The Lady in Red (Chris de Burgh song)

"The Lady in Red"
Single by Chris de Burgh
from the album Into the Light
B-side	"Borderline" "The Ecstasy of Flight (I Love the Night)"
Released	20 June 1986
Genre	Synthpop, blue-eyed soul
Length	4:17
Label	A&M
Songwriter(s)	Chris de Burgh
Producer(s)	Paul Hardiman
singles chronology
"Fire on the Water" (1986) "The Lady in Red" (1986) "Fatal Hesitation" (1986)

"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 Canada, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, Norway and the Flanders region of Belgium. It also reached number three in the United States 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 Dotmusic in 2000. It was one of only two singles in the top ten which were not novelty songs. It was also voted the third worst song of the 1980s by readers of Rolling Stone. It was chosen as the sixth worst love song of all time by Gigwise, who said "it is destined to grate on you at weddings forever more". In a 2001 poll of more than 50,000 Channel 4 viewers and readers of The Observer, the song was voted the fourth most hated UK number-one single. On the Channel 4 show, journalist, presenter and author Stuart Maconie 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 The Independent argued in 2006: "Only James Blunt 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, Fergie and Mel Smith. The less emotionally impressionable, meanwhile, adopt Oscar Wilde'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 is a studio performance, with animation at the beginning and at the end of the song. It features a curly-haired 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

Chart (1986–1987)	Peak position
Australia (Kent Music Report)	2
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)	7
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)	1
Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)	5
Canada Top Singles (RPM)	1
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)	6
France (IFOP)	67
Germany (Official German Charts)	5
Ireland (IRMA)	1
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)	6
Netherlands (Single Top 100)	4
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)	6
Norway (VG-lista)	1
South Africa (Springbok Radio)	1
Spain (AFYVE)	4
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)	3
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)	18
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)	1
US Billboard Hot 100	3
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)	2
US Cash Box Top 100	2

Year-end charts

Chart (1986)	Position
Australia (Kent Music Report)	24
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)	12
Canada Top Singles (RPM)	3
Germany (Official German Charts)	55
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)	32
Netherlands (Single Top 100)	28

Chart (1987)	Position
Australia (Kent Music Report)	72
Canada Top Singles (RPM)	70
South Africa (Springbok Radio)	1
US Billboard Hot 100	21
US Cash Box Top 100	25

Certifications

Region	Certification	Sales/shipments
Canada (Music Canada)	Platinum	10,000
United Kingdom (BPI)	Gold	500,000
^shipments figures based on certification alone xunspecified figures based on certification alone

Alternate versions

• In 1987, de Burgh released a Spanish language adaptation of "The Lady in Red" entitled "La Dama de Ayer" (literally "the lady of yesterday") as a 7-inch single in Spain.
• In 1995, de Burgh recorded a version with a full orchestra for Beautiful Dreams, his twelfth original album.
• In 2022, de Burgh performed a solo piano version of "The Lady in Red" in Schönbrunn Palace on the ABC reality television show, The Bachelor.

See also

• List of number-one singles of 1986 (Canada)
• List of number-one singles of 1986 (Ireland)
• List of UK Singles Chart number ones of the 1980s
• VG-lista 1964 to 1994

External links

• "The Lady in Red" at Discogs (list of releases)
• "La Dama de Ayer" at Discogs
• American Attitude – Lady In Red (Live Cover Version)