* En anglais uniquement
British balladeer
Tony Christie proved the continued commercial viability of traditional pop in a post-psychedelic world, scoring a series of easy listening hits that spanned the 1970s. Born
Anthony Fitzgerald in South Yorkshire, England, on April 25, 1943, at 18 he joined the popular local group the Counterbeats, later fronting his own combo,
Tony Christie & the Trackers. After mounting a solo career, he cut his debut single, "Life's Too Good to Waste," in 1966, followed a year later by "Turn Around." Upon signing to
MCA in 1969,
Christie teamed with the songwriting and production tandem of
Mitch Murray and Peter Callender. Although their first collaboration, "God Is on My Side," went nowhere, the 1971 LP Las Vegas proved the singer's breakthrough, generating the
Neil Sedaka/
Howard Greenfield-penned smash "Is This the Way to Amarillo?" (a number one hit in Germany, Sweden, Denmark, and Spain), "I Did What I Did for Maria," and "Don't Go Down to Reno."
Christie remained a constant of the European charts for much of the decade via subsequent hits including "Avenues and Alleyways" (the theme to the television series The Protectors) and "The Queen of Mardi Gras," selling more than ten million records during the Me Decade. He also hosted his own BBC variety series, and in 1976 played the role of Magaldi during recording sessions for
Tim Rice and
Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Evita.
In 1979
Christie paired with producer
Graham Sacher for the blockbuster "Sweet September," but his stardom waned during the decade to follow. He nevertheless maintained a demanding international tour schedule, and remained a regular presence on television as well. Upon teaming with producer Jack White, who previously masterminded hits for
Engelbert Humperdinck and Baywatch heartthrob
David Hasselhoff,
Christie scored a massive comeback hit with 1990's "Kiss in the Night." However, he again spent a number of years on the cabaret circuit before enjoying a new wave of popularity and credibility via the 1999 single "Walk Like a Panther," written for him by
Pulp frontman
Jarvis Cocker. The single earned
Christie his first appearance on Top of the Pops in a quarter century, and his newfound hipster cachet was further solidified when the smash comedy series Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights employed "Is This the Way to Amarillo?" as its theme song. In the spring of 2005, the single was re-released to raise funds for the charity Comic Relief, and spent seven weeks atop the U.K. pop charts. After cutting the theme for Kay's spinoff series Max and Paddy,
Christie closed out the year with a tongue-in-cheek big-band cover of
Slade's "Merry Xmas Everybody," which fell shy of the British Top 40. Numerous collections and one-off singles followed, with the full-length Made in Sheffield (produced by longtime fans
Richard Hawley and
Colin Elliot) arriving in 2008. Released in 2011, Now’s the Time,
Christie's 19th studio album, found the singer exploring his Northern soul roots with producer
Richard Barrett. ~ Jason Ankeny