Singer of many hits to perform at gastropub

CHART-topping singer Tony Christie has had decades of success, including two appearances on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury, and now there is a chance to see him over two nights at the Crooked Billet.

The South Yorkshire-born 82-year-old’s song (Is This The Way to) Amarillo first reached the charts back in 1972, then in 2005, it had a resurgence — going to No 1 — when the crooner joined forces with comedian Peter Kay.

Tony, who lives in Lichfield, Staffordshire, with Sue, his wife of 57 years, says: “It’s an amazing song, you don’t get many of those songs. If I could get one of those every 10 years I’d love it, it’s just brilliant.”

His son and manager, Sean Fitzgerald, says: “It sold more than four million singles and raised a lot of money for Comic Relief.

“In 1971, when it was first released it got to No 18 in the charts but there’s a disc on the wall here for more than a million sales. In those days, to get in the top 20, you would have to sell more than a million.”

Tony’s latest album, A New Life, features a ballad version of the song.

Sean adds: “We did a brand-new version in Nashville, we reimagined all the hits.”

Tony describes playing the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury as “absolutely brilliant”.

“The amazing thing was, what I couldn’t get over was, the crowd, they were quiet. They were listening. There were thousands and thousands there but they listened, there was none of that shouting and screaming and all that and I couldn’t believe it.”

In 1976, Tony sang the role of Magaldi on the concept album of Evita.

In addition to songs such as Avenues and Alleyways, Don’t Go Down to Reno, I Did What I Did for Maria, Las Vegas and The Way We Were, he had a No 10 hit with Walk Like a Panther. The song was a collaboration with the band All Seeing I, co-written by Jarvis Cocker, who also contributed to Tony’s 2008 album Made in Sheffield.

Several years ago, after he was diagnosed with dementia, Tony became an ambassador for the charity Music for Dementia.

“The thing that I’m trying to push about it is that I’m telling people is not to be ashamed of it,” he says.

“If you have it, don’t be ashamed of it because I’m not. I’m very happy, I get help.

“Get help from people and get on medication, which I’m on and it doesn’t cure it yet but it stops it getting worse. But they reckon that there will be a cure in a few years, they’re working on it.”

This will be Tony’s first visit to the Crooked Billet.

He says: “I’m looking forward to it. Sean went to school at Shiplake.”

Sean adds: “We can’t wait, a lot of my dad’s friends, like Graham Gouldman, play there a lot and they all rave about the atmosphere and the food.

“Years ago. My mum used to pick me up [from school], we’d always go to the Little Angel and I’d go and have something to eat if she was just coming down to visit. Then Mum and Dad spent time down there with Vince Hill and his wife Annie. We saw Vince only a few months before he died. They were good friends.

“I broke my back so I ended up having to leave, I had to have spinal fusion, so I ended up moving back to Sheffield and eventually went to school somewhere nearer. Athol went as well, he was younger than me. I never met him, I knew Vince and Annie because I played drums for Dad and Dad toured with Vince. They did a double header tour and I was on drums so I knew him then. He was a lovely, lovely man.”

“I’ve met everybody in the world I think,” laughs Tony, “apart from Sinatra, I was supposed to meet him in Hamburg.”

Sean says: “There was a strike, there were demonstrations in the street and Pa couldn’t get through. My mum and dad had to get out of the car and literally run to the venue and when they got there, Sinatra was literally standing in the wings waiting to go on. So they saw the show but straight after the show he was off to London.”

Tony says: “Sinatra went straight off in a helicopter, so I missed him.”

Sean played drums for his dad’s band for a few years, starting when he was 16.

“I had just done my O levels and my dad had a summer season in the Isle of Man doing 17 weeks at the Palace Casino.

“His drummer had carpal tunnel and had to pull out very last minute and I was a drummer and I knew the set, so I ended up doing that and then I got the gig after that.

“Then [Dad] sort of semi-retired, they went to live in Spain for 17 years, because he was having hits on the continent but not over here, that was, so he was using a half-German and half-English band and I was in another band so that sort of stopped then.”

Sean’s mum and dad met in Sheffield. He says: “The nice story is that my dad was working in a club in Sheffield and my mum was working for the Bailey Organisation, which was a big nightclub circuit.

“She was working in the office there helping to book the artists and one of the bands there were an Irish showband and they said, ‘Oh, we’re off to go and see this singer, Tony Christie, he’s great’.

“She says, ‘Can I come with you?’ and my dad was on stage and he was singing his opening song which is Stranger in Paradise.

“My mum walked in and sat down and my dad turned to his bass player and said, ‘I’ve just seen the girl I’m going to marry’ and he fell about, he thought he was joking but he did meet my mum after the show.

“It took a while, he had to really woo her though after that.

“It took him ages to get a date. He said she thought he was big-headed, only because he was on stage.”

l Tony Christie is at the Crooked Billet in Newlands Lane, Stoke Row, on Tuesday, October 7 and Wednesday, October 8. Tickets cost £50 in the form of a music cover charge. For more information, call (01491) 681048 or visit thecrookedbillet.co.uk