Chris De Burgh: Satin Green Shutters
Has anyone else heard this song before? I discovered it via a friend who's a Chris De Burgh fan and I was blown away! It was a truly beautiful, simplistic and melodious song. It brought tears to my eyes! Since then I have been trying out some other tracks, particularly from his Power of Ten album. I am staggered that he is not really liked, infact I didn't particularly consider him as an artist before. Am I getting old?
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Indeed. De Burgh is, along with Phil Collins, probably the most despised artist in music. I cannot think of a single good thing that has ever been uttered about him.
Interestingly, though, unlike Collins, De Burgh is hated principally for one ubiquitous song, The Lady in Red, whereas Collins is hated for hogging the airwaves with numerous songs for over a decade.
Aren't we all?
I wouldn't tell your punk loving mates about your fondness for a bit of De Burgh though.
De Burgh is not actually Irish! He was born in Argentina to a British officer and an irish receptionist! He is British-Irish. I don't really care whether he's polite or not. I don't have to visit him. I find his music OK though. (Except for Lady in Red) possibly the worst song ever written!
Lady in Red is dire. A truly awful song yet a number 1 hit! And don't worry, I won't tell anyone of my De Burgh discovery. I don't want to be disowned!
I would reserve that judgement for this song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNmGwWqaEfE
It was in the '80s. A pretty embarrassing decade for music.
Except us.
Interesting piece of trivia. De Burgh first came to some notoriety as a support act for Supertramp in the '70s.
Personally, I consider De Burgh a bit of a Moody Blues rip-off (another band that is hardly worshipped by the rock critics tbh). His voice is remarkably similar to Justin Hayward's actually.
What the f***!!!!! man, whare you doing to me? That truly IS awful. Puts Lady in Red into the quality league now! Can I say I was disappointed that the dick singing Goodbye didn't commit suicide at the end?
I think there are many arsehole artists out there. And I agree, what he did to his wife whilst she had a broken neck was appalling. Why on earth he wrote and released The Lady in Red is beyond me. He has done a lot of good stuff, and LIR is the weakest thing he's done. He is a bit like music marmite I guess. I have become fond of two of his songs really. Satin Green Shutters being one and Heart of Darkness off the Power of Ten album. Trouble is, with all people on the planet, you put them on a pedestal and they always disappoint. I just listen to peoples music. I couldn't care less about them as a person!
A nail in the coffin is an interesting term considering it made him a fortune and introduced him to a mass audience that had never known nor cared about him. Most people had never heard of him before that. Or since.
He did do a song that gets played a lot in supermarkets at Christmas though. I don't think it was a particularly big hit at the time.
A Spaceman Came Travelling. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!
I did enjoy his earlier more story based songs, did hear a few live radio performances on Radio City which were excellent.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOklvRcbwRU
"simpering, mawkish cack"
Kind of goes to show the esteem in which he's held. I don't think there was any chance he wasn't going in.
You should check out 2010's Moonfleet and Other Stories album. It's De Burgh going back to his roots and telling stories through song. All songs in the Moonfleet segment are linked. There's 18 of them. I haven't heard it. I found out about it via Wikipedia!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3tIBGZErmw
Well i tried to find Lebanese Night and this is all I could find:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6Io_fARxb0
Does suggest that Lady in Red was a blip! (A rather bad one).
I'm afraid you're on a losing wicket in trying to legitimise the oeuvre of Mr De Burgh and gain it acceptance into the credible musical canon.
It sounds like your condition is critical. :eek:
Nah! It's a passing phase. I'll be back to putting on UK Gold and drinking tea from a pot in a couple of days time!
I would like to think that I'm broad minded enough though to tolerate all kinds of music and styles. I may like some of De Burghs stuff but it doesn't make me a fan. I like most things from Madonna to Dire Straits, Oasis to Coldplay. Chris Rea to Chris De Burgh. Michael Jackson to Louis Armstrong. I had a Nina Simone fad last year!
To cure a Chris De Burgh addiction, doctors are recommended to prescribe a healthy dose of Moody Blues and Justin Hayward solo records.
My doctor would probably just tell me to take a paracetamol and to come back in a fortnight if I haven't improved. Seriously though listening to De Burgh is a better option than listening to Celine Dion.