Charting at number one in several countries and reaching the top three in the United States, the song was responsible for introducing de Burgh's music to a mainstream audience worldwide.

On the British TV series This Is Your Life, de Burgh said that the song was inspired by the memory of when he first saw Diane, and how men so often cannot even remember what their wives were wearing when they first met.

[9] Neil Norman of The Independent argued in 2006, "Only James Blunt has managed to come up with a song more irritating than Chris de Burgh's 'Lady in Red'.

The 1986 mawkfest – according to De Burgh – has reduced many famous people to tears including Diana, Princess of Wales, Fergie and Mel Smith.

It is briefly featured in a scene of the 2000 film American Psycho where the main character Patrick Bateman is listening to the song while in his office.[11][importance?