Chris de Burgh was born to Colonel Charles Davison, a British diplomat, and Maeve Emily de Burgh, an Irish secretary. The Davisons finally settled in Bargy Castle, County Wexford, a twelfth-century castle in Ireland bought by his maternal grandfather, General Sir Eric de Burgh. The de Burgh family claim to have traced their roots to Hubert de Burgh, a noble under King John. The castle was converted into a hotel where Chris gained a lot of early experience performing to the guests and he later assumed de Burgh as his stage name.

Chris de Burgh signed his first contract with A&M Records in 1974, and supported Supertramp on their Crime of the Century tour, building himself a small fan base. His début, Far Beyond These Castle Walls, was a folk-tinged stab at fantasy in the tradition of the Moody Blues that failed to chart upon its release in February 1975. That July, he released a single from the album called "Flying". It didn't make an impression in the U.K., but it stayed on top of the Brazilian charts for 17 weeks. This became a familiar pattern for the singer/songwriter, as every one of his '70s albums failed to chart in the U.K. or U.S. while they racked up big sales in European and South American countries. In 1981, he had his first U.K. chart entry with Best Moves, a collection culled from his early albums.

Chris de Burgh had an across-the-board success with the languid ballad "The Lady in Red" in late 1986; the single became a number one hit in England (number three in America) and its accompanying album, Into the Light, reached number two in the U.K. (number 25 in the U.S.). That Christmas season, a re-release of de Burgh's 1976 holiday song "A Spaceman Came Travelling" became a Top 40 hit in the U.K. "Flying Colours", his follow-up to "Into the Light", entered the British charts at number one upon its 1988 release, yet it failed to make the American charts.

In December 2007, Iranian authorities approved of De Burgh to play with Iranian group, Arian Band, in a concert which will make De Burgh the first Western act to perform in Iran since after the 1979 Revolution.

Chris De Burgh's most famous song is "The Lady in Red" from the 1986 album Into the Light. That album also included the song "For Rosanna", written to celebrate the 1984 birth of his daughter Rosanna Davison, who would later go on to win the 'Miss World' title in 2003. He also has two sons named Hubie and Michael by his wife Diane.