Tony Christie ’Simply In Love’

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30 years after his last UK album and 40 years after his first solo single Tony Christie releases 'Simply In Love' (album release date 6th November on Gut Records) - a sublime collection of classic love songs with a few surprises! Approaching his 40th wedding anniversary Tony decided to make a perfectly timed gesture and call the album 'Simply In Love', dedicating it to his beloved wife Sue.

The Yorkshire born king of retro-cool released his first single 'Life's Too Good To Waste' in 1966 but it was in 1971 Tony that he cracked the upper echelons of the UK charts - the single 'I Did What I Did For Maria' peaked at number 2 and was followed by the now infamous 'Is This The Way To Amarillo' which reached number 18 (and went to number 1 in Germany, Sweden, Denmark and Spain). 'Avenues and Alleyways', the theme tune to the TV series The Protectors, added to his chart success the same year.

The lure of the continent proved too strong and Tony spent the 80s and 90s across the channel before he returned to the UK charts as the vocalist on the (fellow Yorkshire-man) Jarvis Cocker-penned top ten hit 'Walk Like A Panther' by All Seeing I.

The single earned him his first appearance on Top Of The Pops in a quarter of a century and his newfound hipster cachet was further solidified when the smash comedy series Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights featured "Is This the Way to Amarillo?". The song's release in 2005 for the Comic Relief charity gave Tony his first UK number 1 single, where it remained for 7 weeks, and became the biggest selling single of the year.

Following the song's success Tony was awarded the freedom of Amarillo, Texas and a guest appearance on the Yorkshire-based British soap opera Emmerdale. Most recently, to coincide with the 2006 World Cup, a new version of Amarillo was released "(Is This The Way To) The World Cup?" reaching #8 in the UK chart.

On 'Simply In Love' Burt Bacharach's 'This Guy's In Love With You' sits comfortably alongside The Beach Boys' 'God Only Knows and one of Tony's all time favourites 'Moon River'. Tony also pays homage to Sting (Every Breath You Take) and David Bowie (Life on Mars).

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