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Thanks Liz can recall trying to find an LP of his for son (early to mid 70s) and being asked was it a male or female - I hadn't a clue! Have been to several of his concerts and they are good. My favourite is Don't pay the ferryman and OH loves The Spaceman as for son - think he must like them all - he has all of his music.
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Slightly off the subject but could only happen in Malta! New Year's Eve :
Thousands of people cheered in 2011 with mega parties in Valletta and Floriana tonight.
They clapped, kissed and danced as the final countdown consigned 2010 into the history books and brought in 2011.
The open air party held in St George's Square, Valletta, held for the first time, was a huge success, with the festive atmosphere enjoyed by thousands since well before midnight.
Winter Moods led the partying in the run-up to midnight. The square was packed, as was most of Republic Street, and restaurants had a roaring trade.
Nearby St Anne Street, Floriana, was similarly crowded, with the Big Band Brothers and John Bundy leading the celebrations.
Fireworks were let off, balloons rose into the still air and confetti rained down as the clock marked midnight.
Many people took sparking wine with them and shared the bubbly.
(But then)
CHAOS AT THE BUS TERMINUS
But celebration turned into frustration for hundreds of people who went to the bus terminus to take a bus home, only to find there were no buses and they were in for a long wait, if they were lucky.
Several people on the scene said traffic congestion in Floriana caused by traffic from the Valletta and Floriana parties had prevented the buses from reaching Valletta.
A woman told timesofmalta.com that she was ashamed at how this event turned out to be.
"The whole transport system was a mess. As I decided to leave Valletta at around 1am, I found myself walking into an empty bus terminus. Not a single bus to be seen. I asked an official who appeared to be an ADT person as to why there were no buses available, he simply said that they decided not to show up and spend time with family !
"With thousands of people waiting for buses to come, some did finally arrive. However there weren't enough to cater for all those people and therefore, fights broke out. It was like world war 2, and no police to be seen. What a shame!!"
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Typical of the Maltese attitude, that drivers wanted to be with their families so just didn't turn up for work!
Lizx
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Chris De Burgh was born in Venado Tuerto, Argentina, to Colonel Charles Davison, a British diplomat, and Maeve Emily de Burgh, an Irish secretary. His father had substantial farming interests, and he spent much of his early years in Malta, Nigeria and Zaire, as he, his mother and brother accompanied Colonel Davison on his diplomatic and engineering work.
The Davisons finally settled in Bargy Castle, County Wexford, a twelfth-century castle in Ireland bought by his maternal grandfather, General Sir Eric de Burgh, KCB, DSO, OBE, a former Chief of the General Staff, British Indian Army, and from a distinguished Irish/Norman family. The castle was converted into a hotel where Chris gained much early experience performing to the guests and he later assumed de Burgh as his stage name.
After attending Marlborough College in Wiltshire, England, de Burgh went on to graduate from Trinity College, Dublin with a Master of Arts degree in French, English and History. He took his mother's maiden name as his professional stage name.
So now you know, Chris (of Wessex) lol
Lizx
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Is de Burgh a stage name then? I always thought his father was a diplomat.
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I was reading about the WW2 quite recently and the chapter about the Fifth column had a comment by the late Richard Crossman who said that they (Fifth Columnists) would be found amongst:'the rich and respected of the land'. How true that was.Its only when you read the stories, such as this one,saying how many died because of double agents like Philby that statements made during the war get their credibility- an interesting piece,
thank you Purple Sparkly Diamond - jle
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I thought this was interesting, we know about the 'stars' but often, not their background and who knows how many other famous names had interesting parents too?
Lizx
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After talking about Malta on another thread I became nostalgic and went to Only in Malta a site I look at sometimes to see what's happening in Malta.
I found this!
Amazing the things that come out, don't you think?
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The parents of popular British/Irish singer Chris de Burgh trained British spies in Malta during the Cold War, the Daily Mail has reported.
The discovery was made by her grandchild, Chris de Burgh's daughter's Rosanna Davison.
Charles and Maeve Davidson were trained in code making and in turn trained spies ahead of their deployment in Albania as part of 'Operation Valuable', one of the earliest Cold War attempts to overthrow the communist regime in Albania.
They moved to Malta in 1951 and settled in Rabat, where their two sons, including Chris, attended a small school and loved swimming.
In addition to coding, the men were taught how to handle guns and explosives, as well as how to survive on the run and other skills.
'The young men were being trained in Malta to operate behind communist lines in Albania and make life difficult for the communist authorities,' Maeve Davison told the newspaper.
What the Davisons were not told before arriving in Malta, was that the previous group of recruits sent to Albania had been discovered - picked up by Albanian authorities and executed.
The security leak was blamed on the training personnel in Malta, which was why the new group - including the Davisons - had been enlisted.
The Davisons found it difficult to make friends in Malta, as they couldn't answer questions about their jobs, and they worked at maintaining a distance from their neighbours to avoid accidentally revealing any information.
The couple even sent the children's nanny back to England when she became curious and asked too many questions.
One person with whom they did socialise, however, was Lord Louis Mountbatten - who was at the time Supreme Commander of the Nato fleet, based in Malta.
Mountbatten took a keen interest in their mission and often invited them to dinners and polo games - sparking Maeve's love of the sport, of which she became an enthusiastic player.
With sterling British society connections and an undisputed charisma about him, Mountbatten brought a cosmopolitan glamour to the island's close knit community.
Aside from their extracurricular activities, the Davisons found their day jobs intriguing, challenging and, at times, amusing.
After a stint marked by a glamorous social life and the occasional bizarre incident, the Davisons mission ultimately ended in tragedy. Devastatingly, the agents they trained met the same fate as the previous recruits: they were discovered by the Albanian authorities and executed.
'The appalling loss of life couldn't continue, so the operation was disbanded - though nobody was able to pinpoint how the Albanians were getting their information.'
They only got to known in 1963, when Kim Philby, a veteran member of British Intelligence, confessed to being a double-agent and defected to Russia.
The name rang a bell with Maeve: she had known Philby as an intelligence boss during their days in the Mediterranean, a period when their mission fell under his remit.
When he was revealed as a spy, the Davisons realised that it was very likely Philby who had been passing on the information about their Albanian trainees to his communist bosses.
After the Albanian training operation was disbanded, the Davisons left Malta and returned to England, looking for work.
The family went to Nigeria, where Col Davison had a job selling farm machinery to expatriates. They also moved to the Congo, but it was far too dangerous - and Maeve and her sons returned home.
They then settled in Wexford.
It wasn't long before Chris de Burgh became very well known. His daughter Rosanna won the title of Miss World in 2003 and enjoys a successful career as a model.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1343385/Chris-Burghs-spy-mum-partied-Mountbatten-worked-Kim-Philby.html#ixzz19t99H27d
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