"The Lady in Red" by Chris De Burgh

Top 10 Alert!

Song#:  3023
Date:  02/14/1987
Debut:  88
Peak:  3
Weeks:  26
Genre:  Pop, Adult Contemporary



Pop Bits:  Irish singer/songwriter De Burgh had been recording albums since 1974, but it wasn't until his 1982 album The Getaway that he began to breakthrough in the US. The LP featured the #29 Rock/#34 Pop single "Don't Pay the Ferryman." His next album, Man on the Line, gave him is second US chart track with "High on Emotion" (#3 Rock/#43 Pop). But this ballad from his next album, Into the Light, would end up being the biggest hit of his career. It would reach #1 in several countries including the UK. It would also do very well in the US getting to #3 on the Pop chart while making it to #2 at AC. The hit would drive his album up to #25. Unfortunately, De Burgh wasn't able to follow-up the song in the US. His next single, "Fatal Hesitation," would get to #20 at AC, but failed to make the Pop chart. His next album, 1988's Flying Colours, generated a couple of minor AC entries, but nothing reached the Pop chart. His fortunes dwindled after that, which made "The Lady in Red" his last song to reach the US Pop chart. De Burgh did better back at home in the UK where Flying Colors hit #1. He would continue to record over the years with several of his album making the UK Top 10. Back in the US, he just became the guy who hit it big with "The Lady in Red."

ReduxReview:  This became one of those love it or loath it songs. Some people found it endearing and romantic while others thought it was just a big piece of schmaltz soaked in sickly sweet syrup. I fell a bit in between the two sides. I preferred the contemporary rock tunes on his previous two albums, so this gooey ballad wasn't what I expected or wanted from De Burgh. However, I did recognize that the song had a sappy, universal appeal that was a little hard to resist if you were in the right mood. I'm not a fan of the tune and I grew tired of it real quick back in the day, but I don't hate it either. It's one of those songs that when it comes on I think "oh, god...no." But then by the end of it I find myself swaying back 'n' forth a bit with a moony look on my face.

ReduxRating:  5/10

Trivia:  The Into the Light album also contained the ballad "For Rosanna." De Burgh wrote the song for his then two-year-old daughter. Rosanna Davison (Davison was Chris De Burgh's real last name, he adopted his mother's family name for his stage name) entered and won the title of Miss Ireland in 2003. That allowed her to complete at the Miss World pageant later in December, 2003. She ended up winning the pageant becoming the first contestant from Ireland to ever take the title.

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