Chris Norman

As the front man of British soft rockers Smokie, Chris Norman led the band to a string of catchy, successful hits in the 1970s, before going on to carve out a long career as a crooning, strumming solo artist. Growing up with Elvis Presley, Little Richard, The Everly Brothers and Beatles records, he formed Smokie while at school in Bradford with his friends Alan Silson and Ron Kelly, and established the band as fresh-faced, teen-pop idols thanks to six top ten UK singles including 'If You Think You Know How to Love Me', 'Living Next Door to Alice' and 'Oh Carol'.

Turning solo in the 1980s, with debut album 'Rock Away Your Teardrops', his clean, crisp vocal style and romantic, yearning songs matured over the years and he continued to tour and record regularly with the support of a loyal fan base across Europe. He collaborated with Suzi Quatro on singles 'Stumblin' in' and 'I Need Your Love' and, among over 20 albums, 'Some Hearts Are Diamonds', 'Into the Night' and 'Reflections' are regarded as career highlights.

Norman also reached number one in Germany in 1986 with the track 'Midnight Lady' and wrote songs for ABBA's Agnetha Faltskog and footballer Kevin Keegan, as well as the England team's 1982 World Cup song 'This Time (We'll Get It Right)'. Still touring and recording after 35 years in the business, he released the album 'Crossover' in 2015.