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Chris de Burgh
Christopher John Davison (born 15 October 1948), known professionally as Chris de Burgh (English: /də ˈbɜːr/ də-BER), is a British-Irish singer-songwriter and musician born in Argentina. He started out as an art rock performer but subsequently started writing more pop-oriented material. He has had several top 40 hit singles in the UK and two in the US, but he is more popular in other countries, particularly Norway and Brazil. His 1986 love song "The Lady in Red" reached number one in several countries. De Burgh has sold over 45 million albums worldwide.
De Burgh was born in Venado Tuerto, Argentina, to Colonel Charles John Davison, a British diplomat, and Maeve Emily (née de Burgh). His maternal grandfather was General Eric de Burgh, a British Army officer who had been Chief of the General Staff in India during the Second World War. He took his mother's maiden name, "de Burgh", as a stage name when he began performing, while his legal surname remains "Davison". His father had substantial farming interests, and Chris spent much of his early years in Malta, Nigeria and the Belgian Congo, as he, his mother and brother accompanied Colonel Davison on his diplomatic and engineering work.
The Davisons finally settled in Bargy Castle, County Wexford, Ireland, which was somewhat dilapidated at the time. It was a twelfth-century castle which Eric de Burgh bought in the 1960s. He converted it into a hotel, and young Chris sang for the guests there.
De Burgh attended Marlborough College in Wiltshire, England, where he was in the year below Nick Drake; de Burgh asked to join a jazz band Drake had formed with four schoolmates, the Perfumed Gardeners, but was rejected as his taste was "too poppy". De Burgh went on to study English and French at Trinity College Dublin.
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. It failed to chart upon its release in late 1974. A few months later, 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 1970s albums failed to chart in the UK or US while they racked up big sales in continental European and South American countries.
In 1975, de Burgh's second album, Spanish Train and Other Stories, was released. Whilst (again) not a huge commercial success, the album and tour expanded the fan base, with de Burgh starting to attract a cult following. Along with the epic title track, other fan favourite tracks from the album included "Patricia The Stripper" and "A Spaceman Came Travelling" (the latter released the following year as a single). The album made the lower end of the Canadian charts, giving De Burgh his first North American chart exposure; he would maintain a following and consistently chart in Canada for the rest of his major label career.
De Burgh's third album, At the End of a Perfect Day (1977), featured both former Fairport Convention drummer Dave Mattacks and later Fairport drummer Gerry Conway. Two years later he released his fourth album, Crusader. Crusader took a more electric direction, including guitar contributions from Ian Bairnson (formerly of Pilot), bass player David Paton (also of Pilot), and drummer Stuart Elliott (formerly of both Cockney Rebel and Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel), a.k.a. Alan Parsons's band, all of whom were also working at the time with Kate Bush. The album also featured Sky keyboard player Francis Monkman and Mike Moran. Whilst it attracted a significant number of new fans, Crusader still failed to break through in the UK and US. 1980's Eastern Wind also failed to build further on the (still cult) following in the major territories.
In 1981, de Burgh had his first UK chart entry with Best Moves, a compilation album of his work to date. It set the stage for 1982's The Getaway, produced by Rupert Hine, which reached number 30 in the UK chart and number 43 in the US due to the success of the single "Don't Pay the Ferryman", which became his first single to chart in the UK and reached the US Billboard Hot 100 Top 40.
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Chris de Burgh
Christopher John Davison (born 15 October 1948), known professionally as Chris de Burgh (English: /də ˈbɜːr/ də-BER), is a British-Irish singer-songwriter and musician born in Argentina. He started out as an art rock performer but subsequently started writing more pop-oriented material. He has had several top 40 hit singles in the UK and two in the US, but he is more popular in other countries, particularly Norway and Brazil. His 1986 love song "The Lady in Red" reached number one in several countries. De Burgh has sold over 45 million albums worldwide.
De Burgh was born in Venado Tuerto, Argentina, to Colonel Charles John Davison, a British diplomat, and Maeve Emily (née de Burgh). His maternal grandfather was General Eric de Burgh, a British Army officer who had been Chief of the General Staff in India during the Second World War. He took his mother's maiden name, "de Burgh", as a stage name when he began performing, while his legal surname remains "Davison". His father had substantial farming interests, and Chris spent much of his early years in Malta, Nigeria and the Belgian Congo, as he, his mother and brother accompanied Colonel Davison on his diplomatic and engineering work.
The Davisons finally settled in Bargy Castle, County Wexford, Ireland, which was somewhat dilapidated at the time. It was a twelfth-century castle which Eric de Burgh bought in the 1960s. He converted it into a hotel, and young Chris sang for the guests there.
De Burgh attended Marlborough College in Wiltshire, England, where he was in the year below Nick Drake; de Burgh asked to join a jazz band Drake had formed with four schoolmates, the Perfumed Gardeners, but was rejected as his taste was "too poppy". De Burgh went on to study English and French at Trinity College Dublin.
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. It failed to chart upon its release in late 1974. A few months later, 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 1970s albums failed to chart in the UK or US while they racked up big sales in continental European and South American countries.
In 1975, de Burgh's second album, Spanish Train and Other Stories, was released. Whilst (again) not a huge commercial success, the album and tour expanded the fan base, with de Burgh starting to attract a cult following. Along with the epic title track, other fan favourite tracks from the album included "Patricia The Stripper" and "A Spaceman Came Travelling" (the latter released the following year as a single). The album made the lower end of the Canadian charts, giving De Burgh his first North American chart exposure; he would maintain a following and consistently chart in Canada for the rest of his major label career.
De Burgh's third album, At the End of a Perfect Day (1977), featured both former Fairport Convention drummer Dave Mattacks and later Fairport drummer Gerry Conway. Two years later he released his fourth album, Crusader. Crusader took a more electric direction, including guitar contributions from Ian Bairnson (formerly of Pilot), bass player David Paton (also of Pilot), and drummer Stuart Elliott (formerly of both Cockney Rebel and Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel), a.k.a. Alan Parsons's band, all of whom were also working at the time with Kate Bush. The album also featured Sky keyboard player Francis Monkman and Mike Moran. Whilst it attracted a significant number of new fans, Crusader still failed to break through in the UK and US. 1980's Eastern Wind also failed to build further on the (still cult) following in the major territories.
In 1981, de Burgh had his first UK chart entry with Best Moves, a compilation album of his work to date. It set the stage for 1982's The Getaway, produced by Rupert Hine, which reached number 30 in the UK chart and number 43 in the US due to the success of the single "Don't Pay the Ferryman", which became his first single to chart in the UK and reached the US Billboard Hot 100 Top 40.