Biography Chris Andrews - English

BIOGRAPHY CHRIS ANDREWS;

CHRIS ANDREWS WAS BORN IN GREATER LONDON (ROMFORD/ESSEX), ENGLAND ON OCTOBER  15th 1942.

HE STARTED PLAYING THE PIANO AT THE AGE OF FIVE:. AT FIRST HE STUDIED CLASSICAL MUSIC.

SWITCHING TO BLUES AND ROCK N ROLL AT THE AGE OF TWELVE AT THIS TIME HE STARTED LEARNING THE GUITAR BEING INFLUENCED BY THE SKIFFLE KING LONNIE DONEGAN (FOR WHOM HE LATER COMPOSED).

CHRIS THEN FORMED HIS OWN SKIFFLE BAND AND PLAYED IN LOCL CLUBS AND HALLS IN ESSEX.

AT THE AGE OF FOURTEEN HE STARTED PERFOMING AT LARGER VENUES IN LONDON, AS THE LEAD-SINGER IN A BIG BAND.

HIS FIRST TV APPEARANCE WAS AT THE AGE OF FIFTEEN ON THE VERY POPULAR ROCK SHOW OH BOY, AND CONTINUED PERFORMING WITH EVER MORE WELL KNOWN ARTISTS.

IN 1962 HE TRAVELLED TO GERMANY. AT FIRST PLAYING CLUBS IN THE FRANKFURT AREA. FINALLY PLAYING THE TOP TEN CLUB IN HAMBURG AND THE FAMOUS STAR CLUB, WHERE HE APPEARED WITH THE BEATLES, GERRY AND THE PECEMAKERS ETC.

BACK IN ENGLAND, HE FORMED THE GROUP “CHRIS RAVEL AND THE RAVERS” AND TOURED ALL OVER THE U.K. THE FIRST RECORDING CHRIS MADE, WAS WITH THE “RAVERS” A SONG PENNED BY CHRIS CALLED “I DO” RELEASED ON DECCA RECORDS.

IN 1963 CHRIS MET UP AGAIN WITH “ADAM FAITH” WITH WHOM HE PLAYED IN THE EARLY DAYS AT THE" TWO IS CLUB" IN LONDON SOHO. ADAM WAS LOOKING FOR NEW SONGS, AND CHRIS WROTE FOR HIM A TOP FIVE HIT; APPROPRIATELY CALLED “THE FIRST TIME” HE WENT ON TO WRITE MANY MORE HITS FOR ADAM INCLUDING ADAMS ONLY HIT IN THE USA “IT’S ALRIGHT” ,WHICH ALSO FEATURED IN THE FILM “GOOD MORNING VIETNAM”.

ADAM LATER INTRODUCED HIM TO “SANDIE SHAW” AND CHRIS WROTE SEVERAL HIT SONGS FOR “SANDIE” INCLUDING “GIRL DON’T COME” “LONG LIVE LOVE”: IN TOTAL OVER A DOZEN OF SANDIES ECORDINGS REACHED THE TOP TWENTY AROUND THE WORLD.

IT WAS AT THIS TIME THAT CHRIS ANDREWS` LIFE WAS TO CHANGE. CHRIS PLAYED SANDIE A SONG.

THAT SHE TURNED DOWN. SO CHRIS PLAYED THE SONG TO “ANDREW LOOG-OLDHAM” (THE MANAGER OF THE ROLLING STONES), WHO WAS ALWAYS LOOKING FOR SONGS: HE SAID :"YOU SHOULD SING THE SONG YOURSELF!"- THE SONG WAS CALLED “YESTERDAY MAN” . THIS RECORDING WENT ON TO SELL MILLIONS WORLD WIDE; HE CONTINUED RECORDING, HAVING CONTINUED SUCCESS WITH “TO WHOM IT CONCERNS “PRETTY BELINDA” ETC.

1970/1980 CHRIS HAS WRITTEN MANY HIT SONGS FOR ARTISTS AROUND THE WORLD, ALSO WRITING THE MUSIC FOR A LONDON WEST END MUSICAL “TOM BROWNS SCHOOL DAYS” SINGERS, WHO HAVE RECORDED HIS SONGS ,INCLUDE “CHER” “MAMAS AUND PAPAS” “AGNETHA” (FROM ABBA) ON HER LATEST ALBUM “TREMELOES” “CASUALS” “THE FORTUNES” “FRANKIE VALLI” “SUZY QUATRO” PLUS MANY BIG HITS FOR “GERMAN” “FRENCH” “ITALIAN” “SCANDANAVIAN” “BENELUX” ETC. The LP HEART TO HEART WAS RELEASED IN 1986. 

1990/2000 CHRIS WAS PRESNTED WTH THE BASCA AWARD FOR HIS LIFE TIME WORK AS A SONGWRITER. STILL GIGING IN EUROPE ; MORE THAN 130 GIGS A YEAR ! CD "GET UP AND PARTY " WAS RELEASED IN "2002" CD "EXILE" CAME OUT.

2008 HE RELEASED THE MAXI-CD "COUNTRYBOY AT HEART"

AT THIS TIME; CHRIS RECORDED THE DUETT "PRETTY BELINDA-SCHLAUCHBOOT"  RELEASED ON EMI: JULY/AUGUST : CHRIS IS ONCE AGAIN IN THE CHARTS WITH "PRETTY BELINDA-SCHLAUCHBOOT" AND THE YESTERDAY MAN REMIX.

FROM OCTOBER 15 TH 2009, A VIDEO OF SANDIE SHAW, SINGING "GIRL DON´T COME" WILL BE SHOWN IN THE NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY LONDON !

CHRIS ANDREWS IS TO BE HONOURED AT THE 50TH ANYVERSARY OF THE DISCOS: HIS RECORDS HAVE BEEN AMONGST THE MOST PLAYED RECORDS OVER THE PAST 50 YEARS !

ON NOVEMBER28TH, 2009 THERE IS A 10 MINUTE RADIOSPECIAL ON BRIAN MATTHEWS SHOW " THE SOUND OF THE SIXTIES" ON BBC RADIO 2

THE NEW MAXI-CD " AFRICA " WAS RELEASED IN 2010.

2010;11, 12, 13 : OVER THE PAST MONTHS, CHRIS WAS A REGULAR CONTRIBUTOR ON THE BRYAN MATHEW SHOW "SOUND OF THE SIXTIES"- PLAYING SONGS,CHRIS HAD PERFORMED, PRODUCED AND WRITTEN FOR OTHER ARTISTS. -THANK YOU,BRYAN !

THE ALBUM "FIFTY-FIFTY" WAS RELEASED IN APRIL 2011 AND DISTRIBUTED THROUGH KOCH UNIVERSAL. FIFTY FIFTY IS A TIME-TRAVEL THROUGH CHRIS ANDREWS MUSIC-STYLE AND HISTORY WITH SONGS FROM THE EARLY SIXTIES UP TILL TODAY. THE 2 DUETTES WITH THE RUBETTES AND ALSO THE ENGLISH/SPANISH DUETT WITH LETICIA ARE ONLY SOME OF THE MANY HIGHLIGHTS !!!

CHRIS LIVES IN GERMANY AND SPAIN WITH HIS WIFE, MANAGER ALEXANDRA. THEY ENYOY THE SAME HOBBIES: THEIR ICELANDIC HORSES AND - OF COURSE - MUSIC. CHRIS CONTINUES WIRTING AND PERFORMING SUCCESSFULLY  MAINLY IN EURPE. SINGING AND PLAYING WITH AND WITHOUT BAND TO AUDIENCES IN EXCESS OF 20.000 PEOPLE. (MORE INFOS UNDER EVENTS)

CHRIS AND ALEX FOUNDED  THE CHARITY "WINGS OF AGNES" NAMED AFTER CHRISSES MOTHER. THE FIRST CHARITY NIGHT WITH INTERNATIONAL ARTISTS WAS A GREAT SUCCESS !  ! MORE INFOS UNDER "CHARITY - WINGS OF AGNES" !

THEY ARE ALSO SUPPORTING THE KINDERSCHUTZZENTRUM DORTMUND: EXSPECIALLY THE PROJECT "TAFFY" A PREVENTION-PROJECT AGAINST  ABUSE ON CHILDREN BETWEEN THE AGES OF 4 AND 6 YEARS. (MORE INFOS UNDER: CHARITY.)

FURTHER NEWS UK:

THERE ARE RADIO SPECIALS ON BRIAN MATTHEWS SHOW " THE SOUND OF THE SIXTIES" ON BBC  

JULY 2011 CHRIS HAD THE HONOUR TO PLAY AND SING IN THE ROYAL FESTIVAL HALL LONDON AMONGST OTHER FAMOUS INTERNATIONAL SONGWRITERS LIKE : BOB STANLEY (ST ETIENNE); GRAHAM GOLDMAN ( 10cc); ROB DAVIS (CAN´T GET YOU OUT OF MY HEAD); NICK COLER (LOVE MACHINE); BARRY MASON (DELILAH...); DJ LAURA COXETER AND DJ SHEILA B.

2013: CHRIS WAS PROUD TO BE A SPECIAL GUEST AT THE JET HARRIES MEMORIAL...

2014: JANUARY 26TH; CHRIS WILL BE PRESENTING HIS NEW ALBUM "STILL ROCKIN´AND RAVIN´" IN LONDONS´WESTEND !!!

Chris & Bill Wyman (Rolling Stones)

MARCH 2014 THE CARNEVAL SONG: "DIE NACHT IST DA ZUM FEIERN"  WITH THE GERMAN SINGER GUIDO WESTERMANN WAS PRESENTED IN A 3 WEEKS TV DOKU AND ALSO IN THE WDR CARNEVAL-SHOW IN COLOGNE.

THE DUET WITH CHRIS AND THE NEW TALENTED ARTIST FROM SWITZERLAND, MICHELLE NATHELIE WILL BE RELEASED IN FEBRUARY 2015!