Chris de Burgh

Chris de Burgh is a singer-songwriter whose career has been built as much abroad as at home, with his records especially popular in Norway and Brazil. Born Christopher John Davison in Venado Tuerto, Argentina, he took his mother's maiden name as a stage name. His childhood moved between Malta, Nigeria and the Belgian Congo before the family settled at Bargy Castle in County Wexford. He began as an art rock performer, with a folk-tinged, fantasy-minded debut in the manner of the Moody Blues, and gradually turned towards more pop-oriented songwriting.

His debut album, Far Beyond These Castle Walls, failed to chart in the UK, yet its single "Turning Round" spent 17 weeks at the top of the Brazilian charts. The pattern repeated through the 1970s, though "A Spaceman Came Travelling" later became a popular Christmas song. The real breakthrough came in 1986 with "The Lady in Red", which reached number one in the UK and number three in the US, while its album Into the Light reached number two in Britain. Flying Colours followed in 1988, producing "Missing You", a second UK top five hit. He has sold over 45 million albums worldwide.