| Christie | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Leeds, Yorkshire |
| Genres | Rock, pop rock, blues rock |
| Years active | 1969–1976, 1990–2009 |
| Labels | CBS, UK Epic, U.S. |
| Website | Link |
| Past members | |
| Jeff Christie Vic Elmes Michael Blakley Paul Fenton Lem Lubin Terry Fogg Roger Flavell Danny Krieger Tony Ferguson Roger Willis Kev Moore Simon Kay Adrian Foster |
|
Christie were an English rock band formed at the end of the 1960s. They are best remembered for their UK chart-topping hit single, "Yellow River" released in 1970.[1]
Contents |
In addition to Jeff Christie (born Jeffrey Christie, 12 July 1946, St Martin's Road, Leeds, Yorkshire, England)[2] their vocalist, bassist and songwriter; they initially included guitarist Vic Elmes and drummer Mike Blakley (born Michael Blakley, 12 January 1947, Bromley, Kent, England).
Jeff Christie had initially worked with several bands including The Outer Limits, who released "Just One More Chance" / "Help Me Please" (1967) and "Great Train Robbery" / "Sweet Freedom" (1968), and Acid Gallery, whose single "Dance Around The Maypole" (1969) was written by Roy Wood.
That year Jeff Christie offered his composition "Yellow River" to The Tremeloes.[2] They recorded it to release as a single but changed their minds and allowed Christie to use the backing track themselves. The result was a UK number one hit in June 1970, and subsequently #23 in the U.S., also accumulating more weeks (23) on the Hot 100 than any other entry on that chart completely inside 1970. It was a worldwide hit and was number one in 26 countries with global sales of over 3 million.[2]
The follow-up single from October 1970, "San Bernadino" (misspelled if referring to, for example, San Bernardino, California), reached UK Number 7 and Number 1 in Germany, but only U.S. #100. Both tracks became flash songs on their eponymous debut album of that year, and it stayed on U.S. Billboard 200 chart for ten weeks. But the trio failed to sustain a lasting career, and Blakley was replaced by Paul Fenton (born 4 July 1946, Huddersfield, Yorkshire) just before the release of the band's second album, For All Mankind (1971).
Lem Lubin (ex-Unit 4 + 2) was added to the line-up for Iron Horse (1972),[3] but the title track proved to be the band's final hit single. The departure of Fenton and Lubin hastened the demise of the original line-up, but Jeff Christie returned with new members Terry Fogg (drums) (born Terrence George Fogg, 25 September 1945, Chesterfield, Derbyshire), Roger Flavell (bass), and Danny Krieger (guitar). A 1974 single "Alabama" / "I'm Alive" failed to resurrect the band's fortunes, and new members Tony Ferguson (guitar) and Roger Willis (drums) were brought in to join Christie and Flavell."JoJo's Band", written by Elmes, was a chart-topper for Jeff Christie in Argentina and Brazil, while the last Christie hit, "Navajo", was Number 1 in Mexico.
Jeff Christie kept the group's name alive well into 1973 with replacement members, and cut songs for Mercury Records in the mid 1970s — he kept using the group name as an alias on material recorded for the Epic and Wizard, and took back his full name for records on the RK label in the 1980s. There were disputes over the use of the group name in the 1980s, although Jeff Christie appeared to be using it most recently, while Vic Elmes sometimes fronted a band called Christie Again in Europe.[3]
Jeff Christie reformed the band in 1990 with members of UK band Tubeless Hearts, Kev Moore, Simon Kay and Adrian 'Fos' Foster. They tried to represent United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1991 with "Safe in your Arms", but were unsuccessful. They continued to tour for a further twelve years all over Europe, Russia and Israel, recording intermittently. After a four year hiatus, and following the release of Jeff Christie's Floored Masters double album, the 1990 line-up of Christie re-convened and embarked on a 2009 European Tour.