Tony Christie Tony Christie Tony Christie (born 25 April 1943) is an English musician, singer and actor. He is best known for his recording of "(Is This The Way To) Amarillo", a double UK chart success. He lived for many years in Sheffield where his wife, Sue, was born. He used to be a frequent artist on the stage at many working men's clubs like his contemporary, Joe Cocker. Discovered and managed by Harvey Lisberg, he had three hits in 1971, beginning with "Las Vegas" which reached number 21 in the UK, and went on to have two Top Twenty hits in
(Is This the Way to) Amarillo Canada. The song was recorded by Tony Christie and released in the UK in November 1971, initially reaching number 18 in the UK Singles Chart. However, it was a substantially bigger hit at that time across Continental Europe, notably in Germany and Spain, where it made number one. In the U.S., however, Christie's record stalled at #121 on the Bubbling Under the Hot 100. Following the re-issue of Christie's version in 2005 in aid of the charity Comic Relief, promoted with a video featuring comedian Peter Kay, the song gained even greater prominence, reaching number 1 in the UK. In