Is this the way to a new UK career?
19/10/2006
His was the biggest single selling single of 2005 – after years of being a neglected act in the UK. Tony Watts talks to the man who now finds himself on the cusp of a big new tour and his first UK album for 30 years.
Where do all the big pop acts of the 60s and 70s go? Those who survived the lifestyle usually end up touring the smaller stages of holiday centres, doing summer seasons at the seaside or appearing in panto, reprising their old hits.
But when Tony Christie found himself out of fashion in the UK, he headed for the place where he could still command big audiences for his style of music: Europe.
“The audiences here are very fickle,” he says, “although there are signs of that changing now. The Continent is much more tolerant of age. Over here the big Saturday night TV entertainments, where acts like mine once had a showcase, are all made over to younger audiences now. Kids are presenting them.”
For the rest of this story, click this link
With the main radio stations getting “younger” too, it is hard now for longer established acts to retain their profile in the UK. But Tony did spring a surprise on the charts in 1998 when, with the help of Blur frontman Jarvis Cocker, “Walk like a panther” went to number one.
A brief flurry – and then back again to Spain where he and his wife moved 15 years ago. That was, until Peter Kay introduced “Amarillo” to a whole new audience. But more of that later.
So where did it all start? Tony Christie was actually born Anthony Fitzgerald in 1943 in Conisbrough South Yorkshire. After leaving school he started work in accountancy, but his powerful voice soon meant he was touring the local clubs as part of a duo called the Grant Brothers - performing Everley Brothers and Roy Orbison songs. After working with a variety of bands and as a solo singer the turning point came in 1969 when he signed to MCA records.
This record deal gave Tony the chance to work with two of the biggest hit writers of the time Mitch Murray and Peter Callander and, within a year, he had two major hits with Las Vegas and I Did What I Did For Maria: two tracks that are still in demand.
During the 1970s Tony sold more than 10 million records worldwide and was a guest on almost every major TV show in Europe. The British public’s tastes had changed but he continued to enjoy record successes in places like Germany and Spain. “By now the kids were on their way,” he says. “They’d had their English education which I was keen for them to have, so we thought, let’s go to Spain.
“We’d had a holiday home there for years, the weather was great, so was the golf and I had plenty of work.”
So just how did the Comic Relief record happen? “Peter Kay’s mum, apparently, had all my records,” he says. “When Peter was a little kid they were always on in their house. And he would always jump up and down and smile when ‘Road to Amarillo’ came on.
“Later he brought it into his act, playing it to warm up his audience just before he came on. He said it always put them in a good mood. And it went into his ‘Phoenix Nights’ show. Strangely it was never a big hit over here – it just made the top 20. I never understood that as I always thought it was a great song. It was number one in Germany, Sweden, Denmark and Spain.”
The song's new success also saw Tony being awarded the freedom of the city by a grateful Amarillo, Texas and even making a guest appearance on Emmerdale. A new version of Amarillo was released "(Is This The Way To) The World Cup?" which reached number 8 in the UK chart – pretty much matching England’s performance this year! It has also been adopted by Falkirk FC and Bolton Wanderers.
The success with the revived single – and the unforgettable video - saw agents rushing to book him for big venues all over the UK including the Albert Hall – suddenly Tony Christie was back in fashion. But what now? 
“I loved doing the big venues, again,” he says, “but my style is not really pop any more. It’s more jazz. I’ve always loved doing the standards – my heroes are Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett. So this time around I’m performing in some smaller, more intimate surroundings where that approach works better. I’ve got a five-piece behind me, not the big band. A sort of ‘unplugged’ approach. It’s a style that has a lot more prestige than a few years ago – and there are some very good new acts now.
“I think it will work. And I’m hoping that some of the younger people who know about me now will come along and enjoy it, as well as older audiences. I’d call it mature music. They’re listening to great new acts like Norah Jones now, so I think they’re ready for an approach like this.”
It’s proving very much an Indian summer for Tony. He’s moved back to the UK, living in the Midlands, close to one of his sons where he is reveling in the role of grandfather.
As well as a tour, which takes in Ronnie Scott’s there’s also a new album: a collection of classic love songs with, he says, a few surprises. Approaching his 40th wedding anniversary Tony decided to call the album ‘Simply In Love’ and dedicate it to his wife Sue.
On ‘Simply In Love’ songs like Burt Bacharach’s ‘This Guy’s In Love With You’ are alongside The Beach Boys’ ‘God Only Knows’ – which he feels is one of the best records he has ever recorded. “It really works,” he says, “It’s a wonderful track which I think we’ve taken to a new level.”
There’s also one of Tony’s all time favourites ‘Moon River’ and homages to newer classics such as Sting’s ‘Every Breath You Take’ and David Bowie ‘Life on Mars’: a bold mix indeed.
“We set out to record it like a live show,” he says. “When you record your tracks separately to the band it’s never quite the same. This is live… organic. You listen again and think, well maybe I could have phrased that better, but the overall effect really works. There is one very special track on there which we had to do in one take. And that’s ‘Danny Boy’ which was my Dad’s favourite – and I expect a lot of other people’s parents too.
“Martin Taylor, the jazz guitarist in the band, told me he knew of a very nice version, which we rehearsed before he told us it was what he had played at his son’s funeral.
“We left recording that track until the very end because we knew we couldn’t have done it again. By the end we were all in bits, but we got there.”
You can find out more about Tony’s new tour and album on the link below.