Gentenaar, Belgium - May 25, 2004


Albums

Songs

Concerts

Press

by Han Zinzen

translation by Annelies van den Berg


Chris de Burgh in the shadow of his own Miss World

Especially in Flanders there ain't no place where there's no tough 
sticking to the sugared ballad 'The lady in red'. "Well, that's 
faith", Chris de Burgh says. "I am proud to have written that song, 
but it is a pity that a lot of people don't know my other work." 
Perhaps that can be changed soon: June 1st De Burgh will introduce 
his latest CD 'The Road to Freedom' in the Antwerp Queen Elisabeth 
Hall.

[Editor's note: bits and pieces of the article seem to be missing, 
but I assume they were saying this:] The Road to Freedom is Chris 
de Burgh's 18th record, but still he is being identified with the 
song Lady in Red. "When I do concerts with my band, these are real 
rock concerts in which The Lady in Red is one of the most soft songs. 
If people come to a concert to hear that one song, often they are 
shocked", says De Burgh.

Besides, Christopher J. Davison -De Burgh actually is the family 
name of his mother- after 30 years in the business and several 
number 1 hits Chris de Burgh suddenly disappeared in the shadow of 
his own daughter Rosanna Davison. Surprisingly she was elected Miss 
World 2003 in China.

Almost one year later his eyes are still shimmering with pride. 
Nevertheless an election like that turns a young girl's world 
completely upside-down. "That's right", De Burgh agrees. "You are a 
subject of constant interest, every day you are in the newspapers 
and magazines, your family is involved, your ex lovers are getting 
together and of course a lot of gossipping is going on. It is not 
easy living with all that."

Being crowned Miss World, you would start floating for lesser things. 
Was your daughter prepared for it? "It was too good to be true, but 
thanks to her background and my experience in the music business, 
she knew right from the start that this entire hype and all this 
fame actually don't mean a thing."

You are all looking at it from a sensible point of view. "The person 
who she is at home, is who she really is and that is what matters. 
The same goes for me. When I am on t.v. or when I am on a stage and 
get attention from hundreds of people who think you are a star, it 
tickles your ego. But yet I am not the person who the people think 
I am. My daughter knows that when she has to show up as Miss World 
she is a fairy tale character. Se is mature enough to seperate 
dream and reality in times like that."

You didn't have parents who were able to guide you in the tough 
world of showbiz. As a young man, weren't you tempted to lose 
yourself in the fame and attention? "Of course it was tempting. One 
day I had a big number one hit in South America with a song taken 
from my first record. Everyone was looking at me and thought I was 
'the man'. That is exciting and you are inclined to believe that 
you actually are a star. But when I returned to England, reality 
beat me twice as hard, because no-one knew me over there (laughs). 
That was a good lesson. Fame is like the weather: it can change 
damn quickly."




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File last modified on August 26, 2006