In the land of eternal cabaret, Tony Christie is a God. Although never quite in the same league as the likes of Englebert Humperdinck or Tom Jones, the singer had a brief flowering of fame in the early 1970s going Top 10 in 1971 with murderers lament 'What I Did For Maria'. After the hits and bookings dried up he retired to Spain but his kitsch appeal remained, no better illustration of this being his 1999 comeback when Pulp's Jarvis Cocker wrote 'Walk Like A Panther' for him, his guest vocals on the All Seeing I hit helping to take the track to Number 10. Another celebrity fan of his is comedian Peter Kay who for a long time has used his 1971 Number 18 hit '(Is This The Way To) Amarillo' as a kind of unofficial theme song, playing the singalong classic at the start of live concerts to rev the crowd up. For a long time there was talk of cashing in on this by re-releasing the track. All that was needed was the opportunity. Enter the Comic Relief appeal for which Kay filmed a new video for the track which features him miming to the track whilst a galaxy of stars appear marching behind him (Christie himself making a brief cameo appearance). The premiere of the video was easily one of the highlights of the TV appeal last week and when the single was released last Monday a massive sale was pretty much assured. So it is that 34 years after he first recorded it, 'Amarillo' gives Tony Christie a very welcome Number One hit. For the second week running Comic Relief provides the biggest selling single of the week and for the second week in a row as well the Number One hit becomes the fastest selling single of the year, sales of the track having soared well into six figures in a welcome change from the miserable levels we have witnessed since January. Peter Kay gets a chart credit on the single but his sole contribution is his starring role in the video (featured neatly on the DVD single) - quite rightly the plaudits have gone to Tony Christie and the return of his long lost classic. All together now: sha-la-la la la la la la. CHART COMMENTARY from JAMES MASTERTON 21/03/05

Artist:Tony Christie feat. Peter Kay Song:(Is This The Way To) Amarillo 26/3/2005 Country of Origin: UK Weeks at the Top: 2 Writer : Sedaka / Greenfield Producer : Murray / Callander / Hayes First Week Sales: 266,844 units Comments: A #18 hit when originally released, this re-release (with Peter Kay) benefits Comic Relief and dethrones the official Comic Relief single by McFly. SOURCE http://www.theofficialcharts.com/html/allsongs.php