Is This the Way to Amarillo

Tony Christie version

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, promoted with a video featuring Peter Kay, the song gained even greater prominence, reaching number 1 in the UK.

In 2006, the song was played at the World Cup Final in Berlin and was also played by the Central Band of the Royal British Legion on Centre Court at Wimbledon before the start of the Men's Singles final.

Neil Sedaka version

In the United States, Neil Sedaka, the writer of the song and a man who had recently returned to prominence as a pop singer in the mid-1970s after a decade of relative obscurity, recorded his own version of the song, released under a shortened title of "Amarillo." Sedaka's version of "Amarillo" got to number 44 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and number four on the Adult Contemporary chart in 1977; in Canada, Sedaka reached number two on the Adult Contemporary chart.

Tony Christie featuring Peter Kay version

In 2002, Tony Christie's version was used in the Channel 4 sitcom Phoenix Nights. The song was then re-released on March 14, 2005 to raise money for Comic Relief.

Music video

In the accompanying video, Peter Kay mimed the song accompanied by various celebrities including Brian May, Roger Taylor, Shakin' Stevens, Shaun Ryder, Bez, Paddy McGuinness, Michael Parkinson, Heather Mills, Danny Baker, Ronnie Corbett, Mr Blobby, Jimmy Savile, Jim Bowen, look-alikes of Mahatma Gandhi and Cliff Richard (the same lookalike is used in the Phoenix Nights spin off Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere), William Roache, Anne Kirkbride, Sally Lindsay, Bernie Clifton, Keith Harris and Orville the Duck, Sooty, Sweep, Geoffrey Hayes and Bungle, as well as Tony Christie himself.

Within the first few cameos, Max and Paddy from Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights and its spin-off appear together, arguing and eventually fighting in the Granada studios' corridor. This is one of many appearances of characters from Kay's TV series, including Paddy's tennis playing cell mate Cliff from Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere, and both a midget football team and Brian Potter from Phoenix Nights. The video consists almost entirely of Kay walking towards the camera flanked by different pairings of the celebrities, in front of increasingly bizarre and unlikely backgrounds.

From 2012 onwards any repeat airing of the music video on television is now a new re-edited version which takes out the appearance of Jimmy Savile. In October 2012, revelations emerged which revealed that Savile was one of the worst paedophile sex abusers in Britain, and so his appearance on this charity video which helped raised funds for disadvantaged children in Africa and Britain had to be edited out for future broadcasts. The re-edited version is mainly the same as the original except the short 15 second scene with Savile who joined Peter Kay and actress Sally Lindsay is now re-edited to show Sally and Peter only, with a slowed down and repeated showing of Sally on her own next to Peter to fill the gap left by the absence of Savile, thus eliminating Savile from the 15 second section. The original version remains on YouTube.

Chart performance

This time around, the song peaked at number one on the UK Singles Chart, and remained there for seven weeks before finally being knocked off by "Lonely" by Akon. It went on to become the UK's best-selling single of 2005. During its success, the song was credited in chart rundowns and other media appearances to "Tony Christie featuring Peter Kay". However, Kay does not appear on the record, since it is a re-issue of the original version and not a re-recording.

Having sold 1.2 million copies by the end of 2009, "(Is This the Way to) Amarillo" was the third best-selling single of the 2000s in the UK, behind "Anything Is Possible"/"Evergreen" by Will Young and "Unchained Melody" by Gareth Gates. It had sold 1.32 million copies as of June 2013.

Spoofs and Live Performances

Track listing

1. "Is This the Way to Amarillo" - 3:40
2. "Is This the Way to Amarillo" (All Around the World Mix) - 3:45
3. "Is This the Way to Amarillo" (music video) - 3:49
4. "Is This the Way to Amarillo" (making of the video) - 5:14

1. "Is This the Way to Amarillo" (music video) - 3:49
2. "Is This the Way to Amarillo" (Club Mix) - 6:14
3. "Is This the Way to Amarillo" (Instrumental w/Photo Gallery) - 3:40

Other cover versions

The Dutch singer Albert West covered the song in 1988. After the successful re-release of the song in the UK, Tony Christie re-recorded it with the Hermes House Band; this version charted in Germany in 2005. There is also a version by The Les Humphries Singers and a version in German by Roberto Blanco. There was also a 1971 version on the MGM label (K 14360) by a band called English House. It was produced by Terry Slater. The A-side was "Music Is The Voice Of Love" composed by Terry Slater and Phil Everly.

The song has also been covered in Czech as "Kvitek Mandragory" by Helena Vondráčková. and as "Napis Na Dverich" by Jiri Hromadka. The Finnish version, "Amarillo", with lyrics by Pertti Reponen, was first recorded by Johnny Liebkind in 1972, then by Kari Tapio in 1979 and most recently by Danny (Ilkka Lipsanen) in 1987; the latter made the song a staple of Finnish pop music.