Chris de Burgh

Chris de Burgh
Chrisde33.jpg
Background information
Birth name Christopher John Davison
Born 15 October 1948 (1948-10-15) (age 61), Argentina
Origin British and Irish
Genre(s) Pop rock
Adult Contemporary
Occupation(s) Musician, Songwriter
Instrument(s) Vocals, Guitar, Piano
Years active 1974-Present
Label(s) A&M
Ferryman Productions
Edel
Website http://www.cdeb.com

Chris de Burgh (born Christopher John Davison on 15 October 1948) is an Irish-based musician and songwriter who holds British nationality[1] . A musician who writes a variety of mixed instrumental material, Chris de Burgh had huge success in Ireland, Britain and the United States with the 1986 hit "The Lady in Red".

Contents

Early life

Chris de Burgh was born in Venado Tuerto, Santa Fe Province, Argentina to Colonel Charles Davison, a British diplomat, and Maeve Emily de Burgh, an Irish Protestant. His father had substantial farming interests, and he spent much of his early years in Malta, Nigeria and Zaire, as he, his mother and brother accompanied Colonel Davison on his Diplomatic and Engineering work.

The Davisons finally settled in Bargy Castle, County Wexford, a twelfth-century castle in Ireland bought by his maternal grandfather, General Sir Eric de Burgh, (KCB, DSO, OBE) - a former Chief of the General staff, Indian Army, and from a distinguished Irish/Norman family. The de Burgh family claim to have traced their roots to Hubert de Burgh, a noble under King John[2]. The castle was converted into a hotel where Chris gained a lot of early experience performing to the guests and he later assumed de Burgh as his stage name.

After attending Marlborough College in Wiltshire, England, de Burgh went on to graduate from Trinity College, Dublin with a Master of Arts degree in French, English and History. He took his mother's maiden name as his professional pseudonym.

Family

In 1994, it was revealed that de Burgh had had an affair with his children's nanny, Maresa Morgan, during the period when his wife Diane was in hospital recovering from a broken neck, the result of a riding accident[3]. Consequently, de Burgh's public image suffered for a time, although he was eventually reconciled with Diane.

His daughter Rosanna Davison won the Miss World competition in 2003.

Performing career

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, 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 from the album called "Flying". It didn't make an impression in the U.K., 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 U.K. or U.S. while they racked up big sales in European and South American countries. In 1981, he had his first U.K. 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 on the U.K. charts and number 43 in the U.S., 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 U.S. and 11 in the U.K.

Chris de Burgh had an across-the-board success with the languid ballad "The Lady in Red" in late 1986; the single became a number one hit in England (number three in America) and its accompanying album, Into the Light, reached number two in the U.K. (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 U.K. "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 U.S. charts again and his commercial fortunes began to slide slightly in Britain in the early '90s, yet he retained a following around the world. This is mainly due to inactivity of his previous recording label A&M Records U.K. division in U.S.[4].

In December 2007, Iranian authorities approved of de Burgh to play with Iranian group, Arian Band, in a concert which will make de Burgh the first western act to perform in Iran since after the 1979 Revolution[5]. Chris de Burgh says in press conference in Tehran: "This has been a dream of mine since I was a little boy (to visit Iran)....I am not here for any political reasons." [6] [7]

Famous songs

Chris De Burgh's most famous song is "The Lady in Red" from the 1986 album Into the Light. That album also included the song "For Rosanna", written to celebrate the 1984 birth of his daughter Rosanna Davison, who would later go on to win the 'Miss World' title in 2003. He also has two sons named Hubie and Michael by his wife Diane.

In a recent interview, de Burgh revealed how the late Princess Diana 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. His own website's FAQ puts it this way:

"Q. Is the song "The Lady In Red" written about Diane, Chris' wife?
"A. There are a lot of different answers to this that Chris has apparently been heard to say. However, the real answer is that this song was inspired by a moment when Chris saw Diane across a crowded nightclub, without at first realising it was her. As a result he realised that often people never quite appreciate that the most important person in their lives is taken for granted, and how after a while you fail to notice the things that brought you together. This was the basis of the song but it wasn't written either for or about Diane."

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, Chris de Burgh teamed up with Lebanese singer Elissa for the recording of his single "Lebanese Night", which became a big hit in Lebanon. His latest CD release The Storyman contains the title track "The Storyman" which — in its lyrics — lists 30 of his most famous tracks.

In recent years it emerged that Northern Irish poet Christopher Petticrew was named after the Irish performer, as his young mother's favourite song at the time of his birth was the hit "Lady in Red." Petticrew would later acknowledge this in his first publication with the poem "Two Christophers" and then later with "I'm the Lady in Red."

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 a Lebanese, Hani Hussein.

He has recently released the song 'Live for the day' a duet with Lebanese Star Academy 4 contestant Tina Yamout.

Chris de Burgh’s new album "FOOTSTEPS" will be released in Germany, Switzerland and Austria on the 21st November 2008. The album will not be released in the UK until March 2009. The UK version will feature a bonus track unavailable anywhere else.

Discography

Albums and compilations

Chris de Burgh was signed to A&M Records for many years (1974-2004), but he now has his own label, Ferryman Productions. His recent albums are released by German label, Edel Records.

Studio Albums

  1. Far Beyond These Castle Walls, 1974
  2. Spanish Train and Other Stories, 1975 (#78 in 1985)
  3. At the End of a Perfect Day, 1977
  4. Crusader, 1979 (#72 in 1986)
  5. Eastern Wind, 1980
  6. The Getaway, 1982 (#30)
  7. Man on the Line, 1984 (#11)
  8. Into the Light, 1986 (#2)
  9. Flying Colours, 1988 (#1)
  10. Power of Ten, 1992 (#3)
  11. This Way Up, 1994 (#5)
  12. Beautiful Dreams, 1995 (#33)
  13. Quiet Revolution, 1999 (#23)
  14. Timing Is Everything, 2002 (#41)
  15. The Road To Freedom, 2004
  16. The Storyman, 2006
  17. Footsteps, November 2008

Compilation Albums

  1. Best Moves, 1981 (#65)
  2. The Very Best of Chris de Burgh, 1984, (#6)
  3. Spark to a Flame: The Very Best of Chris de Burgh, 1989 (#4)
  4. The Love Songs, 1997 (#8)
  5. The Ultimate Collection - Notes from Planet Earth, 2001 (#19)
  6. The Ultimate Collection, 2005
  7. Gold, 2007
  8. Now and Then, 2008 (#12)

Live Albums

  1. High on Emotion: Live from Dublin, 1990 (#15)
  2. Live in South Africa, 1997
  3. Live In Dortmund, 2005

Videos and DVDs

  1. Chris de Burgh - The Video, 1983 (Video)
  2. The Munich Concert, 1985 (Video)
  3. High On Emotion - Live From Dublin, 1990 (Video)
  4. Beautiful Dreams, 1995 (Video and DVD)
  5. Benefit for Volendam, 2001 (Video and DVD)
  6. The Road To Freedom - Live in Concert (DVD)
  7. The Words I Love You - Feat Arian Band (HD Quality DVD)

UK Top 100 Singles

Band Line-Up

References

  1. ↑ "Chris de Burgh Official Website FAQ".
  2. ↑ Chris de Burgh fansite, see the question from 7 April 2007
  3. ↑ "Times Online article".
  4. ↑ FAQ Answers
  5. ↑ BBC NEWS | Entertainment | De Burgh 'will play gig in Iran'
  6. ↑ Hosseinian, Zahra (2008-05-29). "Chris de Burgh says concerts in Iran not political". Reuters. Retrieved on 2008-05-29.
  7. ↑ "Dooset Daram Song(with Arian Band)". Iransong (2008-05-29). Retrieved on 2008-05-29.

External links