Nuernberger Nachrichten - October 5, 2002

by Hans von Draminski


A lamb with claws

Pop singer Chris de Burgh appeared in the Nürnberger Eis-Arena

It could be so simple. You could put down Christopher James Davidson aka
Chris de Burgh as the ever yesterday's crooner, look in vain for
innovative elements in his music and dump him mercilessly on the scrap
yard of pop history. But you shouldn't do that. Because the Irish bard
with the soft tenor is booming again.

Better said: He was never really gone, never completely out of fashion,
with ear-flattering ballads he gathered himself a dedicated fan audience
with an extraordinary age and social structure. This became also
apparent during de Burgh's appaearance in the Nürnberg Eis-Arena: For
there is the midforty guy, who got to know his latter wife at the end of
the eighties during "High On Emotion" and sits next to his 15 year old
daughter who sings enthusiastically along to "Guilty Secret". 

According to his own words, Chris de Burgh never wanted to be a pop
star. No lip service, for on stage he also seems introverted and quiet,
during the songs he plays with his big band he leaves the spectacular
solo parts and effective poses to them. It becomes really thrilling
after the Irish singer sent his team off into a break and grudges
himself, sitting alone at the electric grand piano, some intimate
moments with the audience who had poured in crowds towards the edge of
the stage.

There he intonates with hard, clear-cut chords his old anti war hymn
"Borderline" and harvests thunderous applause, especially as he thanks
the German government for their "No" to an attack on Iraq in the same
breath.

Apparently Chris de Burgh said good-bye to being too compatibly
unpolitical, his profile has become more angular and therefore
distinguishable. Sure he still delivers catchy tunes - but the undertone
has become clearly more critical. The singer may not be a pacemaker for
new pop ideas, but on the other hand the critical attitude that he shows
at the concert disproves the prejudice of the soft guy who is afraid of
conflicts. The supposed lamb shows claws and teeth ...