Chris de Burgh

Chris de Burgh (born Christopher John Davison, 15 October 1948) is a British/Irish singer-songwriter. He is most famous for his 1986 love song "The Lady in Red".

Chris de Burgh signed his first contract with A&M Records in 1974, and supported Supertramp on their Crime of the Century tour, building himself a small fan base. His début album, Far Beyond These Castle Walls, was a folk-tinged stab at fantasy in the tradition of the Moody Blues that failed to chart upon its release in February 1975. That July, he released a single called "Turning Round" from the album, released outside the UK and Ireland as "Flying". It failed to make an impression in the UK, but it stayed on top of the Brazilian charts for 17 weeks. This became a familiar pattern for the singer/songwriter, as every one of his '70s albums failed to chart in the UK or US while they racked up big sales in European and South American countries. In 1981, he had his first UK chart entry with Best Moves, a collection culled from his early albums. It set the stage for 1982's Rupert Hine produced The Getaway, which reached number 30 in the UK charts and number 43 in the US, thanks to the eerie single "Don't Pay the Ferryman". Chris de Burgh's follow-up album, Man on the Line, also performed well, charting at 69 in the US and 11 in the UK.

Chris de Burgh had an across-the-board success with the ballad "The Lady in Red" in late 1986; the single became a number one hit in the UK (number three in America) and its accompanying album, Into the Light, reached number two in the UK. (number 25 in the U.S.). That Christmas season, a re-release of de Burgh's 1976 Christmas song "A Spaceman Came Travelling" became a Top 40 hit in the UK. Flying Colours, his follow-up to Into the Light, entered the British charts at number one upon its 1988 release, yet it failed to make the American charts. De Burgh never hit the US charts again and his commercial fortunes began to slide slightly in Britain in the early 1990s, yet he retained a following around the world. This is mainly due to inactivity of his previous recording label A&M Records UK division in U.S.^[1]

In 2007, a concert in Tehran was planned for June Or July 2008, together with local band Arian, which would have made Chris de Burgh the first western pop singer to perform in Iran since the 1979 revolution. However the concert never went ahead because he had not been given permission by the Iranian authorities to perform in the country.^[2]

Famous songs

Chris de Burgh's most famous song is "The Lady in Red" from the 1986 album Into the Light. In a recent interview, de Burgh revealed how the late Diana, Princess of Wales came to see him perform at a private concert; and how after the performance, Diana approached him backstage to thank him for writing the song "The Lady in Red". Apparently, Diana was under the impression that the song was written for (or dedicated to) her, since she was known for loving to wear the colour red. De Burgh was honoured for the compliment and admiration, but he revealed to her the real story behind the song. Speaking on the BBC series This Is Your Life in the 1990s, de Burgh said that the song was inspired by the memory of meeting his wife Diane, and how men so often cannot even remember what their wives were wearing when they first met.

Other notable songs include the funny-spirited "Patricia the Stripper", the mythological "Spanish Train", the medievally evocative "The Tower", and "A Spaceman Came Travelling". Some of his songs deal with death "Don't Pay the Ferryman" (with its background quote from The Tempest), whereas others like "Missing You" plainly deal with romance; "Borderline" and "Say Goodbye To It All" deal with themes of war, and its futility. The latter is based loosely on Hemingway's novel A Farewell To Arms. In 2001, he travelled to Germany and recorded "Separate Tables" in a new duet version with Vicky Leandros. His songs have appeared in films as diverse as Arthur 2, American Psycho and Dodgeball and his records have reported sales of more than forty million units internationally. For the album Timing is Everything, he teamed up with Lebanese singer Elissa for the recording of his single "Lebanese Night", which became a big hit in Lebanon. His CD release The Storyman contains the title track "The Storyman" which — in its lyrics — lists 30 of his most famous tracks.

He has been a guest performer several times on the Lebanese Star Academy finals. He is most famous in Lebanon and the Arab world for his collaboration with Lebanese diva Elissa entitled 'Lebanese Nights'. "My Father's Eyes", from The Storyman, was another hit that featured an Egyptian, Hani Hussein.