Chris de Burgh

Concert in Gymnich (2007)

Chris de Burgh (born October 15, 1948 in Venado Tuerto , Argentina ; born Christopher John Davison ) is an Irish singer and composer . His greatest successes include The Lady in Red , Don't Pay the Ferryman , Where Peaceful Waters Flow , Missing You (1988) and High on Emotion . In total, his albums (including 20 studio albums) have sold over 45 million copies worldwide. The sound carriers received gold or platinum awards around 200 times.

Career

Chris de Burgh was born in Argentina on October 15, 1948. His father was a British diplomat, which is why he spent a few years abroad as a child. After the Davison family had lived in Argentina, Nigeria and Zaire from 1947 to 1959, Davison came to the family castle, Bargy Castle in County Wexford in south-east Ireland when he was six . There he learned to play the guitar and went to school. After boarding school at Marlborough College , Davison studied Romance and English at Trinity College in Dublin from 1968 to 1971 . Today a small plaque hangs on the door of the music room, in which he always played the piano.

After several smaller appearances, solo and with a band, Davison went to London , where he received his first recording contract with A&M Records in 1972 . At that time he took his mother's maiden name, Maeve Emily, and called himself Chris de Burgh from then on. The roots of the de Burgh family - an Irish-Norman noble family - go back to the 12th century.

In 1974 de Burgh brought out his debut album Far Beyond These Castle Walls . The included song Turning Round (later renamed Flying ) was his first hit and was number one on the charts in Brazil for several weeks. A year later, the album Spanish Train and Other Stories was released .

Its level of awareness in Germany increased significantly in 1981 with the release of the album Best Moves (see below), which was presented extensively and very positively by several radio stations, including by Elke Heidenreich in the WDR show Entertainment on the Weekend . Several tours followed (for example in the supporting act for Supertramp ) in late 1982 with the album The Getaway and the single Don't Pay the Ferryman . Two years later he reached the top of the charts in ten European countries with the single High on Emotion from the album Man On the Line . Both albums were produced by Rupert Hine , who contributed significantly to the success of these albums. In 1986 the world hit Lady in Red followed , which sold eight million times and became number one in over 20 countries. De Burgh was also able to record further successes with the following studio albums Flying Colors (1988), Power of Ten (1992) and the accompanying tours.

From the end of the 1990s, the commercial success waned somewhat, but de Burgh's tours continued to be well attended. Highlights included his appearances at Holiday on Ice and his participation in the Nokia Night of the Proms in 2001. In 2004 Chris de Burgh completed numerous solo concerts on his Road-to-Freedom tour in Germany. On July 2, 2005, he played in Live 8 in front of the Victory Column in Berlin. In 2006 he released the album The Storyman with his own, newly formed record company Ferryman Productions .

In March 2008, the production of the movie Through These Eyes began to which de Burgh contributed book, soundtrack and money. As early as 1997, de Burgh played a gas station attendant in the film How to Cheat in the Leaving Certificate . His studio album The Hands of Man was released in October 2014. In September 2016, de Burgh released his studio album A Better World , which took 7th place in Germany.

Private

Chris de Burgh lives in Enniskerry, south of the Irish capital Dublin. He has been married to Diane Morley since November 1978. They have three children: Rosanna (* 1984) and their two sons Hubert (* 1988) and Michael (* 1990). "For Rosanna" from the album "Into the Light" (1986) is dedicated to his daughter, who 17 years later, in 2003, won the titles Miss Ireland and Miss World . De Burgh dedicated the song “Just A Word Away” from the album “Flying Colors” (1988) to his son Hubert.

Songs

Chris de Burgh usually tells stories and legends, fairy tales and "fantasy stories" in his songs. Several songs contain allegories of death ( Don't Pay the Ferryman , 1982; Spanish Train , 1975). Some songs are also committed to pure comedy ( Patricia the Stripper , 1975; The Record Company Bash , 1980; A Night on the River , 1988). Until the end of the 1980s, de Burgh's albums repeatedly featured small “ rock operas ”, such as the song trilogy The Leader , The Vision and What About Me? On the album Into The Light . , referred to in the official video as The Leader Trilogy , which were often over ten minutes long. With the album The Storyman he returned to this form ( The Mirror of the Soul ).

Many of the songs are autobiographical. The song Brazil (1977) was written immediately after his first return to South America since leaving the continent as a child. In Perfect Day (1977) is told by a picnic with de Burgh's (then) girlfriend Diane and their friends Paul and Susan. Paul Tullio is a college friend from Trinity College and is still one of Chris de Burgh's closest friends. Susan Morley is Diane's sister. The picnic described in Perfect Day actually took place in the summer of 1976. In late 1976 Paul Tullio and Susan Morley married, and de Burgh dedicated the song In a Country Churchyard to them . Contrary to popular belief, the song The Lady in Red isn't for Diane, but Something Else Again from 1979 .

Several songs by Chris de Burgh also deal with the Northern Ireland conflict ( I'm Counting On You , 1982) or the Falklands War ( Borderline , 1982). The song The Getaway (1982) deals with the death of IRA activist Bobby Sands , who died in prison in 1981 after a hunger strike.

In a 1988 television portrait by ZDF, Chris de Burgh said that he could only write his songs in Ireland. He has never composed a single note outside of Ireland. He revised this statement in an interview with the Frankfurter Rundschau in 2006. He could write songs all over the world.

Discography

Studio albums

year	title	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)						Remarks
		DE	AT	CH	UK	US	IE
1975	Far Beyond These Castle Walls	-	-	-	-	-	-	First published: January 31, 1975
1975	Spanish Train and Other Stories	-	-	-	UK78 (3 weeks) UK	-	-	First published: November 1st, 1975 (chart entry 1985)
1977	At The End Of A Perfect Day	-	-	-	-	-	-	First published: August 5, 1977
1979	Crusader	-	-	-	UK72 (1 week) UK	-	-	First published: January 1, 1979 (chart entry 1986)
1980	Eastern wind	-	-	-	-	-	-	First published: July 4, 1980
1982	The Getaway	DE1 platinum (58 weeks)DE	AT3 (14 weeks) AT	-	UK30 (16 weeks) UK	US43 (22 weeks) US	-	First published: December 19, 1982
1984	Man on the line	DE1 platinum (52 weeks)DE	AT9 (12 weeks) AT	CH1 (38 weeks) CH	UK11 silver (24 weeks)UK	US69 (19 weeks) US	-	First published: May 10, 1984
1986	Into the light	DE2 × 2 Double platinum (62 weeks)DE	AT19 (6 weeks) AT	CH2 (34 weeks) CH	UK2 × 2 Double platinum (59 weeks)UK	US25th gold (32 weeks)US	-	First published: June 1, 1986
1988	Flying Colors	DE2 platinum (58 weeks)DE	-	CH2 gold (24 weeks)CH	UK1 platinum (30 weeks)UK	-	-	First published: October 3, 1988
1992	Power of Ten	DE1 gold (31 weeks)DE	AT29 (6 weeks) AT	CH3 gold (20 weeks)CH	UK3 gold (10 weeks)UK	-	-	First published: April 2, 1992
1994	This way up	DE4th gold (19 weeks)DE	AT37 (1 week) AT	CH5 gold (17 weeks)CH	UK5 silver (8 weeks)UK	-	-	First published: May 19, 1994
1999	Quiet revolution	DE6th gold (16 weeks)DE	-	CH10 (9 weeks) CH	UK23 (5 weeks) UK	-	-	First published: September 23, 1999
2002	Timing is everything	DE12 (7 weeks) DE	-	CH18 (7 weeks) CH	UK41 (1 week) UK	-	-	First published: September 16, 2002
2004	The Road to Freedom	DE5 gold (18 weeks)DE	AT39 (7 weeks) AT	CH22 (9 weeks) CH	UK75 (1 week) UK	-	-	First published: March 8, 2004
2006	The Storyman	DE8 (10 weeks) DE	-	CH28 (6 weeks) CH	UK38 (2 weeks) UK	-	-	First published: October 9, 2006
2008	Footsteps	DE9 platinum (34 weeks)DE	AT38 (6 weeks) AT	CH22nd gold (17 weeks)CH	UK4th silver (6 weeks)UK	-	IE22 (6 weeks) IE	First published: November 20, 2008
2010	Moonfleet & Other Stories	DE3 gold (25 weeks)DE	AT42 (2 weeks) AT	CH31 (11 weeks) CH	UK25 (2 weeks) UK	-	IE33 (2 weeks) IE	First published: October 22, 2010
2011	Footsteps 2	DE10 gold (18 weeks)DE	AT44 (3 weeks) AT	CH3 (18 weeks) CH	UK38 (2 weeks) UK	-	-	First published: October 14, 2011
2012	Home	DE15 (11 weeks) DE	AT48 (2 weeks) AT	CH19 (5 weeks) CH	UK92 (1 week) UK	-	-	First published: October 12, 2012
2014	The Hands of Man	DE8 (12 weeks) DE	AT37 (1 week) AT	CH22 (4 weeks) CH	UK71 (1 week) UK	-	IE45 (1 week) IE	First published: October 24, 2014
2016	A better world	DE7 (8 weeks) DE	AT49 (1 week) AT	CH17 (11 weeks) CH	UK60 (1 week) UK	-	-	First published: September 23, 2016

gray hatching : no chart data available for this year

Compilations & live albums

year	title	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)						Remarks
		DE	AT	CH	UK	US	IE
1981	Best moves	DE4th gold (87 weeks)DE	-	-	UK65 (4 weeks) UK	-	-	First published: September 1981 compilation
1984	The very best of	-	-	-	UK6th gold (70 weeks)UK	-	-	First published: December 1984 compilation
1989	Spark to a Flame: The Very Best of	DE2 platinum (34 weeks)DE	AT11 gold (14 weeks)AT	CH3 platinum (14 weeks)CH	UK4th × 2 Double platinum (31 weeks)UK	-	-	First published: October 24, 1989 compilation
1990	High on Emotion: Live from Dublin	DE8th gold (20 weeks)DE	AT23 (2 weeks) AT	CH14th gold (7 weeks)CH	UK15th gold (6 weeks)UK	-	-	First release: September 11, 1990 live album
1995	Beautiful dreams	DE29 (14 weeks) DE	-	CH24 (8 weeks) CH	UK33 gold (8 weeks)UK	-	-	First release: October 27, 1995 live album
1997	The Love Songs	DE51 (9 weeks) DE	-	CH17 (5 weeks) CH	UK8th gold (12 weeks)UK	-	-	First published: September 30, 1997 compilation
2000	The Ultimate Collection	DE39 (8 weeks) DE	-	CH76 (2 weeks) CH	UK19th gold (4 weeks)UK	-	-	First published: November 27, 2000 compilation
2005	Live in Dortmund	DE39 (4 weeks) DE	-	-	-	-	-	First release: June 27, 2005 live album
2008	Now and Then	-	-	-	UK12 (3 weeks) UK	-	IE21 (16 weeks) IE	First published: April 21, 2008 compilation
2013	Lady In Red The Collection	-	-	-	-	-	IE42 (21 weeks) IE	compilation

gray hatching : no chart data available for this year

more publishments

• 1974: Far Beyond These Castle Walls
• 1977: At the End of a Perfect Day
• 1979: Live on SA
• 1980: Eastern Wind
• 1997: Live in South Africa
• 2001: Notes from Planet Earth
• 2004: Star Boulevard - Best of
• 2004: The River Sessions
• 2006: Much More Than This
• 2007: Missing You - Best
• 2007: gold
• 2009: Footsteps (Special Edition) (DE:platinum)

Singles

year	Title album	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes)					Remarks
		DE	AT	CH	UK	US
1976	A Spaceman Came Traveling Spanish Train and Other Stories	-	-	-	UK94 (1 week) UK	-	First published: 1976
1982	Don't Pay the Ferryman The Getaway	DE24 (16 weeks) DE	-	-	UK48 (7 weeks) UK	US34 (14 weeks) US	First published: September 1982
	The Getaway The Getaway	DE24 (17 weeks) DE	-	-	-	-	First published: November 1982
1983	Ship to Shore The Getaway	DE69 (3 weeks) DE	-	-	-	US71 (5 weeks) US	First published: February 1983
	Where Peaceful Waters Flow The Getaway	DE52 (7 weeks) DE	-	-	-	-	First published: October 1983
1984	High on Emotion Man on the Line	DE12 (18 weeks) DE	AT12 (6 weeks) AT	CH5 (16 weeks) CH	UK44 (5 weeks) UK	US44 (13 weeks) US	First published: April 1984
	The Ecstasy of Flight (I Love the Night) Man on the Line	DE49 (5 weeks) DE	-	CH29 (1 week) CH	UK80 (4 weeks) UK	-	First published: August 1984
1986	Fire on the Water Into the Light	DE46 (10 weeks) DE	-	CH16 (6 weeks) CH	UK88 (3 weeks) UK	-	First published: April 1986
	The Lady in Red Into the Light	DE5 (14 weeks) DE	AT7 (10 weeks) AT	CH18 (7 weeks) CH	UK1 gold (17 weeks)UK	US3 (26 weeks) US	First published: June 1986
	Fatal hesitation into the light	-	-	-	UK44 (4 weeks) UK	-	First published: September 1986
	The Ballroom Of Romance Into the Light	-	-	-	UK40 (6 weeks) UK	-	First published: December 1986
1987	One Word (Straight To The Heart) Into the Light	DE60 (5 weeks) DE	-	-	-	-	First published: March 1987
	The Simple Truth (A Child Is Born)	DE31 (5 weeks) DE	-	-	UK36 (6 weeks) UK	-	First published: December 1987
1988	Missing You Flying Colors	DE29 (15 weeks) DE	-	CH20 (2 weeks) CH	UK3 (13 weeks) UK	-	First published: October 1988
	Tender Hands Flying Colors	-	-	-	UK43 (7 weeks) UK	-	First published: December 1988
1989	Sailing Away Flying Colors	DE56 (5 weeks) DE	-	-	UK78 (3 weeks) UK	-	First published: February 1989
	This Waiting Heart Spark to a Flame	DE36 (15 weeks) DE	-	CH27 (2 weeks) CH	UK59 (4 weeks) UK	-	First published: October 1989
	Diamond in the Dark Spark to a Flame	-	-	-	UK95 (1 week) UK	-	First published: November 1989
1992	Separate tables Power of Ten	DE39 (11 weeks) DE	-	CH25 (5 weeks) CH	UK30 (4 weeks) UK	-	First published: April 1992
	By My Side Power of Ten	DE61 (8 weeks) DE	-	-	-	-	First published: October 1992
	Talk To Me Power of Ten	DE86 (6 weeks) DE	-	-	-	-	First published: December 1992
1994	Blonde Hair Blue Jeans This Way Up	DE56 (13 weeks) DE	-	-	UK51 (2 weeks) UK	-	First published: May 1994
	This Silent World This Way Up	DE52 (12 weeks) DE	-	-	-	-	First published: August 1994
	This Is Love This Way Up	DE55 (9 weeks) DE	-	-	-	-	First published: December 1994
1995	The Snows of New York Beautiful Dreams	-	-	-	UK60 (2 weeks) UK	-	First published: December 1995
1996	I'm Not Crying Over You Beautiful Dreams	-	-	-	UK77 (1 week) UK	-	First published: February 1996
1997	So Beautiful The Love Songs	-	-	-	UK29 (6 weeks) UK	-	First published: September 1997
1999	When I Think of You Quiet Revolution	DE75 (9 weeks) DE	-	-	UK59 (2 weeks) UK	-	First published: September 1999
2000	A Woman's Heart Quiet Revolution	DE96 (3 weeks) DE	-	-	-	-	First published: January 2000
2006	One World The Storyman	DE99 (1 week) DE	-	-	-	-	First published: September 2006
2010	Lonely Sky Moonfleet & Other Stories	-	-	-	UK36 (1 week) UK	-	First published: December 2010 (with Ben & James Hazelby)

Concert videos

year	Surname	Specialty
1984	Chris de Burgh - The Video	Live video of a concert in Hamilton, Canada (VHS)
1985	The Munich Concerts	Live video of a concert in the Olympiahalle Munich (VHS)
1990	High On Emotion - Live from Dublin!	Live video of a concert at RDS Stadium Dublin (VHS)
1995	Beautiful Dreams Live	Live video of a concert in Birmingham (VHS)
2001	Benefit for Volendam	Charity concert for the victims of the accident in Volendam on New Year's Day 2001 (VHS / DVD)
2004	The Road To Freedom - Live	Live DVD of a concert in the Bielefeld city hall
2005	Beautiful Dreams Live	Live DVD with a film from a concert in Birmingham in 1995 (VHS re-release)
2010	Footsteps - Live in Concert	Live DVD with recordings of the 2009 world tour

Awards for music sales

Silver record  United Kingdom 2018: for the single A Spaceman Came Traveling Golden record  Canada 1979: for the album Crusader 1980: for the album Eastern Wind 1981: for the album Best Moves 1989: for the album Spark to a Flame  Norway 1996: for the album Beautiful Dreams

Platinum record  Canada 1979: for the album Spanish Train 1983: for the album The Getaway 1984: for the album Man on the Line 1987: for the single Lady in Red 1988: for the album Flying Colors 2 × platinum record  Canada 1986: for the album Into the Light

Note: Awards in countries from the chart tables or chart boxes can be found in these.

Country / Region	silver	gold	platinum	Sales	swell
Awards for music sales (country / region, awards, sales, sources)
Germany (BVMI)	-	8 × gold8th	8 × platinum8th	4,950,000	musikindustrie.de
Canada (MC)	-	4 × gold4th	7 × platinum7th	900,000	musiccanada.com
Norway (IFPI)	-	gold1	-	20,000	ifpi.no ( Memento from November 5, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
Austria (IFPI)	-	gold1	-	25,000	ifpi.at
Switzerland (IFPI)	-	5 × gold5	platinum1	160,000	hitparade.ch
United States (RIAA)	-	gold1	-	500,000	riaa.com
United Kingdom (BPI)	4 × silver4th	7 × gold7th	5 × platinum5	2,980,000	bpi.co.uk
All in all	4 × silver4th	27 × gold27	21 × platinum21st

literature

• Dave Thompson : The Chris de Burgh Story. Zsolnay-Verlag, 1989, ISBN 3-552-05012-4 .
• Tony Clayton-Lea: Chris De Burgh: Authorized Biography. Sidgwick & Jackson Ltd, 1996, ISBN 0-283-06236-3 .

swell

1. ^ "I was born on the 15th of October 1948 in a town in Argentina called Venado Tuerto. I believe it was around 5 o'clock in the morning. " Chris de Burgh ( Memento from July 27, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
2. ↑ gmx.net
3. ↑ Papa is the best - Interview with Chris de Burgh and daughter Rosanna Bunte.de, October 27, 2008.
4. ↑ Article in Bunte.de
5. ^ Dave Thompson: The Chris De Burgh: From a Spark to a Flame. Omnibus Press, London 1987, ISBN 0-7119-0976-8 .
6. ↑ ^{a b c} Chart sources: DE AT CH UK US IE

Web links

Commons : Chris de Burgh  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Chris de Burgh in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• official page
• Literature by and about Chris de Burgh in the catalog of the German National Library
• Chris de Burgh at Musik-Sammler.de
• Photos of Chris de Burgh and his daughter Rosanna ( Memento from July 19, 2013 in the Internet Archive )