Back in 1982. I’ve been a fan of his for very nearly all my life. I remember my Dad coming back from a business trip to Europe, waving cassettes in his hands and raving about “Crystal Bird”, which is originally what I thought he had said.
We listened to “Best Moves”, Chris’s first collection of hits, all the way through, and then listened to it again. “Spanish Train”, “A Spaceman Came Traveling”, and “Crusader”, hooked me instantly, and made me a fan for life.
It was hugely frustrating at the time to be a CdeB fan in America, because at the time, he was so little known over here. I scoured the music shops for his albums, and still only had three or four by 1986. For high school graduation, my grandparents took me to Victoria, B.C., (de Burgh is hugely popular in Canada), and I doubled my collection of his music in one day.
In 1987, his huge hit “The Lady In Red” raised his profile in the States at least a little, and his albums became a little easier to find. When I was stationed in Germany, his music was everywhere, and I picked up obscure releases, collections of B-sides, autographed merch, and a ton of other stuff I could never find in the U.S.
In 1993, I traveled to Ireland for the Holy Grail: seeing him in concert. He was the headliner at the Thurles music festival in County Tipperary, and the experience remains one of the best of my life.
I saw him again with my brother in Toronto in 2012, with my brother and sister in Calgary in 2018, and finally with my whole family in Vancouver just this last May.
When my Dad lay dying in hospice care in 2009, his last wish was to have Chris’s music playing in a constant loop until the end. So it’s fair to say that CdeB inspires life-long fans.
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