Q&A with Chris DeBurgh.
Chris de Burgh coming to Sydney on Sept. 18
It’s no accident that Chris de Burgh is kicking off his next tour with six shows in Atlantic Canada.
The globally popular Irish singer-songwriter, perhaps best known for his 1986 hit “The Lady in Red,” loves this part of the world.
“It’s no secret to say that the Maritimes have always been my favourite area of Canada, maybe because Halifax, Sydney, St. John’s have been very close to the Irish way of thinking and looking — maybe that’s what caught my attention. I love Canada. Canada does it for me and I love the people,” said de Burgh, whose lengthy career spawned 24 albums and more than 280 songs including hits such as “Spanish Train,” “Ship to Shore” and “High on Emotion.”
De Burgh’s “Better World” Tour begins Sept. 16 in St. John’s, N.L. He will then play Sydney (Sept. 18), Halifax (Sept. 20, 21), Charlottetown (Sept. 24) and Moncton (Sept. 25) before continuing his fiveweek, cross-Canada tour that wraps up with an Oct. 18 show in Calgary.
The Cape Breton Post (Saltwire Media) recently caught up with the storytelling musician by telephone from his home in Ireland.
Q : You’re sold more than 45 million records and you’re known around the world — what is it that draws you back to Atlantic Canada?
A: I remember the first time I went to your part of the world and was listening to the accents of the locals and wondering if they were Irish — most of the time I go to places where I want to go. I love Canada, and there’s no hiding from that. My first band was almost all Canadians and we did a lot of touring, we must have done something like 20 cross-Canada tours.”
Q : What keeps you performing at the age of 68 after more than 50 years in the business?
A: “No. 1, I am in good health. And, No. 2, I don’t think my voice has been better than it is now. It’s become deeper, but I can still hit exactly the same notes in songs like ‘Don’t Pay the Ferryman’ that I could when I recorded 30 years ago. I’m in good shape and I’m enthusiastic.”
Q : You could easily be forgiven if you retired, so what is it that you get from your live performances?
A: “I love hearing that my music has had an impact on people. It’s gratifying to have people come up to me and say a certain song always takes them back to a particular time. I never forget that we can make a difference. There is so much negativity in the world, but I’m a very positive person and I like to offer something positive.”
Q : Can you describe your relationship with the people that come out to see and hear you perform?
A: “I have a love affair with my audience — I’m so lucky because I get such a huge crosssection of people, and at recent shows I have noticed a lots of young people who maybe picked up the songs from their parents, they like the stories. You’ll find that when I do my show in Sydney there is a real empathy between performer and audience to the point where I will walk around the audience singing for hugs and ‘selfies.’ I like to break down the barrier between the stage and audience. Respect is the key word.”
Q : You’re known as an artist that has cultivated a loyal following around the world. Your first album was big in Brazil, you’ve always been well received here in Canada, but tell us about your experiences in Lebanon?
A: Well, around 1990 I had a friend who was living half the time in Ireland and half the time in Beirut and he told me that during the dreadful Lebanese civil war many people took my tapes into the underground bunkers and that my songs seemed to strike into the heart and spirit of the Lebanese people. So, we went to Beirut and played two shows in front of 20,000 each night. The gratitude of the people was absolutely overwhelming in spite of the fact that backstage there were guys walking around with guns and there were Hezbollah and United Nations peacekeeping troops. I’ve had a connection ever since. Yeah, the Arab world and me — we get along.”
Q : What can fans expect to hear on this tour?
“Well, we care about our audiences, we’re not one of those bands that doesn’t give a shit — we’ll be playing for a lot longer than 90 minutes and we’ll be playing all the hits and more, including songs from my latest album, ‘Better World.’”