Timeline
1940s
1970s
· Debut release
Debut release: I Love To Love / Jay Walk
First documented Single in the MusicBrainz discography.
source: musicbrainz
1980s
1990s
Biography
Biography
David Christie (1 January 1948 – 11 May 1997) was a French singer. Born Jacques Pepino in Tarare, Rhône in eastern France. He also used the pseudonyms James Bolden and Napoleon Jones. He is best known for the hits "Saddle Up
Saddle UpSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksASaddle Up3:15BThe Signals3:25" (1982) and "I Love to Love (But My Baby Loves to Dance)", which are included on various 1980s compilation albums.
As a composer working with lyricist Jack Robinson, Christie, using the name James Bolden, wrote songs that have sold more than 50 million records around the world. Their hits include: "I Love to Love (But My Baby Loves to Dance)", "Love Me Like a Lover" and "Rendezvous" (Tina Charles); "Saddle Up" (David Christie); "Strut Your Funky Stuff" (Frantique); "(If You Want It) Do It Yourself" (Gloria Gaynor); and "Do or Die" (Grace Jones).
In 1973, Christie had his first child, Nathalie, with Françoise Richard. He later had a second daughter, Julia, born of his relationship with the singer Nina Morato. Christie died by suicide in 1997 in Capbreton, following the accidental death of his 11-year-old daughter Julia.
Albums
1974: Never Alone
1975: Napoleon Jones featuring David Christie
1977: Love is the Most Important Thing
1978: Back Fire
1980: Flashback
1982: Back in Control
1984: Stress
Discography & profile
Normalised profile
Percentiles are computed over every artist in the database, so a tier-3 artist can still sit in the 95th percentile on a single axis.
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 9 | 54.3th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 7 | 80.4th |
| Studio albums | 1 | 76th |
| Awards recorded | 0 | 0th |
| Timeline events | 4 | 75.9th |
| Recording span (years) | 22 | 49.6th |
| Genres | 2 | 74th |
Percentiles are computed at render time; missing values mean the artist has no data on that axis.
Discography (7 release groups · 1 studio albums)
Albums · 1
1982 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 11 tracks · 41:25
1Saddle Up5:452Make Love Stay3:033Heartbeat to Heartbeat4:134Let Me Down Easy3:465The Look3:156Back in Control3:427Fools (Only See What They Want to)3:038Water Under the Bridge3:259Stop4:1610The Signals3:2511Mine3:32
Single · 4
| Cover | Year | Title | Notes | First release |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | I Love To Love / Jay WalkSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 2 tracks · 7:01AI Love to Love (But My Baby Just Loves to dance)2:56 BJay Walk4:05 | 1975 | ||
| 1978 | Don't Stop Me, I Like ItSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 2 tracks · 13:18ADon't Stop Me, I Like It7:19 BBack Fire5:59 | 1978 | ||
| 1982 | Saddle UpSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 2 tracks · 6:40ASaddle Up3:15 BThe Signals3:25 | 1982 | ||
| 1990 | Saddle Up 90Search SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 2 tracks · 7:311Saddle Up 90 – The Right Trip3:45 2Saddle Up (version originale)3:46 | Remix | 1990 |
Album · 2
| Cover | Year | Title | Notes | First release |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | The Best OfSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 14 tracks · 53:241Saddle Up5:48 2Our Time Has Come3:19 3Lazy Love3:03 4Stress3:51 5Living It Up3:56 6Strut Your Funky Stuff3:55 7Don't Stop Me Like It4:11 8The Look3:16 9Heart Beat to Heart Beat4:03 10Stop4:20 11I Love to Love2:59 12Fame3:21 13Do It Yourself3:16 14Jaywalk4:06 | Compilation | 1994 | |
| 2019 | The Single CollectionSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 16 tracks · 1:03:301Saddle Up (long version)5:45 2Strut Your Funky Stuff3:51 3Stress3:43 4Saddle Up / The Right Trip7:17 5Rally Down to Sally’s3:32 6Paris by Night2:52 7Our Time Has Come3:16 8David Christie Medley4:42 9Love Is the Most Important Thing3:24 10Living It Up3:52 11Lazy Love2:54 12Falling in Love in Summertime2:56 13Don’t Stop Me, I Like It4:10 14I Love to Love2:49 15Where Were You (Cindy Lou)2:55 16Saddle Up (edit)5:32 | Compilation | 2019 |
Stats & PK
Percentile within all 23,672 published artists.Put David Christie head-to-head →
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 9 | 54.3th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 7 | 80.4th |
| Studio albums | 1 | 76th |
| Awards recorded | 0 | 0th |
| Timeline events | 4 | 75.9th |
| Recording span (years) | 22 | 49.6th |
| Genres | 2 | 74th |
Awards & honours
Where this record comes from
aliases/urls—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/f5f6a82b-57aa-497f-8b35-086d28cbe32bdiscography—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/f5f6a82b-57aa-497f-8b35-086d28cbe32bcore—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1173998genre—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1173998seed-list—wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Christie_%28singer%29biography—wikipedia-en · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Christie_%28singer%29
Why this artist is in the database
- List of French singers
Tier rule: curated genre/region list
Image: no portrait (not displayed: the licence credit is missing)
Wikidata: Q1173998 · MusicBrainz: f5f6a82b-57aa-497f-8b35-086d28cbe32b
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