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Anthony Fitzgerald (born 25 April 1943), known professionally as Tony Christie, is an English musician and singer. He is best known for his recording of "(Is This the Way to) Amarillo", a double UK chart success.
Discovered and managed by Harvey Lisberg, Christie had three hits in 1971 on the MCA Records label, beginning with "Las Vegas" which reached number 21 in the UK, and went on to have two Top Twenty chart-topper in the UK Singles Chart with "I Did What I Did for Maria", which reached number two, and "(Is This the Way to) Amarillo", which peaked at number 18, all in 1971. In 1973 he had a minor hit with "Avenues and Alleyways" which reached number 37. It was also the theme music to the television series The Protectors. In addition he charted with "Drive Safely Darlin'" in early 1976 which reached 35 in the UK chart. "Is This the Way to Amarillo" had sold more than one million copies by September 1972, and was awarded a gold disc. His early songs were dramatic big-voiced numbers, many of which were written by Mitch Murray and Peter Callander.
Christie recorded albums regularly throughout the 1970s and made infrequent appearances on the charts. His album With Loving Feeling sold well boosted by the hit single "(Is This The Way to) Amarillo". He recorded an album in the United States in 1973 with the record producer Snuff Garrett, which did little to stop his commercial slide. A live album followed which sold relatively better but by the mid-1970s recorded work became rarer and stage work took preference. In June 1972, he was invited to take part in the music festival, The Golden Orpheus, in Bulgaria, which was recorded and published on vinyl by the government musical company Balkanton.
Christie played the role of Magaldi on the original 1976 album recording of Evita (singing the solo song "On this Night of a Thousand Stars" and the duet with Julie Covington "Eva And Magaldi / Eva Beware Of The City") and sought to represent the UK in the 1976 Eurovision Song Contest, with the song "The Queen of the Mardi Gras" but came third in the contest to select an entrant, behind eventual contest winners Brotherhood of Man.
In 1999, Christie sang the Jarvis Cocker-penned UK top ten hit "Walk like a Panther", recorded by the Sheffield band All Seeing I.
A few months later he re-released another single, "Avenues & Alleyways", as a follow-up to the success of "Amarillo". Although this only reached Number 26 on the UK Singles Chart, it once again out-performed the original release, which reached Number 37 in 1973. Following on from this success, Christie released a single on 5 December 2005, a big band cover of Slade's "Merry Xmas Everybody". The B-side contained a big band version of "*Is This the Way to) Amarillo" and a live recording of "If It Feels Good, Do It" plus videos of the first two tracks. However, it only reached Number 49 on the UK chart.
To coincide with the 2006 World Cup, a new version of "Amarillo" was released on the novelty single "(Is This the Way to) The World Cup" on 29 May 2006, reaching Number 8 in the UK.[1] On 6 November 2006, Christie issued the album Simply in Love.
In 2008, Christie recorded the album Made in Sheffield, with production from Richard Hawley and contributions from Alex Turner and Jarvis Cocker. On 20 May 2008, he performed one of the album's songs, "Danger Is A Woman in Love", at the Royal Albert Hall with Hawley. 2009 saw the release of the download single "Every Word She Said". The same year, Christie also featured in "Heresy", with his nephew's band Laruso, which was released on their début album A Classic Case of Cause and Effect.
In July 2010, Christie made his West End début in the musical Dreamboats and Petticoats in London's Playhouse Theatre playing the roles of 'Older Bobby' and 'Phil'. On 22 December 2010, Christie appeared in a celebrity version of Come Dine with Me. Christie came joint second, with actress Susie Amy, behind winner Janet Ellis, but ahead of the musician and actor Goldie. The Channel 4 programme's prize of £1,000 went to charity.
On 23 October 2011, Christie released a charity single, a special arrangement of "Steal The Sun" in aid of the Help for Heroes Charity, supporting all of the British Forces fighting on the frontline in Afghanistan. The single was available for download only on iTunes, HMV and Amazon, with all proceeds going to the charity.[5]
From December 2011, Christie appeared in pantomime at The Theatre Royal, Windsor, as the King.
In June 2014, Christie performed at Locke Park, Barnsley, as part of a "Live Picnic in the Park" music event, to raise money and awareness for Barnsley Hospice.
On 1 July 2017, Christie returned to his home village of Conisbrough, South Yorkshire, to be the headlining act at the Conisbrough Music Festival. Christie later appeared at the Cambridge Arts Theatre in the pantomime, Jack and the Beanstalk, which was set in the fictional town of 'Amarillo' and featured Christie as the King.
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