Chris Andrews (singer)

Last updated

Chris Andrews
Chris Andrews - Appen musiziert 2014 04.jpg
Chris Andrews performing in Germany (2014)
Background information
Birth nameChristopher Frederick Andrews
Born (1942-10-15) 15 October 1942 (age 81)
Origin Romford, Essex, England
GenresPop
Occupation(s)Singer, songwriter, record producer
Years active1950s–present
Labels Decca, Vogue Schallplatten
Website www.chris-andrews.net

Christopher Frederick Andrews (born 15 October 1942) is an English-German singer-songwriter and producer, whose musical career started in the late 1950s. [1] [2] [3] [4] His biggest hits as a solo artist include "To Whom It Concerns", "Yesterday Man", and "Pretty Belinda". He had thirteen number one songs between five countries between 1965 and 1970.

Contents

Andrews was a songwriter, and wrote songs for many artists, including Sandie Shaw, who he wrote other fifteen songs for, such as "As Long as You're Happy Baby", "Don't Run Away", "Girl Don't Come", "I'll Stop At Nothing", "Long Live Love", "Message Understood", "Nothing Comes Easy", "Run", "Show Me", "Think It All Over", "Today", "Tomorrow", and "You've Not Changed".

Career

Early career and songwriting

When Andrews was in his mid teens, he had formed his own group, Chris Ravel and the Ravers. [5] One of the records made by the Ravers, which according to Andrews probably only sold around five copies, is said to have been purchased by Bill Wyman of The Rolling Stones. [6] On 14 March 1959, he made his British television debut, performing on the Oh, Boy! show. He would later return in April to perform a cover of Cliff Richard's, "Move It".

For Adam Faith, Andrews wrote "The First Time" [7] (No. 5 on the UK Singles Chart, 1963) [8] and "We Are in Love" (No. 11, 1964), [8] and then a string of hits for Sandie Shaw. They included "Girl Don't Come" (No. 3, 1964/65), "I'll Stop at Nothing" (No. 4, 1965), "Message Understood" (No. 6, 1965) and "Long Live Love" (No. 1, 1965). [5] The latter remained a chart topper in the UK Singles Chart for three weeks. [9] [10] "Girl Don't Come" was covered by Cher on her debut album, All I Really Want to Do . [11]

As a songwriter, Andrews has also written "I'll Remember Tonight" for The Mamas & the Papas, "Out Love Has Gone" for The Fortunes, and "Heart of Stone" for Suzi Quatro.

Solo career

Also in 1965, Andrews as a solo artist, reached No. 3 in the UK with the single "Yesterday Man", [12] which peaked in Germany at No. 1 for four weeks; [13] followed up with a No. 13 hit in the UK "To Whom It Concerns". [9] The instrumental section of this song was used as the theme for RTÉ's long-running TV programme, The Late Late Show , until 1999, and a re-arranged version returned as the show's theme music in September 2009. [2] As well as obtaining a high placing in the UK chart, "Yesterday Man" climbed to No. 1 in Ireland and Germany. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. [7]

Later releases by Andrews were not as successful, but his own hits are seen as early examples of bluebeat influenced white pop music. Although his chart appearances dwindled in Britain by 1966, his chart topping success continued in mainland Europe for a number of years, particularly in Germany, and Andrews often recorded in foreign languages. [1] It is possible that Chris Andrews' huge success in Germany was connected to the fact that his two UK hits, at least, were rhythmically redolent of Oom-pah music (although not intentionally so; see above), thus making them more acceptable to older German audiences who would not have liked many of the other Anglophone songs which became hits there.[ citation needed ]

Andrews on stage in 2010 Oldienacht-Chris Andrews-9355.jpg
Andrews on stage in 2010

In South Africa, his later single releases proved particularly popular, [14] with "Pretty Belinda" (1969), "Carol OK" and "Brown Eyes" (both 1970) all topping the charts there. "Yo Yo" reached No. 7 at the end of 1970. Throughout the 70s and 80s, Andrews worked mainly as a record producer. [6] Those same four songs all went to number one in Zimbabwe, where surprisingly, Andrews had the most number one singles in any country.

Between 2009 and 2013, he released three songs in collaboration with Tobee. These include "Pretty Belinda – Schlauchboot" (2009), "Pretty Belinda – Skilift" (2010), and "White Christmas" (2013). "Pretty Belinda – Schlauchboot" went to 58 on German charts, [15] marking the first time he was on any music chart since 1970 with "Yo Yo".

Andrews remains active in his career as a singer-songwriter, working primarily in Germany, continental Europe and in the United Kingdom.

Personal life

Andrews was born Christopher Frederick Andrews in Romford, Essex, England. He learned how to play the piano at age five, and switched from blues music to rock and roll at the age of twelve. [16] Inspired by Lonnie Donegan, he also learned how to play the guitar. [16]

He lives with his second wife Alexandra, who is also his manager, in Selm, Germany, and Mallorca. Because of the Brexit vote, Andrews also obtained German citizenship in 2016. [17]

Songwriting credits

Discography

Albums

[19]

Extended play's

[19]

Singles

TitleYearPeak chart positions
UK
[20] [9]
AUS
[21]
AUT
[22]
BE (FLA)
[23]
BE (WA)
[24]
CAN
[25]
GER
[15]
IRE
[26]
NL
[27]
NOR
[28]
NZ
[29] [30]
SA
[31]
US
[32]
ZIM
[33]
"I Do" (as Chris Ravel and the Ravers)1963
"Someone's Taken Maria Away" (with Adam Faith and the Roulettes)196534
"Yesterday Man"3121291112521942
"To Whom It Concerns"13119445393443
"Something on My Mind"19664120
"What'cha Gonna Do Now"40
"Stop That Girl"3631
"That's What She Said"
"You're Gonna Like This" (Germany-only release)1967
"I'll Walk to You"
"Hold On"
"The Man with the Red Balloon"1968
"Pretty Belinda"196915831011
"Carole OK"51811
"Maker of Mistakes" (Netherlands-only release)1970
"Brown Eyes" (Germany and South Africa-only release)11
"Yo Yo"471
"Lovely Lorraine" (as Tony Sumner; Germany-only release)1971
"Michigan River" (Germany and Sweden-only release)
"Seltsam sind die Wege der Liebe" (Germany-only release)
"Maybe You're the Love of My Life" (Sweden-only release)
"Hallo Lovely Lorraine" (as Tony Sumner; Germany-only release)1972
"Lazy Days" (Germany-only release)
"Sugar Daddy" (Germany, Austria and Spain-only release)1973
"I Love Ya" (Germany and Spain-only release)
"Do You Wanna Love Me" (Germany-only release)1974
"Rainstorm"1977
"The Girls of Brazil" (Germany and Netherlands-only release)1985
"Let Go!" (Netherlands-only release)1988
"Get Up and Party" (Germany-only release)1993
"Pretty Belinda – Schlauchboot" (with Tobee)20097558
"Pretty Belinda – Skilift" (with Tobee)201097
"Take Me to the Limit" (with Leticia)2011
"Life in England"2012
"White Christmas" (with Tobee)2013
"Die Nacht ist da zum Feiern" (with Guido Westermann)2014
"Never Miss the Water"2015
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

See also

Related Research Articles

The United Kingdom held a national preselection to choose the song that would go to the Eurovision Song Contest 1965. It was held on 29 January 1965 and presented by David Jacobs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nothing Else Matters</span> 1992 single by Metallica

"Nothing Else Matters" is a song by American heavy metal band Metallica. A power ballad, it was released in 1992 as the third single from their self-titled fifth studio album, Metallica. The song peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, number 6 on the UK Singles Chart, number 1 in Denmark, and reached the top ten on many other European charts. Recognized as one of Metallica's best known and most popular songs, it has become a staple in live performances.

<i>Sandie</i> (album) 1965 studio album by Sandie Shaw

Sandie is the debut studio album by the British pop singer Sandie Shaw. Released in February 1965 on the Pye label, it was her only original album to enter the UK Albums Chart and peaked at Number 3. In the few months prior to the album's release, Shaw had scored two major hits with the Bacharach/David-penned "(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me" and Chris Andrews's "Girl Don't Come"; although neither track was included on this album.

<i>Me</i> (Sandie Shaw album) 1965 studio album by Sandie Shaw

Me is the second studio album by the British girl singer Sandie Shaw. It was released by Pye Records in November 1965, eight months after her debut, but was not as commercially successful - although her singles were still selling well. Since the release of the Sandie album, Shaw had gained another three UK Top 10 hits - "I'll Stop at Nothing," the number one "Long Live Love" and "Message Understood," all of which had been written by Chris Andrews. As with the previous album, Me contained a mixture of Andrews-penned material and cover versions of songs by other artists, as well as a track written by Shaw herself. However the balance of original and remade material was different this time - half of the twelve tracks were written by Andrews, as opposed to the third on Sandie, one track by Shaw, and five songs by other artists. Me was later re-issued as a package with Sandie on CD in the 1990s on the RPM label, and then again in digitally remastered format by EMI in 2005 with bonus French versions of "Down Dismal Ways" and "Too Bad You Don't Want Me".

<i>The Golden Hits of Sandie Shaw</i> 1966 greatest hits album by Sandie Shaw

The Golden Hits of Sandie Shaw is a compilation album by the British singer Sandie Shaw. Released in April 1966 by Pye Records on their budget Golden Guinea label, it contains all of the "A" sides and "B" sides of all her UK chart singles from 1964 to the end of 1965, which was technically all of her singles apart from her first which had failed to make an impression on the chart. The Golden Hits compilation did not enter the UK Albums Chart. This album has never been released on CD.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Puppet on a String (Sandie Shaw song)</span> 1967 single by Sandie Shaw

"Puppet on a String" is a song recorded by British singer Sandie Shaw. The song, written by Bill Martin and Phil Coulter, was selected to be the United Kingdom's entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 1967, held in Vienna. Shaw won the contest, the first of the United Kingdom's five Eurovision winners. As her thirteenth UK single release, "Puppet on a String" became a UK Singles Chart number one hit on 27 April 1967, staying at the top for a total of three weeks. In the United States, a 1967 version by Al Hirt went to number 18 on the Adult Contemporary chart and No. 129 on the Billboard Hot 100.

<i>Nothing Less Than Brilliant</i> 1994 compilation album by Sandie Shaw

Nothing Less Than Brilliant is a compilation album by the British singer Sandie Shaw. Released in 1994 by Virgin Records, it contains several new recordings of her hit singles from the 1960s as well as some in their original forms. It also featured some songs recorded in the 1980s.

"(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me" is a song written by American songwriting duo Burt Bacharach and Hal David. Originally recorded as a demo by Dionne Warwick in 1963, "(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me" first charted for Lou Johnson, whose version reached No. 49 on the Billboard Hot 100 in mid-1964. Sandie Shaw took the song to No. 1 in the UK that same year, while the duo Naked Eyes had a No. 8 hit with the song in the US two decades later in 1983.

"Girl Don't Come" is a song, written by Chris Andrews that was a No. 3 UK hit in the UK Singles Chart for Sandie Shaw in 1964–65.

"Long Live Love" is a Chris Andrews composition which, in 1965, gained Sandie Shaw the second of her three UK number one hit singles.

"Message Understood" is the sixth single by the British singer Sandie Shaw. Released in September 1965, it was written by Shaw's usual songwriter Chris Andrews, and became her fifth consecutive top-ten hit single in the UK Singles Chart, reaching number six.

"Think It All Over" (1969) is the twenty-second single by the English singer Sandie Shaw. It was her final single to be written by Chris Andrews and was influenced by the German oompah bands that were popular at the time. The single peaked at number 42 in the UK Singles chart, and became Shaw's final single of the decade to chart. It was her last hit single in the UK for almost 15 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nothing Less Than Brilliant (song)</span> 1989 single by Sandie Shaw

"Nothing Less Than Brilliant" is the final single by British singer Sandie Shaw, and the second single from her Hello Angel album.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Don't Wanna Lose You</span> 1989 single by Tina Turner

"I Don't Wanna Lose You" is a song by American-Swiss singer Tina Turner. It was written by Albert Hammond and Graham Lyle and produced along with Roger Davies for Turner's seventh solo studio album, Foreign Affair (1989). It was released as the album's second single in the UK on November 6, 1989, and as third single in the rest of Europe and in Australia in early 1990. It became a top-10 hit in Belgium and the United Kingdom, where it peaked at No. 8 on the UK Singles Chart to become her fifth top-10 single there.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yesterday Man</span> 1965 single by Chris Andrews

"Yesterday Man" is a song written by Chris Andrews and was his first single as a solo singer, released in September 1965. It climbed to No. 3 in the UK Singles Chart, and No. 1 in Ireland, New Zealand, Germany and Austria. In England it sold 20,000 copies in its first day. After a visit to England in September 1965, Jerry Wexler made a deal for Atco Records to release the single in the United States. In the US, it reached No. 94 in 1966. The Cash Box trade paper reported in its 5 February 1966 issue that it had passed 300,000 sales in Germany alone, and later over 800,000 as a final tally in that country.

<i>Puppet on a String</i> (album) 1967 compilation album by Sandie Shaw

Puppet on a String is Sandie Shaw's third full-priced album, released on the Pye label in May 1967 on the back of her Eurovision success.

The Paramounts were an English beat group based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex. They had one hit single with their cover version of "Poison Ivy", which reached No. 35 on the UK Singles Chart in 1964, but are primarily known as the forerunner to Procol Harum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandie Shaw</span> English pop singer (born 1947)

Sandie Shaw is a retired English pop singer. One of the most successful British female singers of the 1960s, she had three UK number one singles with "(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me" (1964), "Long Live Love" (1965) and "Puppet on a String" (1967). With the latter, she became the first British entry to win the Eurovision Song Contest. She returned to the UK Top 40, for the first time in 15 years, with her 1984 cover of the Smiths song "Hand in Glove". Shaw retired from the music industry in 2013.

The discography of the Eurovision Song Contest winners includes all the winning singles of the annual competition held since 1956. As of 2023, 70 songs have won the competition, including four entries which were declared joint winners in 1969.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandie Shaw discography</span>

This is the discography for the British pop singer Sandie Shaw.

References

  1. 1 2 Unterberger, Richie (15 October 1942). "Chris Andrews – Music Biography, Credits and Discography". AllMusic. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  2. 1 2 "Chris Andrews". IMDb.com database. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  3. His birth date is sometimes stated as 1938, notably in Larkin, C., Virgin Encyclopedia of Sixties Music (Muze UK Ltd, 1997) ISBN   0-7535-0149-X
  4. "Schlagersänger aus Selm: Das sagt Chris Andrews über den Brexit" (in German). ruhrnachrichten. Archived from the original on 6 April 2017. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  5. 1 2 Larkin C Virgin Encyclopedia of Sixties Music, (Muze UK Ltd, 1997) ISBN   0-7535-0149-X p13
  6. 1 2 Angus, Janet (November 1983). "Chris Andrews - Producer (HSR Nov 1983)". Home & Studio Recording. pp. 40–42.
  7. 1 2 Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p.  186. ISBN   0-214-20512-6.
  8. 1 2 Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 193. ISBN   1-904994-10-5.
  9. 1 2 3 Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 24. ISBN   1-904994-10-5.
  10. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 495. ISBN   1-904994-10-5.
  11. Sendra, Tim. "All I Really Want to Do – Cher : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  12. Nugent, Stephen, Anne Fowler, Pete Fowler: Chart Log of American/British Top 20 Hits, 1955–1974. In: Gillett, Charlie, Simon Frith (ed.): Rock File 4. Frogmore, St. Albans: Panther Books, 1976, p. 70
  13. Ehnert, Günter (ed.): Hit Bilanz. Deutsche Chart Singles 1956–1980. Hamburg: Taurus Press, 1990, p. 17
  14. Brian Currin. "South African Rock Lists Website – SA Charts 1969 – 1989 Acts (A)". Rock.co.za. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  15. 1 2 "Suche - Offizielle Deutsche Charts". www.offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  16. 1 2 "Chris Andrews – Official Website » Biografie English" (in German). Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  17. "Das sagt Chris Andrews über den Brexit". www.ruhrnachrichten.de.
  18. "Chris Andrews – Songs". AllMusic. 15 October 1942. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  19. 1 2 "Chris Andrews discography - RYM/Sonemic". Rate Your Music. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
  20. "CHRIS ANDREWS | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  21. Kent, David (2005). Australian Chart Book 1940–1969. Australian Chart Book Pty Ltd, Turramurra, N.S.W. ISBN   0-646-44439-5.
  22. "Das österreichische Hitparaden- und Musik-Portal". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  23. "ultratop.be - ULTRATOP BELGIAN CHARTS". www.ultratop.be. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  24. "ultratop.be - ULTRATOP BELGIAN CHARTS". www.ultratop.be. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  25. "Image : RPM Weekly". www.bac-lac.gc.ca. 17 July 2013. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  26. "The Irish Charts - All there is to know". irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  27. "Dutch Charts - dutchcharts.nl". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  28. "norwegiancharts.com - Norwegian charts portal". norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  29. "flavour of new zealand - search lever". www.flavourofnz.co.nz. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  30. "flavour of new zealand - search listener". www.flavourofnz.co.nz. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  31. "South African Rock Lists Website - SA Charts 1965 - 1989 Acts (A)". 9 May 2019. Archived from the original on 9 May 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  32. Whitburn, Joel (1994). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1993. Record Research. p. 15. ISBN   9780898201048.
  33. Kimberley, C. Zimbabwe: Singles Chart Book. Harare: C. Kimberley, 2000