Legendary singer, musician and actor, Tony Christie, is answering a call from his forefather’s Claremorris homeland to star as the Grand Marshal for the town’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Friday 17 March from 2pm.
Best known for a number of big hit songs such as ‘(Is this the way to ) Amarillo’, ‘I did what I did for Maria’ and ‘Avenues & Alleyways’ from the ‘70s, Tony continues to record and perform and is currently on tour across Britain to promote the second edition of his ‘Great Irish Songbook’ album, accompanied by traditional group Ranagri.
'Amarillo', composed by Neil Sedaka, was a huge success for Tony all over the world and received further, if unexpected notoriety in 2005, when it became extremely popular all over again, with comedian Peter Kay miming to Tony’s record for the BBC Comic Relief TV Show, that topped the charts for seven weeks.
Tony has always been proud of his Irish roots with both his grandparents hailing from South Mayo.(Claremorris and Balla ).
His grandfather Martin Thomas Fitzgerald (b.1890 ), educated at the Claremorris Boys National School from 1902 left Convent Road to emigrate to Yorkshire to work in the coalmines.
Anthony (Tony ) Fitzgerald (Christie ) was born in Conisbrough, Doncaster on 25 April, 1943 and his interest in music stems from his father Martin’s collection of ‘78’ records, listening to the likes of Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald.
Over the decades, Tony has recorded over forty albums, seventy singles and toured all over the world and more recently, put down tracks in Nashville.
During his visit with his family, Tony will take a tour around the local historic and tourist sites in the region and plans to return later in the year with the second edition of his ‘Great Irish Songbook’ album concert series.
Commenting on his family homecoming, Tony said: “I am truly touched to be invited to the birthplace of my forefathers in Claremorris.
“Indeed it will be an emotional return for me as Mayo and traditional Irish music has always been close to my heart, since my early days in Yorkshire. To be the Grand Marshal for the town’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade is a great honour and I’m also looking forward to it and meeting the local people there.”
Nina Pilbrow, Chairperson of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, added: “We are absolutely delighted to be able to welcome Tony to Claremorris, and the return to his roots enables us to restore the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in the annual calendar of events in a big way. It’s great to have a celebrity like Tony to headline the event and also to allow us to honour him in this way.”
