Man On The Line

June 28, 2002
Chris de Burgh:
Now, I want to also respond to the other letters that I have read on the internet. Just ordinary things that people have said. I am absolutely astounded, astonished, amazed, delighted, thrilled, so touched by the stories that I’ve read about people who’ve, you know, joined with their parents or their father and really bonded by listening to my music. So many things that people have written to me. Please keep them coming. There are ordinary stories from ordinary people. Ordinary stories just like mine, things that I admire in others. And I am amazed and my family read them and they look at their Dad and say “God, Dad, you’ve had an impact on people!” So I am immensely proud of this, and please encourage people to send more stuff like this.
Editors's Note:
The Man On The Line section will take a brief break for about two weeks now, and will then be back with new questions and answers from Chris de Burgh. Please keep the questions coming. A big thank you to Chris de Burgh for taking the time to answer these questions and giving the fans a chance to get to know him and his music better.

June 27, 2002
Solange (37) from St. Bernard, Québec, Canada:
Connais-tu plusieurs chanteurs(euses) quebecois?Les aimes-tu?
Chris de Burgh:
Unfortunately I haven’t been to Québec for quite a long time, but I remember one time the great French-Canadian singer Celine Dion, she opened one of my concerts.

June 26, 2002
Kathy Joynson (46) from Liverpool, UK:
Have you been watching the programme "Pop Idol"? What do you think of that kind of method of finding the stars of the future? Do you think it’s just a gimmick or a pretty good idea?
Chris de Burgh:
Well, I have mixed feelings. You see, “Pop Idol” is an interesting idea. I come from the point of view that just about anybody can sing. That’s the first thing. So if you are interviewing 10,000 kids, you are going to get a lot of good singers in that lot. The only thing they haven’t thought about is that they have usually never thought about a career in the music business. So it’s a good way of getting talented people to the front, who may otherwise have not considered a career in the business. On the other hand, the downside is that they are likely to last a very short time. They are like I said earlier a supermarket product, very much a product of the times we are living in where it’s everybody wants on the instant. And then they’ll reject that and move on to the next instant thing. But the most cynical part of it is the amount of money that is being made by the managers, the record companies and the television stations. The actual stars themselves really don’t do well out of it. And I think it is going to be the death of the pop industry, this kind of thing. It means that genuinely talented writers out there, genuinely talented singers who don’t get a chance to go on television, don’t get a chance to get their hairdo done a particular way and they don’t get a chance to be dressed in a certain way, it does mean that the art of song writing is slowly and surely being killed of. And I am not surprised to see that record sales are plummeting, particularly in countries where they are doing this Pop Idol thing. Although they sell a lot of records initially, it really is in my opinion a seriously bad idea for encouraging creativity.

June 25, 2002
Tracey Upton (29) from York, UK:
To Chris, the 'Angel of Music' - You are a man of endless musical talents and I have often wondered if you had ever considered composing music and lyrics for a musical? Granted, Andrew Lloyd Webber has produced some amazing works, but your contributions would be just as fantastic. Your music and lyrics are so moving and some have the gift of touching your very soul. So go on, any chances of you thrilling the theatrical muses of the country as well as loyal Chris Fans such as myself?
Chris de Burgh:
I have often thought about composing musical lyrics for musical. I unfortunately can’t read or write music, so I wouldn’t be able to write an orchestral score. But the idea of being involved in a musical is very exciting. And I am looking forward to the opportunity one day of doing it, maybe even being involved in a film as well.

June 24, 2002
Hans Bierens (29) from The Netherlands:
Do you like The Corrs and is it possible that you will do a duet in future with Andrea Corr?
Chris de Burgh:
I do like The Corrs. I wouldn’t say I’m mad about them, but they play good music, they write good songs. But I think they are much more aware of their Irishness. It’s somewhat forced at times and I think the music is more based on how the girls look and how they sell themselves. I don’t think there’s anything very enduring about their music and I am sure they will probably agree. But they are very successful and I wish them a lot of luck.

June 23, 2002
Sharon Barker (37) from England:
Having heard you sing Beatles tracks so brilliantly at concerts, such as Hey Jude and the Long and Winding Road. Would you like to or is it likely that you will work with Sir Paul McCartney?
Chris de Burgh:
Sir Paul McCartney is my hero and nothing would give me greater pleasure than one day singing with him, or indeed just meeting the guy. I have met a couple of the Beatles, but not him.

June 22, 2002
Mike Smyth (39) from Bournemouth, UK:
I have to ask, which part of the job gives you the most satisfaction - composing, recording, performing etc?
Chris de Burgh:
Well, composing is hard work. But it’s very exciting when you’re starting a new song. And this new one for example, “Guilty Secret”, I was driving home in a car on a Sunday with my son in the car and I suddenly had this idea about “Guilty Secret”. Who knows where it came from; maybe it was from an advertising holding. And it was something in my head and I was banging on the steering wheel, and by the time I got home, I ran in and grabbed the guitar and most of the song came through. Those kinds of moments are really terrific.
Recording is hard work. I can’t say that I enjoy it that much, but it’s good and I really enjoyed the last two albums that I have made with Chris Porter.
Performing is probably the cream of the crop. I really enjoy that. It’s bringing things to life. And I love it.

June 21, 2002
Susan (37 1/2) from Madison, Ohio, USA:
I'm bantering semantics, but in the trilogy song "Revolution" off the album "The Getaway", how do you come down from a valley? (I know,I know).
Chris de Burgh:
The valleys don’t necessarily have to be at sea level. Valleys, for example, in the Alps are way up there at 12,000 feet. A valley is the bit between the mountains. And in my song, they are coming down from the valleys, because in Ireland for example in the Wicklow Hills, the valleys are a good 600 or 700 feet above sea level, maybe more. And that’s where all the action is taking place, at sea level.

June 20, 2002
Sergio Carloni (42) from Buenos Aires, Argentina:
What situation brought you to write "You are the reason"?
Chris de Burgh:
I was thinking not about myself, but I was thinking about people who, for example, started a business on their own and it collapses, and he goes off onto the edge of a cliff and maybe even thinks about suicide, maybe fleetingly. He is sitting there thinking about why his life has collapsed around him and his failure to himself and his family. The one rock in his life is his wife or indeed his girlfriend. And he turns to her, and holds her, probably with tears in his eyes, saying “You are the reason I stay in the fight”.

June 19, 2002
Jeanne Darche (27) from Ste-Thérèse, Québec, Canada:
Do you still sing "For Rosanna" for your daughter?!! It makes my sons go to sleep every time!
Chris de Burgh:
Yes, from time to time. But she’s nearly eighteen now and gets a little embarrassed about these things.

June 18, 2002
Hande Erkmen (32) from Istanbul, Turkey:
I believe all with my heart that your lyrics are all based on your real life stories. If it is possible could you please tell what the story is for 'FATAL HESITATION’? This song is so special for me. Thank you and looking forward to seeing you in Istanbul once again.
Chris de Burgh:
I wouldn’t like to say that all my songs are about personal things that have happened to me. But I can certainly imagine this one, because I started writing this tune about “the cafes are all deserted”. And it suddenly struck me that it’s like a puzzle. That here I am, in summer like Bournemouth, or indeed here in Ireland, Bray, on a cold November day, it is very miserable weather, and it’s raining, and all the tourists are gone, only to come back in the summer. And there is one guy left behind, that’s me, and I am sad about the fact that the girl that I really should have hung on to left and flew away. And that is the fatal hesitation, means that I should have moved when the chance was there. And one line I like is “I saw you again this morning, walking down the beach, and though you are a thousand miles away, you were only just out of reach”, which means that you often see people you think are the ones that you’re looking for, but they can’t just possibly be. I am glad you like that song.

June 17, 2002
Mark (36) from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada:
When you compose do you do that mostly on a guitar or piano?
Chris de Burgh:
I tend to do the faster songs, the more powerful rock songs on the guitar, and the more ballad-orientated songs on the piano. Mainly because I am not a particularly good piano player. Or indeed guitar-player.

June 16, 2002
Nathalie Bhoedjang (30) from The Netherlands:
When will your new album be released?
Chris de Burgh:
The new album will be released in September.

June 15, 2002
Sarah Brown (36) from Leeds, UK:
Hi Chris, are you at all religious?
Chris de Burgh:
Organized religion leaves me pretty cold. But nevertheless I am a deeply spiritual person. I am quite sure that there is another dimension that none of us is aware of, or only fleetingly aware of. But organized religion, as I said earlier; it's entirely up to every man, how they prosecute their own religious feelings and sentiments and how they proceed with them. And it’s never right to criticize somebody for believing in what they want to believe in. And if you want to believe in that a cat is the most powerful creature for the afterlife, well, go for it. But, as far as I am concerned, yes, I do go to church. I bring my family to church; I was brought up going to church. But organized religion is made up by men and not, in my opinion, God.

June 14, 2002
Katarzyna Chojnacka (26) from Warsaw, Poland:
I've been to you concert in Warsaw and after this I had the feeling that you are fascinated by Russia. I would like to ask you what are the reasons of your fascination?
Chris de Burgh:
I’m not fascinated by Russia, but certainly in the times that I have been going there. We forget here in the West that for centuries the Soviet Union was the most powerful organization of countries on the planet. And I find it interesting going across there into Russia and the former Soviet Union, because historically it was impossible to go there and now it’s been opened up since Glasnost and it gives us a chance from the West just to see what’s going on there. And I am also particularly interested about what it must have been like growing up there, as I refer to not only in the new song “Lebanese Night”, but also in “Natasha Dance”, about looking into the eyes of a young woman and wondering what it must have been like growing up in a very difficult society at the time.

June 13, 2002
Lyubov (27) from Moscow, Russia:
At your recent Moscow concert on March 8, 2002 you were asked again and again by not one woman to sing "Lonely Sky" and you answered '"It's tomorrow's song". Are you always that principled? :-)
Chris de Burgh:
I have to balance my concert. And if I have done a few ballads already, particularly solo, it’s difficult to come back to a song like, for example, Lonely Sky. I am not too rigid about these things, but when I said “It’s tomorrow’s song”, I think I did actually sing it the following day. If I didn’t, I apologize, but I usually do that song. But when you’re doing a solo concert, you have to be extremely aware of the dynamics of the concert, how it works, how songs follow each other. And if you sang too many ballads or quiet ones, one after the other, it does affect the movement of the songs and the concert.

June 12, 2002
Tillman Graach (22) from Augsburg, Germany:
For years I've wondered what the lyrics of "Heart of Darkness" are about. I love this song and its mystic mood, but still I don't quite get the message of the lyrics. Is there any connection to the novel "Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad?
Chris de Burgh:
Well, of course, this does refer to the Joseph Conrad book “Heart of Darkness”, which is the story of a man’s search into himself to find the soul. And in that book the Congo River and indeed “Apocalypse now” is an allegory for moving deeper and deeper into the heart of yourself to find the man Kurtz, who is the horror and the horror. He has created the absolute, ultimate horror within himself that all men and women are capable of. And in “Heart of Darkness” it’s actually not just about that, but it’s actually going through death and finally it’s like a near-death-experience, going to see what’s on the other side and coming back again. Based in a little Cornish village on, I suppose, referring to a book I loved called “Moonfleet”, one of my favourite books about a boy hearing the storms and the ships crashing onto the bay and people lying in their beds, waiting to pick up all the salvage the next day. But “Heart of Darkness” is a journey, as it says in the lyrics, “a journey of my life” and of course death.

June 11, 2002
Goretti (27) from Uganda:
What inspired you to start singing and why do you sing that kind of music instead of any other type say may be R&B?
Chris de Burgh:
I started singing, because I wanted to and I could. The kind of music I sing, I think, suits my voice. For R&B, I think, you’ve got to have a bit more of a husky voice, a bit more of a rock orientated voice.

June 10, 2002
Ralph Busch (44) from Hamburg, Germany:
Will the "beautiful dreams"-video be re-released on DVD someday, too?
Chris de Burgh:
Hopefully it will be released on DVD some day.

June 9, 2002
Shahir (21) from Torbat Jam, Iran:
I'd like to know if you listen to your own songs? "listen“?
Chris de Burgh:
Yes, I do. Not frequently, but sometimes when I’m in the mood, I sit down and have a good listen. And sometimes I even walk away thinking “Gosh, that was pretty good”, you know. Sometimes I get quite proud of what I have done.

June 8, 2002
Ruth German (32) from Leicester, England:
What was your inspiration behind the lyrics for Saint Peters Gate?
Chris de Burgh:
If we are judged at Saint Peter’s Gate after our death, it doesn’t matter if, as I say on the stage, if you are a king or a prince or a dictator or an ordinary common person like myself. Sooner or later we have to stand for our judgement day. And really it was looking at people like Hitler, Milosevic, Stalin. Wouldn’t it be fantastic to think that everybody that those guys have murdered is waiting for them on their judgement day? It’s a song about revenge, but I made it into one of my story songs as well.

June 7, 2002
Sally (15) from Plymouth, Devon, England:
Are your lyrics based on real life experiences, or just creative?
Chris de Burgh:
Real life experiences, perhaps. But that would have applied to me very rarely. They are usually from observation, other people’s experiences or maybe even watching what’s happening in other people’s lives. And of course there is a lot of imagination as well.

June 6, 2002
Carol Ann Sampson (36) from Bear River, Nova Scotia, Canada:
Chris, why is it that you do not wear a wedding ring? Is it a personal preference? Does it get in the way of playing guitar? Do you normally wear one at home? Just curious because if my husband didn't wear his, I would be so miffed at him! Love your work and loved meeting you in 2000 in Halifax.
Chris de Burgh:
I prefer not to wear a wedding ring. It does get in the way of playing the guitar and the piano. I haven’t worn one for years and years and years. It’s got nothing to do with not being married or pretending anything, it’s just a preference.

June 5, 2002
Alice Perry (12) from Falmouth, Cornwall, England:
Are any of your children musical?
Chris de Burgh:
All my children are musical. But whether they go into business, I don’t know, it’s a different question.

June 4, 2002
Tina (19) from Windeck, Germany:
Will you do further duets in the future and do you intend to do one with Shelley Nelson again?
Chris de Burgh:
I would love to do further duets. In effect on my new album, “Timing Is Everything”, I have … well, I haven’t done a duet with Shelley Nelson, but she has done a lot of singing on the album. And hopefully in the future I may do another one with her or maybe somebody else.

June 3, 2002
Brian Morton (35) from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada:
On the last few tours you have been playing these 12 string solid body guitars. What kind of guitars are they and who makes them? Also having played many types of guitars over the years (Guild, Ovation, Gibson and Rickenbacker to name a few) what do you look for in choosing a guitar??
Chris de Burgh:
The solid bodies (the ones I mentioned earlier) are from the Guitar Factory in Southern parts of the States. What I look for in choosing a guitar is, because I have small hands, I like a fairly small neck on a guitar. And a good action. Obviously has to be beautifully in tune from the top to the bottom. And easy to play. And obviously has to sound good.

June 2, 2002
Alireza Kousha (22) from Tehran, Iran:
There is nothing worth dying for (up here in heaven) - do you really believe it?
Chris de Burgh:
There are obviously people who even nowadays believe it’s worth killing themselves and bringing death to many many others in suicide bombings. They think it’s worth dying for their cause. Personally, I don’t, but then again I have never been put in the situation of having to defend my homeland or indeed my family more importantly. I presume that, if I was pushed into it, yes, I would consider giving up my own life for that of my children or my family.

June 1, 2002
Perry (29) from Oslo, Norway:
What are you singing about in "don’t pay the ferryman" it is not really about a ferryman is it?
Chris de Burgh:
Oh, it is about a ferryman, but it’s got a bit of that allusion to ancient Greek mythology, when the ferryman with the ferry, there’s the spirits of the dead across the river to the final resting place. But my song really is about destiny and creating the sort of strange cinematic feel. Not quite sure what’s going on, but I can certainly see the video in my head, and there certainly is a ferryman in my song.

May 31, 2002
Birgit Görbing (39) from Gemünden, Westerwald, Germany:
New song texts deal with sex, drugs and violence; and the kids like it. What's your opinion to such topics, also as a father?
Chris de Burgh:
Kids like it, of course they like it, because it’s revolutionary, it’s going against everything that parents stand for. This has been going on for centuries. And in more recent times the Rolling Stones shocked parents at the time because of the way they lived, the things they believed in, the qualities that they wanted to live their lives with. And nowadays they are parents and they are just as shocked as any parent is for the current thing. People go through this phase and they come out of it. My feelings of course about sex, drugs and violence are that anybody can write a shocking song like Eminem or these kind of guys. Rap songs, anybody can do that. It’s nothing unusual, it’s just like swearing in public or shouting in church. Anybody can do it, but most people don’t bother.

May 30, 2002
Kevin Klimowski (39) from West Des Moines, Iowa, USA:
What are your strongest memories of touring the U.S.A. during your Crusader days (1979 - 1980)? This is when I first saw you in concert! Here in Iowa!
Chris de Burgh:
My strongest memories were that it was very hard work. We lived on a bus for 6 to 8 weeks in a go. We got bus fever and went crazy. The concerts were great fun, worth doing, very well worth doing. And I remember being really amazed at the number of fans that I had in the States, even back in the early 80s.

May 29, 2002
Scott Whitaker (37) from Rockwood, Tennessee, USA:
With all due respect to your touring band, if you could choose your dream band of established star musicians, who would they be? P.S. we miss you in the states; a live DVD in region 1 format could help fill the void!
Chris de Burgh:
The dream touring band wouldn’t be any musicians that I would particularly select, but the key thing to touring in a band is to have friends who are also brilliant musicians. And that is particularly important, because when you’re on the road for months and months, you have to be able to get on with the guys you’re playing with.

May 28, 2002
Laura Lind (12) from Edmonton, Canada:
I would like to be a songwriter; can you give me any advice on what I should study?
Chris de Burgh:
The best thing you should do to become a songwriter is study chords on a guitar or a piano and their relationship to another. Most songs, if not all pop songs, are written on chords. Unlike the great geniuses of the classical times, we have to rely on the building bricks of chords. Look at the chords, play along with as many songs as you like, and understand the relationship between the melody and the chords. Learn from great songwriters. The more you play along with other songs, the more you begin to realize what makes them work. There’s an absolute host of conventions into great songs where the melody should begin, whether it should become off the beat, on the beat, around the beat, the highest notes that would usually be the choruses. There’s an absolute mass of them. But the only way you are gonna learn is by playing along with other people’s songs and then trying to write your own. Good luck!

May 27, 2002
Art (33) from Malone, New York, USA:
I would like to buy a new guitar soon, and wondered what you would recommend to play so I can get your sound as I play along to your music.
Chris de Burgh:
I have always enjoyed Ovation. I have a number of guitars. I’ve got two Ovations, a six string and a twelve string. And a gut string Ovation. I also have three guitars, one six-string and two twelves, made by the Guitar Factory, which is in Tampa/Florida, I believe. They are stunning hard body guitars that are amazing. One chord can fill an entire stadium. But the Japanese like Takamini, they make very good models, twelve strings, six strings as well. And of course you can’t go wrong with a Gibson or a Martin.

May 26, 2002
Veronica Thompson (44) from Greenock, Scotland:
I like to listen to your music whenever I feel in a romantic mood and also when I am trying to seduce my husband after a long and busy day at work. What makes you feel romantic?
Chris de Burgh:
Well, Veronica, I can’t tell you how flattered I am to think that you are using my music to seduce your husband. What do you do with the CD? Hit him over the head? That might do the trick! Anyway, I am very flattered to hear about it. What makes me feel romantic? I think the key is atmosphere. Creating a warm, cosy, comfortable atmosphere, even if you’re out for dinner with your partner and I felt that a lot of women would like to have the feeling that they are being wooed mentally, not just physically. Because men are sometimes particularly good at being too physically aggressive whereas, I think, a woman would like to feel that she is worth something, worth a lot in fact. A woman likes to feel that she is wooed in a romantic, gentle, respectful way. I think what can happen subsequently, you know, you go home and make love. You have to remember, a woman gives herself to a man, generally speaking that’s the way, and if a man tries to take too aggressively, he can really turn off the woman. And I think a partnership has to be very much about a man and a woman having mutual respect. I think the man must always show affection primarily and mental stimulation before he starts anything else. What makes me feel romantic, I suppose, is beautiful music and beautiful atmosphere. And I hope, whatever you get from my music, Veronica, manages to make your husband feel the same as you do.

May 25, 2002
Munroe (30) from Berwick-Upon-Tweed, England:
I'd like to ask Chris what was the last CD he bought.....
Chris de Burgh:
Hmm, that is a difficult question. I am not very good about buying CDs. I think Dido probably, but that wasn’t very recently. But I think she’s terrific. She’s a great artist and a fresh sound. I don’t know, if she would have been so significant 25 years ago, when there were a lot of singers/songwriters around, but now she sounds fresh and different and she writes about things that are appealing to ordinary people. You know “I like to wake up in the morning beside you”, and “I miss you when I’m gone”. Just things that most people think about, but can’t really express. Which after all is what songwriters can do, to express in words and music what other people can’t really say.

May 24, 2002
Tim Broderick (34) from Boston, USA:
Why is your music not more aggressively marketed in the United States?
Chris de Burgh:
I had a very big song with “Lady In Red” and prior to that “Don’t Pay The Ferryman” and “High On Emotion” were hits. But I have no idea. It’s not exactly a mystery to me, so I can’t really go into it, as I do know why. But you’ve got to remember that it’s frustrating when you know you’ve got something that people want to hear and would like to hear, when the money men between you and the market decide that they don’t want to invest a lot of money. It’s frustrating. But you know, I have done well in the past in America, and I hope to do well again in the future. It is the world’s biggest market and they are English speaking and it is a bit of a mystery to me why I don’t do better. But funnily enough we do get radio reports back and I get a lot of radio play in a significant number of areas in America. I think, if I spend more time there, it would be slightly easier, but who knows? The day may come.

May 23, 2002
Tarek (32) from Cairo, Egypt:
Chris, you are extremely popular in countries like Egypt & Lebanon, but there have been some rumours that you have feelings against Arabs and Moslems (songs like Crusader); what is your comment on that?
Chris de Burgh:
Let me explain, because I have seen this rumour before and I’d like to completely deny any problem that I have with Moslems and Arabs. In fact I have a song on the new album called “Lebanese Night”, based on the night that I was out in Beirut a couple of years ago. And there are so many very pretty ladies. I mean, it is an extraordinary place apart from the historical side of it. Full of really nice people, guys and beautiful women. And I was just thinking about how it must have been for the girl in my song, who is nobody in particular, but could be anybody, how it must have been for that person growing up in the war years in Beirut. And this then applies to children in war zones everywhere, be it Israel, be it Palestine, be it the North of Ireland, it’s basically aimed at all children, what they must have to go through. Living amongst landmines that blow them apart or living in war areas that the wars have been created by their parents and people like, you know, the older people who have left a dreadful legacy for the youngsters.
When I was writing the song “Crusader”, I was not drawing very strongly on historical facts, but nevertheless, what happened was when news of what had happened in the Holy Land reached the capitals of Europe, they decided to put aside their differences and all get together to fight the Crusade. That was the interesting thing to me. If something were to happen as happened recently in Afghanistan, people who would not necessarily get on particularly well, they all came together to fight one enemy. And that I find fascinating, even back in the 12th/13th/14th centuries. So there is absolutely nothing at all against Arabs. And somebody started this very bad rumour about me years ago and I would like to take this opportunity on the internet to say I have absolutely no intention whatsoever of offending anybody with “Crusader”. It is just a historical look at an extraordinary event. In fact, as we all know subsequently, the Crusades were really not a religious war or a very honourable war in any way. It was, I think, shown later to be very much based on making as much money and spoils and gold for the people who were involved. So, just to reiterate: “Crusader” was a song based on history and based on events that I described and I very much like the friends that I have made in Arab countries and I look forward to returning to them in the future.
And incidentally, while I am on this subject, I’d like to talk about Moslems as well. I’ve always held a view on two very important things for me, which is: never ever make a judgement on somebody else’s relationship with their wife or their husband or whatever. I think you should never make a judgement whatever it may be on how people live together or why they are not getting on together. You know, what happens in somebody’s home is entirely private. You should never make a judgement or indeed hold a strong opinion about that. And the second thing is about religion. You know, if you listen to my song “Up Here In Heaven”, it’s notable for the fact that there is a war ceremonies or remembrance ceremonies going on in two distinctly different areas. Both of them were fighting, say, many years before. And the soldiers, who have died, are all up there in heaven. Every denomination, you know, Japanese, German, English, Taliban, and they are all saying “Hold on a second, why were we fighting for our particular God, when there is actually only one God?” And that’s my point. Religious wars have been fought for centuries about something nobody can prove for a start. And be it Moslem or Hindu or Christian, everybody should be allowed to believe what they want to believe. It’s really important. I think if tomorrow everybody was tolerant about what the man next door wanted to believe, I think the world would be a completely changed place. When is that enlightened one gonna come upon us? Who knows when.

May 22, 2002
Birgit (42) from Braunschweig, Germany:
Hello, how much time do you spend together with your children - when you are at home? This is a question my twin-daughters want to know. We all saw you in the last concert in Braunschweig and since that evening they are big fans of you... like their mother. Thank you very much and all the best. Carolin and Isabel (my girls) want me to give their regards to your children.
Chris de Burgh:
When I am away, obviously I am away. But when I am at home, I am home 24 hours a day. I am a 24 hours a day Dad. I take my kids to school every morning, and I am there for them when they come home in the evening. I look after them, you know, I am always there as a Dad. And I kind of feel that spread across the year I am probably around more than most Dads who get up very early, go to the office, and come back late. And I always keep weekends for the children. I never do anything at the weekends apart from of course with them, like taking them to football matches or rugby matches.

May 21, 2002
Sabrina Schmidt (26) from Lüneburg, Germany:
I have been in many many pubs in Dublin and Surroundings (one of my favourite pubs is "The Bleeding Horse“). My question is: what is your favourite pub in Dublin or Ireland and why?
Chris de Burgh:
I live in a little village called Dalkey, and I go very rarely to be honest. If I go out, I go out with a couple of friends to either Finnegan’s or The Club, here in Dalkey.

May 20, 2002
Cecil (37) from St. John's, New Foundland, Canada:
Will there be a new live album after the 2002 tour?
Chris de Burgh:
There will be a new live album some day, but I am not sure it will be after the 2002 tour.

May 19, 2002
Sean Kingsbury (31) from Albany, New York, USA:
What do you consider to be your most inspiring concert during the last few years?
Chris de Burgh:
This is difficult to answer. I think probably I point at one of the concerts I would have done in the open air in England with my band in the grounds of a beautiful palace or castle. But you know, a lot of them are so memorable, they sort of drift into one. There’s also the concert I did for the victims of the fire in Volendam in Holland, that was an extraordinary night for me, very emotional.

May 18, 2002
Richard Barry (21) from Alness Ross-shire, Scotland:
Will Chris de Burgh's daughter Rosanna or sons Hubie, Michael follow in your foot steps in the music industry?
Chris de Burgh:
I think it is highly unlikely that my boys or my daughter will follow in my foot steps in the music industry, because it has changed so completely. But I certainly am not gonna stop them. I think it’s really important for everybody to give something a try. There’s no point saying “I could have been a brain surgeon”, “I could have been an astronaut”, “I could have been a rocket scientist”. But you’ve gotta give it a try, if you really feel that you have an ability. It’s better to have lost in vain than never to have tried at all. Actually that’s another song on my new album, it’s called “Another Rainbow”.

May 17, 2002
Gale (54) from Canada:
Dear Chris, would you and could you tell us pretty please, what the names of some of your new songs will be? It would be nice to have them to look forward to. :) Gale
Chris de Burgh:
The names of some of my new songs? Right, Gale. I’ll give you some titles here. I have mentioned “Guilty Secret”. “There’s Room In This Heart Tonight” which is a song that I have had from the past but I have changed a lot and added to the lyrics. We’ve got “If Beds Could Talk”, “She Must Have Known”, “Save Me”, “Bal Masqué”. And there’s a big ballad called “The Best That Love Can Be”.

May 16, 2002
Bernhard Sereoj (40) from Mainz, Germany:
What brand of aftershave or eau de cologne do you use?
Chris de Burgh:
Currently I am using Armani. How’s that?

May 15, 2002
Ruth Orenstrat (24) from Düsseldorf, Germany:
Have you ever thought of co-writing a song with one of your fans who is a singer/ songwriter as well?
Chris de Burgh:
Well, I suppose I have, but usually I feel that I am able to write the words and the music and most importantly come up with the idea. And there is one extremely successful singer, who also plays the piano, a world wide star, but he hasn’t written, as far as I know, any songs at all. He is just a very good melodic composer. And he is very fortunate to be supplied with such a fantastic series of ideas whereas I come up with my own. And once you get your own idea, you want to express it in your own way, which is why I tend to write virtually everything myself.

May 14, 2002
Marian Pantano (47) from Sydney, Australia:
Greetings from Sydney Chris, I was wondering about your song 'Fire on the Water' where it says "There's a place and an ancient fortress, High above the worries of the world....... " Was there some place or story in particular that inspired these words? This song, particularly those words, are of interest to me due to an unusual happening in my life after which I heard this song for the first time and it stunned me! Thank you for your wonderful music and for using this wonderful gift to give to others, Love Marian.
Chris de Burgh:
As I was writing the song “Fire On The Water”, I always look for mental images in my head to have a reference point. And there is a place indeed where I have been, that’s very famous in Brittany. I believe it’s in Brittany, called Mont Saint Michel, which is an ancient monastery. And that’s the sort of place I had mentally in my head when I was writing “Fire On The Water”, because it’s there in the sea, which is only accessible at low tide, and otherwise you walk across the sand to get there. So it really wasn’t anything that particularly applied to me, but I love the idea fire on the water, because they are two opposites that attract, as often happens in human relationships.

May 13, 2002
Karin Koch (30) from Hüfingen, Germany:
Why does the cover of "Into the light" look like "Flying Colours" and vice versa? Was it by accident or purpose? It's funny, I always mix them up!
Chris de Burgh:
Actually they do look like reversed. “Flying Colours” came after “Into The Light”. “Into The Light” was supposed to have been releasing colours of music, something that has been in the dark, released into the light. “Flying Colours” was that feeling when you’re in an aircraft and you’re going through turbulences, and when you break through the clouds, suddenly you’re in open sky and you see the sun for the first time and it’s smooth flying. That was the feeling about that.

May 12, 2002
Thomas Schilb (35) from Tallahassee, Florida, USA:
While listening to The Leader Trilogy I get visions of the Battle of Armageddon and the leader seems to be the Anti-Christ "Our leader on a pale horse". Is this the idea you had and if not will you explain the idea behind your excellent song. Thank you for all your stories.
Chris de Burgh:
I am very glad that somebody has picked up on the Leader Trilogy. It is the Battle of Armageddon. Funnily enough this one started when I went to Normandy on a trip and I was in this restaurant, we just arrived. And I saw this amazing picture on the wall of six or seven warriors with their back to the picture, looking out to sea. They were just dressed in animal skins and fur, and holding spears, looking towards the sea as if waiting for some Messiah to come. I was really moved by this picture. In fact about two months later after I had begun writing and recording this song, I contacted the hotel to see if they would sell me the picture, but they wouldn’t. It was no surprise, because it is a great picture. And I transfer that to modern day times. Initially it sort of started with the time of Stonehenge, but as with a lot of songs with me, I wanted to get the idea that there is a modern parallel. The old-fashioned one was back in the times of ancient men and Stonehenge and looking out in the sky. I don’t know if you remember the end of the film “Raiders Of The Lost Ark”. There are extraordinary things coming out of the ark like ghosts. I suddenly had this vision, that’s why the second part of the song is called “The Vision”, of Armageddon in the sky. And if you read the last pages of the bible, there is a very good description of the leaders and the pale horse and the four horsemen and the apocalypse. The purpose of this was, this was the time when Ronald Reagan was rattling his sabre and threatening nuclear war and it was a reality. And I thought, what is the point of starting a nuclear war when there is nothing left at the end of it, which is why in the third part I am shouting as loud as I can “What about me? And you? And the ones that we love? Well, what about us?” It’s all very well for our leaders to have these extraordinary ideas about threatening. Again we have it with Bush against Iraq. You know, this could unleash ferocity and a catastrophe on an enormous scale. So that’s what this song is all about.

May 11, 2002
Johan (19) from Potchefstroom, South Africa:
I was just wondering if the song "Man on the Line" from the album "Man on the line" was based on a true event. Was there really someone phoning your wife?
Chris de Burgh:
No, this was not based on a true event. It was just based on a fairly bizarre idea. I think this was an example of a song that came out of nowhere. “There’s a man on the line”, I thought “what does this mean?” It also has a double meaning about humanity. On the line, here we are at a critical point again in human history. No, it wasn’t based on anybody phoning my wife. But who knows, somebody might…

May 10, 2002
Christian Craughwell (17) from Galway, Ireland:
You seem to be recording, writing and touring constantly. How do you ever find time to relax? P.S I do a radio show on Flirt FM 105.6 (Campus Radio) I play one of your songs every week-you're the man, keep them coming!
Chris de Burgh:
I actually find a lot of time for leisure. When I am at home in Ireland, I enjoy being with my family and friends and just sort of being quiet. I tend to lead a rather bizarre life style. When I am at home, I am moving along at zero miles an hour. And when I am on tour, it’s like a hundred miles an hour all the time. But in between that I do find plenty of time for relaxation. And I give you best wishes to Flirt FM 105.6 Campus Radio!

May 9, 2002
Sue Shead (46) from London, UK:
Hi Chris, I would really like to know if when you are touring do you ever have the chance to go into the various cities and towns during the day and "see some of the sights" or is that impossible? Also what do you miss most when you are away from home?
Chris de Burgh:
I have been always known as a very good tourist. I always like to look around the cities that I go to, even if I’ve been there many times before. In Munich for example, I will always go down to the Marienplatz and walk around usually on my own because nobody sort of spots you then. And I look at the things and sights and sounds, because I always remember that for most people they never have a chance to go to these places. And if they do, it costs them a lot of money to go there, whereas for me it’s part of my job, so I take advantage of that. I really enjoy the sights and sounds of the cities. For example I was recently in Russia. In Moscow I went again for the third time to the Kremlin museum which is absolutely staggering. And I walked around Red Square, this time surrounded by bodyguards, which was a pretty weird feeling. Wherever I am, yes, I always go round the cities. And what do I miss most when I’m away from home? I miss hugs, that’s all, hugs.

May 8, 2002
Matthias Lenz (29) from Aschaffenburg, Germany:
What do the boys of your band in the time when they are not on tour with you?
Chris de Burgh:
The boys in my current band, they are all session players and they occasionally play on other people’s tours when they are not working with me. But we always have a great time together.

May 7, 2002
Claudio Correa (42) from Santiago de Chile, Chile:
Why you don't include the song "Flying" (turning around) in one of your successes or why you don't record it again (because it was a big hit in 1975)?
Chris de Burgh:
The song “Flying”, which was a huge hit in South America, is one of my favourites from the earlier albums. In fact, it was on the first one, titled “Turning Round” and re-titled “Flying”. Maybe I should, yes! Yes, maybe one day with an orchestra, I’ll get round to doing it again.

May 6, 2002
Anne (19) from Belgium:
Ok, I don't know you very long but I was so impressed when I saw you on the night of the proms. So I listened to your cd from a spark to a flame and I was amazed, you know your voice and you use it totally. A question came up to me when I listened to your songs: why didn't you enter the eurovisiesongcontest yet? You would win certainly. Anne
Chris de Burgh:
Without being too rude about the Eurovision song contest, it is, in my opinion, strictly for amateurs, amateur songwriters and pretty well amateur or sort of newly discovered talent these days. There was a time of course when people like Abba would win it all or Bucks Fizz, but these days, I think, it is very limited now in appeal. Most people like to watch the voting, just to see who gets zero “null points” this year, but it’s not anything that a serious artist should ever really get involved in, because it can be the kiss of death. I’m being quite rude about it, actually quite polite to be balanced as well. The Eurovision song contest gives a tremendous amount of exposure, but who can name who won it last year or indeed two years ago, or three years ago. Because people, they are overnight stars for a short time, and they drift off into the mass unconsciousness. It is not what it used to be, so I wouldn’t get involved.

May 5, 2002
Laura Young (38) from Sudbury, Canada:
When you come to write and record, how do you know in your head or heart which song "has that magic touch" that will make the album cut?
Chris de Burgh:
If something touches me, if something feels like the emotion is right and it makes me get the chills on the back of my arms, and there’s something about it that feels absolutely perfect, or else alternatively if it’s a song that really has me tapping my feet saying “gosh, I am looking forward to playing this one live with the band and giving it plenty of energy”. Those are the kind of songs that I know will make it onto a record. Without sounding arrogant about this point , if I may sort of suggest that I am a bit like a painter or a furniture maker, is that you get to a certain degree of skill where you know that you’re never gonna write a really bad song, because it doesn’t even get past the first phase. So your skills, your knowledge, your creativity and hopefully your talent all combine to make it at least a decent song. But it’s the really brilliant ones that are very hard to find.

May 4, 2002
Cleopatra (52) from Australia:
Hi Chris, will you be putting more saxophone into your new album?
Chris de Burgh:
You know, I haven’t done saxophone really recently. It has a great sound. I was listening to a song today with great saxophone on it. So perhaps on the next one I’ll put something in.

May 3, 2002:
Michael Selbach (30) from Duisburg, Germany:
I want to know the name of your brand-new album! Perhaps it’s called "beagles“?!
Chris de Burgh:
This “Beagles” joke, it was actually just an aside when I was trying to put together an idea for Beatles and Eagles. Now it doesn’t sound like the Beagles, this new record. It’s actually hard; it has some really good stuff on it. I’m very pleased that it has some hard hitting stuff like “Bal Masqué” and “Guilty Secret”. And there are some nice ballads on it too. I’m very pleased. And the name of my new album is “Timing Is Everything”.

May 2, 2002
Sahand Gavidel (18) from Tehran, Iran:
Why is it too hard to find your albums, concerts and video clips? Don’t you sing these lovely songs for these poor guys, aren’t we your friends?
Chris de Burgh:
Unfortunately I don’t know how to get the videos and tapes into Tehran. It’s one of those problems that you have to get to the record companies to answer that one. I’m sorry I can’t help.

May 1, 2002
Payam Nikdast (28) from Tehran, Iran:
Do you know that your lyrics have been translated to Farsi and been sold about a million?
Chris de Burgh:
I must stress that I have been looking at my website a lot and I have been so amazed by the things that people have been saying. It’s an extraordinary feeling to know that you have touched people in so many ways and so many countries. Iran is one of them. And the answer to the question: I had no idea that my lyrics have been translated into Farsi. Iran is definitely one of those countries I would love to visit. Not only for historical reasons but also for the fact that I believe that music is an international language and deserves to be heard all over the world.

April 30, 2002
Ronnie (28) from Dublin, Ireland, now in London:
In concert, do you prefer performing with the band or an orchestra?
Chris de Burgh:
I love playing with the band, I love creating that excitement. I’ve had many many memorable concerts in Ireland and I hope to be performing in Ireland later in the year again. Playing with an orchestra is a memorable thing as well. I’ve done, I suppose, 40 or 50 shows with orchestras and I’m glad to be able to have more than one string to my bow, where I can actually do shows with quartets, or solo shows, or indeed orchestra and band shows.

April 29, 2002
Joanne Brown (18) from Coventry, England:
Where do you get your inspiration from when writing the lyrics, and are they of personal value to you?
Chris de Burgh:
It comes from imagination and observation. And quite often they do apply to me in a personal kind of way, but not very often, because I am like everybody else, I have a guard around me, a wall around me, and I don’t like people to be able to look too deep in. But that’s not to say I am not a very vulnerable person. And I like honesty in lyrics.

April 28, 2002
Steve Bennett (35) from Winsford, England:
We all miss Glenn Morrow on keys, was the song 'Snows Of New York' written for him? If not, have you ever written a song with Glenn as the inspiration?
Chris de Burgh:
The “Snows Of New York” song was not written for Glenn Morrow. I started a song with Glenn as an inspiration which I haven’t finished yet. It’s one of those things I’m kind of waiting for more emotions as the further I get away from Glenn comes. He was such a good friend and maybe it’s still a bit too soon for me to be able to write something about him, because he was with me for 17, 18 years. But I do have something in my mind.

April 27, 2002
Sven Rück (25) from Frankfurt, Germany:
Will you make a studio-record from "Hey Jude" and "Hotel California“?
Chris de Burgh:
I think it is highly unlikely that I will ever do a version of “Hey Jude” or “Hotel California”. Mainly because the originals were very good.

April 26, 2002
Michael Hirdes (32) from Berlin, Germany:
Do you support young unknown artists and if not what would you recommend?
Chris de Burgh:
I get a lot of tapes from unknown artists and I know Michael Hirdes has got a friend, I believe, from Turkey who has got a wonderful voice that I commented on when I received the tape. It’s very hard to know how to recommend anybody move forward in today’s climate because it appears to be based very little on talent but much more on how you look. A bit like a supermarket product where the wrapping is wonderful, but there is virtually nothing inside. Nevertheless I think true talent will finally emerge, if somebody is determined enough to make that talent heard.

April 25, 2002
Richard Jarman (24) from Manchester, UK:
How long will you continue making music and go on tour?
Chris de Burgh:
I think as you all know I love going on tour and making music is just utterly natural to me. It’s as natural as breathing in fact. I’ve already got about six new songs growing in my head for another album after this current one. So for me it is an important way of expressing myself.

April 24, 2002
Linda Howitt from Glasgow, Scotland:
If I could visit one moment in history it would be when Buddy Holly first played the NY Apollo. Is there a moment you would like to visit for any particular reason?
Chris de Burgh:
Well, coincidently I happened to have been in America when Neil Armstrong stepped onto the moon. I would have loved to have had the courage to be one of those early astronauts. I think, if I had been in the LM watching Neil Armstrong stepping onto the moon and listening to him saying “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.”, that would have been an incredible time to have been with those people. I’m a real space nut; I love the idea that out there somewhere there are other civilizations keeping an eye on us perhaps or are in a much earlier phase of their development.

April 23, 2002
Tina (19) from Windeck, Germany:
What was the most lovely gift you ever got from a fan?
Chris de Burgh:
Well, I love getting flowers from fans as I did recently in my shows in Russia. On the first show in Moscow it was International Women’s Day in Russia. And I got lovely gifts from people. It’s nice sometimes, when they write a short thing about themselves or put a photograph with the flowers. I can’t really think of any special gift, but people have painted things for me and written me poems. It is wonderful to receive these accolades.

April 22, 2002
Sabine Kowalke (42) from Herrnburg, Germany:
Do you plan a video of your concert tour in 2002?
Chris de Burgh:
This is possible. Putting a video together is a big thing and preferably it’s done when you’re in the same venue for 2 or 3 nights, as that makes the whole thing a lot easier to do.

April 21, 2002
Sheila Gardner (41) from Hounslow, Middlsex, UK:
What other artists do you admire?
Chris de Burgh:
I admire many artists, but primarily I admire songwriters, people who can come up with very unique and different ideas. Of course I go back to the Beatles. I think Lennon/McCartney were just magical, majestic, awesome. Of course Bob Dylan was an early influence. And more recently people like Sting, Peter Gabriel, etc. I have always admired great songwriters like that.

April 20, 2002
Jeri from California, USA:
Chris, you have tried your talents in film, can we then look forward to seeing your musical career told on the large screen someday?
Chris de Burgh:
Well, I think a lot of people in my profession that made that somewhat dubious jump from being great musicians into being very indifferent screen stars, I will not really mention them, but there are those who, I think, can successfully do it the other way around. I think from being a pop star into a screen star is a big thing. And it just shows that really it doesn’t take a lot these days apparently to become a pop star, unless you got some kind of background and talent. But to be a film star you have to have a tremendous amount of training and acting ability. And there are very few people who can just walk straight into it as they can into the music business.

April 19, 2002
Angela Owen (34) from Cullompton, Devon, UK:
I know you do a lot of work for Charity but do you have a favourite organisation and what were your reasons for choosing it?
Chris de Burgh:
I do a lot of work for charity, but the key thing I get involved with is charities involving children.

April 18, 2002
Marc Griemmert (31) from Dortmund, Germany:
What happened to the old CdeB Band-Members (Ian Kojima, Glenn Morrow etc.) ?
Chris de Burgh:
Glenn Morrow died of non-Hotchkins lymphoma, cancer.
Ian Kojima is working in Toronto.
Al Marnie is running a guest house in Miami.
Danny McBride is a successful artist in, I believe, Western Canada.
And Jeff Philips is now living in San Diego, California.

April 17, 2002
Cora van Leeuwen (57) from The Netherlands:
I always wanted to know how you started to write a song. What came first when you create a new song, the words or the music, or maybe at the same time?
Chris de Burgh:
When I write a song it is basically two or three different ways.
The first way is when I’ve had an idea that’s been just stating for a while in my head. A bit like planting seed in a garden, and it grows. I think an example of this would be "A Woman’s Heart" on the Quiet Revolution album. An idea that I had for quite a while which is based on listening and reading and hearing people around me talking. This applies to a lot of the songs I write. Just sort of tuning into the current information that’s around and my own feelings about it. And this particular song is about the fact that it would be a big mistake for men to think that women do not think about other men. And, you know, the fact that women do think about sex and they do have phantasies just like men. This song expresses the opinion that it’s very important for men to understand this and spend a bit more time understanding his own lover, his wife or his girlfriend.
The second way really is ideas out of nowhere that combine with a melody and a piece of music simultaneously. It’s a bit like a musical clue that you try your best to figure out what does this mean. I wrote a song some years ago called "If You Really Love Her, Let Her Go" which is quite a paradox in itself. And it took a while for me to realize this is about the boyfriend of the girl saying to the parents "I’m going to take her with me anyway, she is going to come with me, but why don’t you give her your blessing as she goes?"

Man On (the) Line

Fans ask - Chris de Burgh answers!