Hamburger Abendblatt - August 26, 2006


Albums

Songs

Concerts

Press

translation by Corinna


A storyteller, that sang in Lebanon 
by MICHAEL ZIRNSTEIN    


The Irish Chris de Burgh, 57, for decades successfully with
his melodious Rock music, sings about love and war. In
October his new album “Storyman” will be released. He
talked with us also about Lebanon. 
   
JOURNAL: What is the idea behind “Storyman”?    

CHRIS DE BURGH: I tell gladly stories. The buyer of my CD
also gets the stories to the song texts, some three, four
pages long.
In former times my musicians always wanted to know: “What
is this piece actually about?” So I told it to them like a
film. It’s the same thing here.    

JOURNAL: Why don't you work sometimes as a director at a
film?    

DE BURGH: I’m not familiar with the technology. But indeed
I am involved in a film project: “Through These Eyes”.    

JOURNAL: You sing stories from many parts of the world.    

DE BURGH: One song sounds even like the Near East. I co-operated 
there with Hani Hussein, who recorded his part
of the songs in Beirut, before the bombs fell.    

JOURNAL: Some time ago you recorded a song in Lebanon:
Lebanese Nights.    

DE BURGH: A friend of mine, Irish consul in Beirut, told me that 
people listened to my music when the first bombs fell at that time 
on Beirut. When the war ended at the beginning of the 90's, I was 
invited as a first international artist to play there before 10,000 
people. That was very emotional. Since then I was often there. 2004 
I noticed the Palestine irony: that one of the largest problem 
centers of the world is the birth place of Jesus and the Christianity.
 
  
JOURNAL: Strangely that people from the Near East like your
western sounds.    

DE BURGH: No idea, why. I am enormously successful
strangely enough also in Iran. My Internet page is visited there 70 
times oftener than somewhere else. 

JOURNAL: Do you believe that Pop singers can reach
politically something?    

DE BURGH: No. We can help at the most that people
understand something more about the world. For example that people 
see: “I believe there is a God. But my God is not bigger than yours.”


Questions or comments?

File last modified on August 26, 2006