On the song 'Lady in Red' becoming a huge part of the UK cultural landscape

Composition "The Lady in Red" was the most famous song of British-Irish singer-songwriter Chris de Burgh's career. It saw the light of day in 1986 as the second single from the Into the Light album. The track soon became a hit, and today the author owes it to his high-profile, world-famous name. Exactly "The Lady in Red." widely acclaimed de Burga and turned him into a cult star. The lyrics were inspired by the performer's wife, Diane Davison: a girl came to watch Chris perform at his parents' hotel, and eventually the couple signed. Chris and Diane have been together since 1977, even though their love story has seen some dark times....

History of Creation

By the late '80s, a song about "the lady in red" has become a huge part of the cultural landscape in the UK. That said, many listeners to this day can't come to a conclusion: was this composition the sweetest lyric about love, or did it represent overly sentimental "pop"? Either way, a "The Lady in Red" remains a big hit even decades later.

The story of this song began on a sad note. De Burgh started writing love lyrics after a quarrel with a Diane. According to the author, he managed to finish his creation with great difficulty. This is largely because of the title: Chris had originally planned to call his masterpiece "The Way You Look Tonight"The problem was solved by chance: a few months later, Burg went to a nightclub and saw Diane in a charming red dress. It was like a sign from above that gave Chris the idea for the name.

Meaning and source of inspiration

The song tells of a man's luminous feelings for a woman, but was there a "The Lady in Red" dedicated to Diane? It is difficult to answer this question, for Burg himself contradicts his own words. In one interview the author stated that the composition was inspired by memories of his and Diane's first meeting..... De Bourgh He also added that in the song he sings about how some men often can't even remember what their wives were wearing when they first met. Chris later stated that the song is not about his wife, but about recognising the most important people in his life:

"Overall, this song is about the most important people in our lives that we often take for granted. It's selfish! We often don't even pay attention to what attracted us to a person when we first met them... And yet it's important. It's part of our memories, part of our destiny and our choices," commented the musician.

Graduation and success

"The Lady in Red" was released as the second single from the album Into the Light in 1986. Very quickly the song became a hit - not only in the UK, but also in many other countries: number one in the charts in Canada, de Burgh's native Ireland, Belgium... It was an unqualified success. In the US the track reached the top 3. Thanks to the success of the single, the album also reached the top of the charts and was popular with listeners. For de Burgh, it was his first song to reach the UK top 40.

It was not without its critics. In the early noughties. "The Lady in Red" was named the tenth most annoying song of all time in a Dotmusic poll. Rolling Stone readers voted it the third worst song of the 1980s, while the British news site Gigwise ranked it the third worst song of the 1980s. "The Lady in Red." as the worst love song of all time. Nevertheless, all these results had no effect on the song's popularity and influence. Curiously, it was the favourite song of Princess Diana, comedian Mel Smith and many other famous personalities.

Music video and use in the film

Here is the music video for the song, which has racked up more than 14 million views on YouTube since the 2016 of the year:

"The Lady in Red" is popular in the cinema: prominent examples of its use are films "American Psycho," "Bouncers," and "Oh, Mommies.".

One last thing

In the middle of 90-х years de Burgh revealed that he had a torrid affair with a 19-year-old nanny he hired when the Diane was recovering from a horse-riding accident. The musician publicly repented, but stated that he was very happy that he and Diane had managed to maintain their marital happiness:

"I don't want to risk my marriage and my family anymore..."

He and Diane have two sons and a daughter named Roseannewho won the Miss World pageant! This family seems to be doing really well.