Hello, I'm Kirstie Young, and this is a podcast from the Desert Island Discs Archive.

For rights reasons, we've had to shorten the music.

The program was originally broadcast in 1998, and the presenter was Sue Lolly. My costaway this week is a singer, no overnight star, he's been in the business for 25 years

and it took him half that time, nine albums and about a hundred songs before popular success

was his. He was born in Argentina brought up in Africa and

Ireland and after University in Dublin signed up with a record company. Twelve years

ago he recorded a song which was to assure him his place as one of

Britain's most successful singer-songwriters and justify all the hard work that had

gone before. It was called The Lady in Red. In its wake came more successes with the album Flying Colors

the single missing you and more and more. Songs about love, anger and heartbreak

that have won him international acclaim. He is Krista Berg. You are

Chris as I said the complete antithesis of an overnight sensation indeed it was on

occasions humiliating by your own confession on the way up.

What gave you the will to carry it through?

I think the will comes from one's background primarily and I always felt that I did not want to be

a grandfather looking at my grandchildren at my knees saying I could have been a great

singer I wanted to give it a shot.

But when you say it's to do with your background, I mean, I know that you can trace your ancestors back to

William the Conqueror, is that what you mean? There's a kind of strong sense of determination

there? Well I think having a family tree does give you a sense of history but my

my mother's family the de DeBerg family, were very much admirals and generals.

And my father's family were pioneers and groundbreakers on a worldwide scale. And to wind-up as a

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