2002
2003	907	Fred (XM 44)	Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003)	2044
2022	398	X96	X96 Top 500 Alternative Songs of All Time	500
2023	420	The Colorado Sound	The Colorado Sound Top 850 Songs of the 1980s	850

Also listed as: Send Me An Angel; Send Me an Angel '89.

Charting alongside it in 1983

Best songs of 1983 →

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