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Chris
de Burgh was born in Venado Tuerto on 15 October 1948, 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. 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.
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 debut, 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.
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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..
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. 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."
"Lady in Red"
Chris de Burgh
- Live in Concert -
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