ABOVE: Watch Chris de Burgh appear on Global’s The Morning Show.
TORONTO — Singer Chris de Burgh had several hits in the late ’70s and early ’80s — among them “A Spaceman Came Travelling” and “Don’t Pay the Ferryman” — but the song for which he is best known is the ballad “The Lady in Red.”
The 1986 single from his eighth studio album was a smash hit around the world and made de Burgh a superstar.
Appearing on Global’s The Morning Show on Tuesday, de Burgh said by the time “The Lady in Red” exploded he knew how to handle success.
“You’re kind of ready for it and you keep your ego in check,” he added.
De Burgh, 66, admitted the song introduced him to new audiences.
“In the United States they wouldn’t know who I was from a hole in the ground but they know the song,” he said.
He recently compared notes with James Blunt, who peaked with a ballad of his own, “You’re Beautiful.”
“I’ve written and recorded about 300 songs and if you don’t like ‘The Lady in Red,’ you don’t like any of them.”
The song, de Burgh said, is more than an ode to a beautiful woman.
“How many of you guys can remember what your wife or girlfriend was wearing the last time you went out together?”
Nearly 30 years after “The Lady in Red,” De Burgh is still writing about women — and writing songs with stories behind them.
His new single “The Keeper of the Keys,” from the album The Hands of Man, is “about the right of every woman everywhere in the world to education, a life of dignity, and the chance to wear what the hell they want without being told to by men,” he explained.
Among the special women in his life is daughter Rosanna Davison, the 2003 Miss World who now works as a nutritionist.
There’s also his wife Diane, who de Burgh married in 1977. In addition to Rosanna, the couple has sons Hubie (an electronic musician) and Michael.
“Men and women have to work at a relationship,” he said. “They have to recognize, for example, you know, when you go home and all you want is a hug. Just be aware.”
De Burgh credits his longevity in the music business to his family. “They support me in what I do,” he said. “They’re very proud.”
De Burgh is hitting the road again later this year and will be stopping in several Canadian cities. He will play Toronto (Sept. 23), Ottawa (Sept. 25), Quebec City (Sept. 27), Montreal (Sept. 30), Kitchener (Oct. 2), Winnipeg (Oct. 5), Calgary (Oct. 7), Edmonton (Oct. 8) and Vancouver (Oct. 10).
In the first four cities, de Burgh will be backed by orchestras.
What keeps him motivated?
BELOW: Listen to Chris de Burgh’s hit “The Lady in Red.”
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