Where did it all start?
Englishman Christopher Norman was born into an artistic family in 1950, so his future was already predetermined from above. For the first time, little Chris appeared on stage at the age of three, so by the time he was more or less conscious, he was already accustomed to it and did not separate himself from it. And after Chris received a guitar from his dad at the age of seven, his dream of becoming a rock musician grew even stronger. The parents, understanding their son’s passion, did not interfere with him, but, on the contrary, tried in every possible way to facilitate his speedy fulfillment.
Chris Norman's biography from early childhood included constant moving and different cities - all because of the active touring life that his parents led. Together with them, young Chris visited all corners of his native country. Until the family returned to Bradford, his mother's town, Chris had already changed nine different schools. In Bradford, he went to a boys' grammar school, which became the place where he met Alan Silson and Terry Uttley - first just friends, and then colleagues in the Smokey band. Christopher was twelve years old then.
Childhood and youth
Christopher Ward Norman was born on October 25, 1950, in North Yorkshire (England). The vocalist was born into an artistic family, so it is not surprising that later music became his life’s work. It is known that the artist’s grandparents toured England with concerts during the First World War.
Singer Chris Norman
Their daughter Patricia (Chris's mother) sang and danced in provincial theaters. In turn, Percy Norman (the performer’s father) performed as part of the dance and comedy group “The Four Jokers,” which traveled all over Europe in the 30s and 40s.
Chris's parents, without a doubt, understood show business and knew firsthand about the difficulties that their beloved child would have to face. They did not insist on their son’s pop career, but when it became clear that music was the only thing that interested their son, the mother and father of the future author of the song “Gypsy Queen” began to help the child in every possible way in his endeavors.
Chris Norman as a child and his parents
Later, Norman, in a conversation with media representatives, admitted that he owed his popularity to a greater extent to his father. When the vocalist was 7 years old, his dad gave him his first guitar. At that time, rock and roll sounded in the hearts and minds of teenagers, and Chris, like many, was passionate about this direction.
At that time, his idols were Elvis Presley, Little Richard and Lonnie Donegan. Then Chris's parents traveled around the country a lot, as a result, as a teenager, the performer changed nine different schools and lived in various places in England, such as Redcar, Luton and Nottingham.
Chris Norman as a child
In 1962, the Norman family returned to Bradford, his mother's hometown. There, at age 12, Chris began studying at a Roman Catholic boys' school. Here he met his future colleagues in the group “Smokie” - Terry Uttley and Alan Silson.
At the time they met, the new idols of teenagers were groups whose repertoire was based on beat music - the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, as well as folk singer Bob Dylan. Chris and Alan spent all their free time together, learning new songs on guitars. Subsequently, Terry joined them, and then a friend who played drums, Ron Kelly, after whose appearance the comrades organized their first group.
Chris Norman in his youth
In 1965, Norman, who had never excelled in mathematics or the humanities, left school. The dream of conquering the musical Olympus became his fixation. The vocalist's father understood and shared his son's passions, but still insisted that the heir first master some profession.
It is known that the artist in his youth went through a good dozen different occupations: he was a sales agent, a warehouse employee, a worker at an art glass factory, and even a loader. True, all these professions were not to his liking - Christopher still spent all his free time playing music.
Carier start
In those years - the mid-sixties - young people were fond of the songs of the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan. Neither Chris Norman nor his new friends were exceptions. They diligently learned the songs of their idols, picking out melodies on the guitars. At first there were three of them, but a little later a fourth was found - drummer Ron Kelly. It was with the appearance of Chris Norman and his friends in the biography that Kelly came up with the idea of creating his own group.
Christopher was never particularly diligent in his studies, so he dropped out of school at the age of fifteen. Oddly enough, the parents reacted with sufficient understanding to such an act of their son, but the father nevertheless wanted Chris to try himself in some other profession before becoming a musician. He tried - he worked as a loader, a sales agent, a worker, an employee in a goods warehouse, but all these professions did not bring him satisfaction, he still devoted all his free time to music, and his father finally gave up. By that time, Chris’s friends had already graduated from school. This is how his first group, Yen, appeared in the biography of Chris Norman (pictured). Under this name, young people began to play in clubs in the city. True, they soon changed it, and then again and again - they went through it until they settled on Elizabethans. However, in 1968 the name of the group again became different - Kidness (“Kindness”).
Group "Smoky": heyday
Five years later, the musicians, who had been hanging out in bars and clubs all this time, were extremely lucky: fate brought them together with two producers and composers, very famous in the world of show business - Nikki Chinn and Michael Chapman. They liked the sound of the young artists, and they invited the musicians to collaborate. The proposal was accepted without hesitation - after all, this is exactly what the team lacked. Changes began immediately - first of all, with the name again. Kidness was renamed Smokie - the band members themselves subsequently explained this name by an analogy with Chris’s hoarse voice (smokie is translated from English as “smoke”). Thus began the second career round in the biography of singer Chris Norman.
That same year, Ron Kelly left the band and was replaced by Pete Spencer, and the classic Smokie line-up was formed. The producers also worked on the image of the guys - they almost always appeared on stage in white shirts and elegant suits. The band's first single, which brought it real fame, was released in the summer of 1975 - the song If you think you know how to love me really took off and entered all sorts of British and even international charts. That same year, Smokey released their debut album, Changing all the time.
The popularity of the group acquired unprecedented proportions. They recorded songs one after another, toured their home country and abroad. The group was especially loved in Germany - there “Smoky” practically never disappeared from the screens and from the radio airwaves. In just a seven-year heyday (until 1982), Smokey recorded nine albums and released twenty-four singles, all of which, without exception, became hits.
After seven years of continuous work, the musicians got a little tired and decided to take a break. Everyone had their own business, their own projects. Nevertheless, two years later the artists got together again - at first only for a charity concert, but then went on tour and recorded a new single. However, that’s where it all ended: after all, solo music has already appeared in Chris Norman’s biography. Returning from tour, he finally left the group.
Solo career
Back in 1978, Chris Norman first tried himself as a solo artist, recording the single “Stumblin In” with the popular rock singer Suzi Quatro. The duet formed almost by accident. According to the recollections of Quatro, who was also the “ward” of the Chinn/Chapman duo, at one of the “cabbage parties” she asked Chris Norman why they never sang together. The request was fulfilled immediately to the accompaniment of the piano, and the voices of Quattro and Norman sounded so harmoniously together that Chapman instantly conceived a duet for them. As a result, “Stumblin In” gave both performers the biggest success of their careers, taking fourth place on the American Billboard 100. Chris Norman and Suzi Quatro began to be offered large-scale tours across America and recordings on American television. However, Norman, who was experiencing depression at that time, refused this opportunity, which he later regretted more than once.
In the early 80s, Chris Norman released his first solo album, Rock away your teardrops. The songs were recorded with the help of fellow members of Smokie, which created the feeling that this was another album by the group. At the same time, a video for the single “Hey Baby” was shot. The album was not particularly successful. In 1984, after the group broke up, Chris once again tried his hand at a solo career, releasing the singles “My girl and me” and “Love is a battlefield”.
In 1985, in Bradford, the hometown of the Smokies, a fire occurred during a football match, which not only destroyed the stadium, but also caused the death of many people. "Smokie" decided to team up for a charity concert. Their performance was received with such enthusiasm that it became the reason for the group to reunite with the same lineup and tour the world.
In 1986, during concerts in Germany, Norman's manager introduced Chris to one of his fans. It turned out to be a young composer and singer Dieter Bohlen, founder of the famous German group “Modern Talking”. After some time, he received an offer to record the soundtrack for the popular German TV series “Der Tausch”. At first Norman wanted to refuse, since the composition was not his style. However, he then decided to take on the job. This is how the song “Midnight lady” was created, which brought Norman the biggest international success since the duet with Quatro.
"Midnight lady" took first place in many European countries. Following her, the creative union Norman - Bolen released the hits “Some hearts are diamonds”, “No arms can ever hold you” and “Hunters of the night”. Chris Norman began to be invited on tour and on television separately from the group. At first, the singer thought that he could balance between his solo career and participation in the group, but later realized that this was impossible. To save the group from imminent disintegration, he personally began searching for his replacement. This is how a new vocalist Alan Barton appeared in the group, whose voice was reminiscent of Norman's hoarse timbre. Chris introduced him to the audience as his successor during his farewell concert.
Norman's third solo album was Some Hearts Are Diamonds. It was significant in that the singer moved away from his usual style of rock and rock and roll, recording a record in the fashionable disco style. Of course, this decision was made as a result of cooperation with Dieter Bohlen. However, Bohlen and Norman had too different views on music. During the recording of the album, Norman refused many of Dieter's proposals due to the discrepancy between their musical tastes: Bohlen gravitated towards disco and pop music, Norman preferred other genres. As a result, according to Norman, they entered into an agreement and wrote an equal number of songs for the album: 5 songs were written by Bolen, five others were written by Norman. In 1988, Chris Norman recorded another Dieter Bohlen composition, “Broken heroes,” after which their collaboration ended.
In 1987, Chris Norman released a new album, “Different Shades,” from which the single “Sarah” became very popular in Germany. This was followed by the album "Break the ice". During these years, the singer's main popularity came from European countries, where his songs were invariably successful.
In the early 90s, Chris Norman decided to return to the British music market. The new album "The Interchange" was recorded at the musician's personal recording studio, which was located in his home on the Isle of Man. In this album, Norman moved away from the fashionable trends of disco and synth, to which his albums of the 80s were dedicated, developing his own personal musical style. During these same years, his first concert took place in Russia, in the Kremlin Palace - an event so significant that it was broadcast live on the ORT television channel. According to Norman, he did not know about the popularity of “Smokie” in Russia and was worried that the tickets would not sell out. However, the attendance of the concert was so huge that there were not enough seats in the hall for the invited journalists.
Chris Norman's next albums were “The growing years” (1992), “The Album” (1994), “Reflection” (1995) and “Into the night” (1997), the single from which “Baby I miss you” became a hit in countries of Europe. In 1995, Chris Norman received the “International Video Star of the Year” award from the European television channel CMT for the video clips for the songs “Jealous heart”, “Red hot screaming love” and “The growing years”. In 1997, Chris released a special Christmas album “Christmas together” together with the children's choir “Riga Dome boys”. In 1999, he re-recorded the hits “Smokie” in a new arrangement for the album “Full Circle”. According to Norman himself, this is one of his least favorite albums (along with “Into the night”), and he agreed to record it due to a creative crisis.
In 2001, the album “Breath me in” was released, and at the same time a tragedy occurred in the Norman family: their first son, Brian, died in a car accident. Chris Norman dropped out of the music world for two years, giving up concerts and television recordings. When he released the album “Handmade” in 2003, dedicated to the memory of his son, it turned out that the music world had already forgotten about him.
To remind himself, Chris Norman agreed to take part in the filming of the reality show “Comeback show” on German television. Stars of the past years took part in it, such as Limahl, Coolio, Haddaway, CCCatch and others. Throughout the show, Norman enjoyed great support from the audience, who consistently made him a winner in the musical rounds. In the finale, the organizers prepared a surprise not only for Norman’s fans, but also for himself, inviting members of the group “Smokie” to the stage, who together with Norman performed their joint hit “Lay back in the arms of someone.”
After winning the Comeback show, Chris Norman's song "Amazing" from the new album "Break away" topped the German music charts. The radio station “Radio Rainbow” named him the best male voice of the year. The musician again began to successfully tour the world. At that time, a DVD of his performance “One acoustic evening” was recorded. A star named after Chris Norman appeared on the Walk of Stars in Vienna, and his solo concert in this city attracted more than 50 thousand spectators.
From 2005 to 2010, he successfully toured the world, releasing the albums “Million miles” (2005), “Close Up” (2007) and “The Hits” (2009). While promoting the album “Million miles”, he made a major tour of Russia, visiting cities remote from the center of the country, such as Khabarovsk, Vladivostok, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and others. In 2007, he successfully returned to the UK charts with the album Coming Home, which included the biggest hits of his career.
In 2011, Chris Norman presented his versions of world-famous hits to the public in the album “Time Traveler”. In 2013, the album “There and back” followed, recorded mainly in the hard rock style. At the same time, for the first time since his career in Smokie, he gave a major concert in the United States. In 2020, with the new album “Crossover,” Norman visited South Korea for the first time.
In 2020, the album “Don't knock the rock” was released, all the songs on which belong to Norman. To promote the album, Norman made a major tour of Germany and also visited Russia, Australia, France and Norway with concerts.
In 2020, it was announced that the American film studio Millennia Pictures was going to shoot the biographical film In a Heartbeat about the musical career of Chris Norman. The news was officially confirmed on his Facebook page. In mid-July 2018, the release of a DVD with a recording of Chris Norman's concert in Hamburg, performed as part of the “Don't knock the rock” world tour, was officially announced.
Stumblin'In: duet with Suzi Quatro
Back in 1978, at the very peak of Smokey’s popularity, Chris Norman made an unexpected move for a rock musician: he recorded a lyrical duet with the famous singer Suzi Quatro (by the way, Chinn and Chapman also started promoting her).
This song, called Stumblin'In, unexpectedly became a real hit for both performers, hit the charts not only in their native Britain, but also in the USA, and further strengthened the popularity of each musician. It remains a favorite of many people to this day.
Music
When the singer's friends graduated from school, they began performing as a group in Yorkshire and other places in Britain. They played in workers' clubs and pubs, the earnings barely covered expenses, but the inspired guys didn't need millions. At first the group was called "The Yen", then "Long Side Down" (apparently with a hint of LSD), "The Sphynx" and "Essence".
Chris Norman and the group "Smokie"
They began to be called “Smokie” only in 1974. According to the musicians, they chose this name because of the hoarse, as if smoky voice of their vocalist. On stage, the guys often performed in snow-white shirts with ruffles or elegant suits.
The group made their first demo recordings in 1968, and although they were received by the public without much enthusiasm, Smokie continued to work hard on the quality of performance and lyrics. The group gained popularity after participating in numerous radio shows.
“Smokie” songs quickly became popular not only in their native England, but also in the USA and Europe. At that time, every tenth composition of the group acquired the status of an international hit, and the performers’ tour was successful throughout Europe and Australia. It is worth noting that the work of the guys from “Smokie” was most loved by listeners in Germany, where their songs were regularly played on all popular radio stations.
Chris Norman and Suzi Quatro
The group reached the peak of its popularity in 1978, when their famous disc “The Montreux Album” was released, in the same year Chris Norman first tried his hand at a solo performance, singing a duet with Suzi Quatro.
Beginning in 1975, over the course of seven years, Smokie recorded nine albums and twenty-four hit singles. After this, the group took a time out, and now the musicians only occasionally get together to please their fans.
Their vocalist, who had long dreamed of solo performances, recorded his own hit “Midnight Lady” in 1986 (a video was shot for the track), produced by the founder of Modern Talking, Dieter Bohlen. The single, which received a lot of rave reviews from listeners and critics, became the starting point in Norman's career.
After its release, the artist was no longer included in the Smokie lineup. Today, Chris's solo career numbers two dozen albums, and he has no intention of retiring, releasing new records every two years.
Solo creativity
Since 1986, Chris Norman's biography has included dozens of songs and albums. He found a second wind, new popularity, working tirelessly in the studio and releasing hit after hit. Tours, television and radio broadcasts, first personal awards - all this began to rain down on Chris Norman one after another.
After a short break, Christopher continued his career - and with no less success than in the eighties. His own star on the Vienna Walk of Fame, an award for the best male voice, the first double DVD disc - these are just a few of the things that the musician gained at the beginning of the twenty-first century.
Personal life in the biography of Chris Norman
It is generally accepted that artists are fickle people, their marriages are short-lived, and love cannot exist between them at all. The biography of Chris Norman and his family (pictured) is the best refutation of this opinion.
Chris met his wife Linda at the age of seventeen, and three years later he married her. It was Linda, who is still Chris’s muse, who partly contributed to the success of “Smoky” - if it weren’t for her support and inspiration, it’s unlikely that everything would have worked out this way for Norman. In the biography of Chris Norman, his wife occupies a huge place to this day - he does not hesitate to talk about it in all his numerous interviews.
In the first years of their marriage, Linda even worked as a stylist for Smokey and went on tour with them, accompanying her husband everywhere. But you get tired of such a life very quickly - she was tired too, and therefore she returned to her hometown. Contrary to popular belief, the relationship between Chris and Linda did not deteriorate at all. Their marriage produced five children - four sons and one daughter, from whom the couple already have four grandchildren. Thus, in Chris Norman's biography, his family is of paramount importance. While on the road, he still always finds an opportunity to contact his wife and chat with her.
Interesting Facts
- Unlike many other Western musicians, I did not know about the popularity of the group in the Soviet Union.
- A friend brought him a package from the Land of the Soviets with the name of the group.
- He celebrated his current birthday in St. Petersburg, which he really likes.
- For many years, she considers her own wedding day to be the happiest day of her life.
The biography of Chris Norman is a vivid example of how, with the help of loved ones and family, as well as your own work and perseverance, you can achieve everything you dream of.
Chris Norman now
In September 2020, Chris's new album, Don't Knock The Rock, was released on the vocalist's Solo Sound Records label. The disc includes 14 tracks. One song (“Resurrection”) was co-written by Norman and his guitarist Jeff Carline; the other 13 were written by Chris himself. Norman's band members also participated in the recording of the album: Jeff Carline (guitar), Dorino Goldbrunner (drums), Michelle Plum (backing vocals) and former vocalist Ellie Luha.
Fans will be pleased that the work contains both rock compositions and ballads, which, one way or another, express the spirit of rock and roll. Now the famous artist is traveling around cities with a concert program, the track list of which contains both old singles and songs from the new record. It is known that as part of the tour scheduled until 2020, the singer will perform in St. Petersburg and Moscow in October 2017.
Despite his work schedule, the vocalist does not forget about his fans. On Facebook, the performer regularly posts photos from performances and also shares news happening in his life with subscribers. Among other things, on Norman’s official website, anyone can familiarize themselves with materials related to the artist’s creative biography and even order the performer of the song “I’ll Meet You At Midnig” for their event.
