Chris Norman Juntion

Known for his solo hits in the 1980s as well as his hits with the band Smokie in the '70s, Chris Norman is a British soft rock singer with an international following whose career spans several decades. As Smokie's popularity trailed off around the turn of the decade, Norman split from the band and made his solo album debut in 1982 with Rock Away Your Teardrops. While his debut album was fairly unsuccessful, his second full-length effort, Some Hearts Are Diamonds (1986), was another story, spawning the international Top Ten smash hit single "Midnight Lady."

The iconic voice from Smokie is back. Chris Norman, who in the 70s and early 80s led one of Europe's most popular bands, Smokie, will release a brand new solo album this autumn. Now Norman is ready with a brand new album consisting of melodic, personal and heartfelt interpretations of newly written songs. The album is produced by Chris's old friend, songwriter and collaborator Mike Chapman. Mike is also behind some of the songs on this album, and has a previous history with Nicky Chinn, who together wrote some of Smokie's biggest hits.

40 years after launching his successful career with his former band Smokie, Chris Norman returns with a brand-new solo album: Covering an incredibly wide range of influences, genres and styles, Crossover his - most genre-defying and wide-ranging release yet: “I decided not to follow any kind of style and just worked on any song I came up with no matter what direction. I took no notice if it was rock or country or whatever, the only thing I went by was if it was a good song and I felt it suited my voice,” says Norman of the album, which he wrote over the course of five months. “The title just seemed appropriate because of the variety of styles of the songs, which cross from one genre to another,” says Chris Norman of his upcoming studio album Crossover.

"The Interchange" is orman's first solo record where he embraces his roots in folk and country-rock. There are lots of fingerpicked acoustic guitars in the style of early Bob Dylan. The albums starts strongly with the title track, which features nothing but an acoustic guitar, a bit of synthesizer and vocals. In the second part of the song there are beautiful harmonies all sung by Chris Norman himself. The next song "Witch's Promise" is a bit more up tempo but still rooted in folk.

Known for his solo hits in the 1980s as well as his hits with the band Smokie in the '70s, Chris Norman is a British soft rock singer with an international following whose career spans several decades. Born on October 25, 1950, in Redcar, North Yorkshire, England, he began his musical career in the band Smokie. Originally founded in 1965, the band changed its name several times before ultimately deciding upon Smokie in the mid-'70s. Comprised of Alan Silson (lead guitar, vocals), Terry Uttley (bass, vocals), and Pete Spencer (drums), in addition to Norman (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Smokie made their album debut in 1975 with Pass It Around.