Christie are an English soft rock band that formed at the end of the 1960s. They are best remembered for their UK chart-topping hit single "Yellow River", released in 1970, which hit number one in 26 countries that year.
Career
In addition to Jeff Christie (born Jeffrey Christie, 12 July 1946, Chapel Allerton, Leeds, Yorkshire, England) their vocalist, bassist and songwriter; they initially included guitarist Vic Elmes and drummer Mike Blakley (born Michael Blakley, 12 January 1947, Bromley, Kent, England, brother of Alan Blakley).
Jeff Christie had previously worked with several bands, including The Outer Limits, who released "Just One More Chance" / "Help Me Please" (1967) and "Great Train Robbery" / "Sweet Freedom" (1968).
In 1970, Jeff Christie offered his composition "Yellow River" to The Tremeloes.
They recorded it to release as a single but changed their minds as they were going more progressive as the seventies started. At the same time Tremeloes member Alan Blakley's brother Michael had a little group called the Epics and Alan wanted to give his brother a break. They decided to get Jeff Christie to come down from Leeds and let him use the Tremeloes' backing track. The Epics became Christie with Jeff as the lead vocalist and the result was a UK number one hit in June 1970, and subsequently No. 23 in the US, also accumulating more weeks (23) on the Hot 100 than any other entry on that chart completely inside 1970. It was a worldwide hit and was number one in 26 countries with global sales of over 3 million.
The follow-up single from October 1970, "San Bernadino" (misspelled if referring to, for example, San Bernardino, California), reached UK Number 7 but the title track proved to be the band's final hit single. The departure of Fenton and Lubin hastened the demise of the original line-up, but Jeff Christie returned with new members Terry Fogg (drums) (born Terrence George Fogg, 25 September 1945, Chesterfield, Derbyshire), Roger Flavell (bass), and Danny Krieger (guitar). A 1974 single "Alabama" / "I'm Alive" failed to resurrect the band's fortunes, and new members Tony Ferguson (guitar) and Roger Willis (drums) were brought in to join Christie and Flavell. "JoJo's Band", written by Elmes, was a major hit for Christie in Argentina and Brazil, while the last Christie hit, "Navajo", was Number 1 in Mexico.
- Paul Fenton – drums (1970–1973)
- Lem Lubin – bass guitar (1972–1973)
- Terry Fogg – drums (1973–1974)
- Roger Flavell – bass guitar (1973–1976)
- Danny Krieger – guitar (1973–1976)
- Tony Ferguson – lead guitar (1974)
- Roger Willis – drums (1974–1976)
- Kev Moore – bass guitar (1990–2003)
Discography
Albums
- Christie (1970, also known as Yellow River, No. 115 US)
- For All Mankind (1971)
- Iron Horse – unreleased (1972)
- Los Mas Grandes Exitos (1972)
- Navajo [released in Mexico] (1974)
- Christie Again – Greatest Hits and More (2004)
- Jeff Christie – Floored Masters (Past Imperfect) (2009)
- Christie – No Turn Unstoned (2012)
- Jeff Christie – Here and now (2024)
Singles
Jeff Christie with The Outer Limits
- "When the Work Is Thru'" (1967)
- "Just One More Chance/Help Me Please" (1967)
- "Great Train Robbery/Sweet Freedom" (1968)
Christie
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
! rowspan="2" scope="col" style="width:17em;" | Title
! rowspan="2" scope="col" style="width:2em;" | Year
! colspan="10" |Peak chart positions
|-
! scope="col" style="width:2em;font-size:90%;" | UK<br />
! scope="col" style="width:2em;font-size:90%;" | AUS<br />
! scope="col" style="width:2em;font-size:90%;" | BEL<br />(FL)<br/>
! scope="col" style="width:2em;font-size:90%;" | GER<br />
! scope="col" style="width:2em;font-size:90%;" | IRE<br />
! scope="col" style="width:2em;font-size:90%;" | NL<br />
! scope="col" style="width:2em;font-size:90%;" | NOR<br />
! scope="col" style="width:2em;font-size:90%;" | NZ<br />
! scope="col" style="width:2em;font-size:90%;" | SWI<br />
! scope="col" style="width:2em;font-size:90%;" | US<br />
|-
! scope="row" | "Yellow River"
| rowspan="2" |1970
|1
|16
|1
|2
|1
|4
|1
|2
|4
|23
|-
! scope="row" | "San Bernadino"
|7
|42
|—
|5
|4
|—
|5
|6
|1
|100
|-
! scope="row" | "Man of Many Faces"
| rowspan="2" |1971
|—
|—
|—
|48
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|-
! scope="row" | "Everything's Gonna Be Alright"
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|-
! scope="row" | "Iron Horse"
| rowspan="2" |1972
|47
|—
|—
|47
|—
|13
|10
|—
|—
|—
|-
! scope="row" | "Fools Gold"
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|-
! scope="row" | "The Dealer (Down and Losin')"
|1973
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|-
! scope="row" | "Alabama"
| rowspan="2" |1974
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|-
! scope="row" | "Joe Joe's Band" <small>(South America-only release)</small>
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|-
! scope="row" | "Guantanamera"/"Navajo" <small>(Italy and Americas-only release)</small>
| rowspan="2" |1975
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|-
! scope="row" | "The Most Wanted Man in the USA" <small>(Germany and Portugal-only release)</small>
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|—
|-
| colspan="12" style="font-size:85%" |"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.
|}
Jeff Christie solo
- "Both Ends of the Rainbow/Turn On Your Love Light|Turn on Your Lovelight" (1980)
- "Tightrope/Somebody Else" (1980)
- "Happy Christmas (War Is Over)/Yuletide Lights" (1997)
- "Hattrick of Lions (Come on England)" (2010)
- "You're Not There" with Lorenzo Gabanizza (2021)
- "I guess I am the only one" with Lorenzo Gabanizza (2022)
- "I don't want to live without you" with Lorenzo Gabanizza (2023)
- "Rainy day man" with Lorenzo Gabanizza (2024)
See also
- List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart
- List of 1970s one-hit wonders in the United States
- 1970 in music
- List of Epic Records artists
- Bands and musicians from Yorkshire and North East England
- List of bands originating in Leeds
- List of performers on Top of the Pops
References
Reference bibliography
External links
- Christie official website