In order to win a place on his new album, Chris de Burgh selected the songs he recorded by applying three critical principles: he had to love them, have sung them many times before - and, perhaps most relevantly, they had to have inspired him. As a result, and by any measure, the 13 'covers' on 'Footsteps' represent a deeply personal and candid appraisal by Chris of songs which have influenced and affected the way he has crafted his own particular musical imprint. There is little doubt that these songs and songwriters provided solid cornerstones for him to build upon. Equally, there is no attempt by Chris to disguise, in his selection, the creative models and ideals he aspired to - and still does. "Listening to the great songwriters was the inspiration for me to try and become a good songwriter myself," he readily admits. "I'm talking about the likes of Lennon & McCartney and Bob Dylan; people as good as that just don't seem to exist any more. I learned my trade, my craft, almost at the feet of the Great Masters. And that is my musical journey. Those songs are my footsteps." Two new pieces, 'First Steps' and 'Footsteps', explain in greater depth his musical journey, his dreams and aspirations, and his sense of achievement from hopeful beginnings to the success of today. The process of short-listing the songs which potentially 'qualified' for inclusion on the album was an involved one. "There were hundreds and hundreds of titles, which all got narrowed down to the ones I recorded. They are all, in my opinion, great songs - and each one has a resonance with me for a very particular reason. "When I was growing up in my father's castle/hotel, I would sing a lot of these songs, to the guests. For example, 'The Long And Winding Road', 'Sealed With A Kiss', 'Where Have All The Flowes Gone?', 'All Along The Watchtower'...
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