Unusually, today’s featured video doesn’t have a red phone box in it, though I assure you we’ll be straight back to the retro communication equipment next time we visit the ’80s. No, this week I felt the need to discuss another red-related issue, namely the fact that the eponymous Lady in Chris De Burgh’s video for Lady In Red wears nine different outfits throughout the course of the video…and only one of them is red. Maybe one and a half if you squint! Let’s have a look at all of her irritatingly non-red outfits.
Outfit 1: Lady in Grey and White
For lounging on the patio, the Lady wears a grey skirt and white bardot top. It’s a very nice combination, but it’s not red.
Outfit 2: Lady in Black with White Polka Dots
There’s some slightly odd artistic split-screen going on here, but you should be able to see that the halterneck dress worn by the Lady to pass by this window is also most definitely not red.
Outfit 3: Lady in Black and White Patterns and Blue Denim
For doing some softly-lit sketching, the Lady wears a more casual ensemble of a black and white patterned top with blue jeans. The bow in her hair appears to be red, which is at least a start, but she can’t really be said to be ‘in red’ here!
Outfit 4: Lady in Florals
In this sunny flower-picking sequence, the Lady goes for a floral summer playsuit. It’s cute, but it’s not red.
Outfit 5: Lady in Pale Blue and More Blue Denim
More summer hijinks as the Lady runs past camera on a sun-dappled path, and this time she’s all in blue. Not a hint of red!
Outfit 6: Lady in Black Swimwear
There’s a very brief shot of the Lady bathing in a black swimsuit. They couldn’t even be bothered to make her swimwear red.
Outfit 7: Lady in Black and…Possibly Red? Maybe?
There’s a very blurry and softly-lit sequence of the Lady dancing in workout gear. Her leggings are definitely black, but it’s almost impossible to make out the colour of her top. It could be red, but this is by no means clear-cut!
Outfit 8: Lady in Cream
Presumably heading off to work, the Lady has chosen a smart cream suit. Very professional-looking (love those ’80s power shoulders!) but still not red.
Outfit 9: Lady in Red…Finally!
The Lady looks lovely in her one red outfit of the whole video, but one out of nine is far from a great hit rate! It would have been awesome if every outfit had been red. A real missed opportunity for a good video.
Bonus Outfit: Chris De Burgh in Grey
Oh yeah, and Chris De Burgh is actually in this video too, but not in any scenes with the Lady. The film footage of her mostly non-red clothes is interspersed with video footage of Chris performing on stage that looks like it was copied straight over from Top of the Pops, presumably because, as far as I can tell from the identical outfit and stage decor of the TOTP clip below, it was.
Watch the full video and look out for the Lady’s rare ‘in red’ appearances: