"The Lady in Red" is a song by British-Irish singer-songwriter Chris de Burgh. It was released on 20 June 1986 as the second single from the album '' Into the Light''. The song was responsible for introducing de Burgh's music to a mainstream audience worldwide.

Creation

The song was written in reference to his wife Diane, who used to come and watch him perform at his parents' hotel. It was released on the album ''Into the Light''. On the British TV series '' This Is Your Life'', de Burgh said that the song was inspired by the memory of when he first saw Diane, and how men so often cannot even remember what their wives were wearing when they first met.

Critical reception and impact

The song was a massive hit across the world, quickly becoming de Burgh's best-selling single and his signature song, transforming him from a cult artist into a household name in many countries. It reached the number one position in

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, the

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, the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

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and the

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region of

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. It also reached number three in the

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during the spring of 1987. The song also propelled its parent album ''Into The Light'' to the number two position in the United Kingdom and success in other markets. The song was de Burgh's third UK hit single and the first to reach the top 40. The song tends to divide public opinion and it was voted the tenth most annoying song of all time in a poll commissioned by

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in 2000. It was one of only two singles in the top ten which were not

novelty song A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and wit ...

s. It was also voted the third worst song of the

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by readers of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

''. It was chosen as the sixth worst love song of all time by

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, who said "it is destined to grate on you at weddings forever more". In a 2001 poll of more than 50,000

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

viewers and readers of ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

'', the song was voted the fourth most hated UK number-one single. On the Channel 4 show, journalist, presenter and author

Stuart Maconie Stuart Maconie (born 13 August 1961) is an English radio DJ and television presenter, writer, journalist, and critic working in the field of pop music and popular culture. He is currently a presenter on BBC Radio 6 Music where, alongside Mark ...

opined that the song was "one of the few things I can think of that has absolutely no redeeming feature. It's a terrible song, sung very badly, by a bloke who, you'd rather not have on your television". Neil Norman of ''

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'' argued in 2006: "Only

James Blunt James Blunt (born James Hillier Blount; 22 February 1974) is an English singer, songwriter and musician. A former reconnaissance officer in the Life Guards regiment of the British Army, he served under NATO during the 1999 Kosovo War. After l ...

has managed to come up with a song more irritating than Chris de Burgh's 'Lady in Red'. The 1986 mawkfest – according to De Burgh – has reduced many famous people to tears including

Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...

, Fergie and

Mel Smith Melvyn Kenneth Smith (3 December 1952 – 19 July 2013) was an English comedian, actor and director. Smith worked on the sketch comedy shows ''Not the Nine O'Clock News'' and ''Alas Smith and Jones'' with his comedy partner, Griff Rhys Jones. S ...

. The less emotionally impressionable, meanwhile, adopt

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

's view on the death of Little Nell – that it would take a heart of stone to listen to 'Lady in Red' and not laugh."

Music video

The

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

is a studio performance, with animation at the beginning and at the end of the song. It features a

curly-hair Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and ...

ed woman in red who depicts the song's lyrics.

In popular culture

The song is briefly featured in a scene of the 2000 movie American Psycho where the main character Patrick Bateman is listening to the song while in his office.

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Alternate versions

* In 1987, de Burgh released a

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adaptation of "The Lady in Red" entitled "La Dama de Ayer" (literally "the lady of yesterday") as a

7-inch single In music, a single is a type of release, typically a song recording of fewer tracks than an LP record or an album. One can be released for sale to the public in a variety of formats. In most cases, a single is a song that is released separate ...

in Spain. * In 1995, de Burgh recorded a version with a full orchestra for ''

Beautiful Dreams ''Beautiful Dreams'' is the twelfth album by British-Irish singer-songwriter Chris de Burgh, released in 1995. It is a collection of songs recorded with a full orchestra. It includes a mix of his own songs from previous albums, three new songs a ...

'', his twelfth original album. * In 2022, de Burgh performed a solo piano version of "The Lady in Red" in

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on the

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reality television show, '' The Bachelor''.

References

External links

* *
American Attitude – Lady In Red (Live Cover Version)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lady In Red, The 1986 songs 1986 singles A&M Records singles Chris de Burgh songs Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Number-one singles in Norway Number-one singles in Poland Number-one singles in South Africa RPM Top Singles number-one singles Songs written by Chris de Burgh UK Singles Chart number-one singles Ultratop 50 Singles (Flanders) number-one singles