Tori Sheehan
As Christmas comes around the corner, a family representative announced the heartbreaking news of Chris Rea’s passing. “Singer, songwriter and guitarist, Chris Rea passed away earlier today in hospital following a short illness. It is with immense sadness that we announce the death of our Chris. He passed away peacefully in hospital earlier today following a short illness, surrounded by his family”. Chris Rea was 74 years old and most known for his Christmas hit, “Driving Home for Christmas”.
Birth of the Christmas Driver
Christopher Anton Rea, was born on the 4th March 1951, to an Irish mother and an Italian father in the North Riding of Yorkshire. He grew up in a large family, with six siblings, and spent his youth running around, clearing tables and making ice creams in his father’s café and ice cream factory.
He bought his first guitar in his 20s and found lots of inspiration in Charlie Patton and Blind Willie Johnson. In 1973, Chris Rea started writing songs as he formed The Beautiful Losers. Writing came naturally as Chris Rea wanted to be a journalist when he was younger. “When I was young I wanted most of all to be a writer of films and film music” he rememered. He would release his first solo studio debut album, “Whatever Happened to Benny Santini?”, in 1978.
Musical Highlights
Chris Rea initially found fame in the 70s and 80s with songs such as “Let’s Dance” and “Fool (If You Think It’s Over)“, which went on to be nominated for a Grammy for best new artist. “Fool (If You Think It’s Over)” was also his biggest success in the US market, hitting number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100.
His Christmas hit, “Driving Home For Christmas”, was released in 1986, after his manager had dropped him. His then-girlfriend, Joan, had to pick him up and drive him home. The couple got caught in traffic as it began to snow, inspiring Chris Rea to write one of the most iconic Christmas songs of all time. The song has successfully reappeared on the UK Single Chart every year since 2007, reaching a new peak in 2021 by hitting number 10.
Three years later, in 1989, he released “Road To Hell”, which shot him into becoming one of the biggest solo stars in the UK. It went on to hit number one in the UK charts. It is the tenth studio album by Chris Rea, who went on to release 25 solo albums. The final album by the musician was released on the 18th October 2019, “One Fine Day”. The album was originally recorded in 1980, but most of the songs saw the light of day until 2019, when Chris Rea announced the album was limited to 1,000 copies.
Health History
Throughout his life, Chris Rea had to battle many medical issues. When he was 33, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The musician had to have parts of his pancreas, the duodenum, part of his liver and the gall bladder removed. He also had kidney issues and was a type 1 diabetic.
Removing parts of his bladder led to the musician to take 34 pills every day. He once said how he “never really got over it”. While discussing his medical issues in past interviews, Chris Rea has admitted he “wasn’t frightened of dying”. He explained that the thought of leaving led to him going back to his musical roots, blues music. “It did look like the end, but what got me through was the thought of leaving a record that my two teenage daughters could say: ‘That’s what Papa did, not the pop stuff, but the blues music. That’s what he was about,” he said.
In 2016, the musician suffered a stroke, although he did recover and managed to tour for his album, “Road Songs for Lovers” Many fans expressed worry during the tour as they believed they had seen him faint backstage. In 2017, he would collapse on stage during a concert in Oxford.
Chris Rea is remembered by his adoring fans, Christmas fanatics, his wife, Joan, whom he has been dating since the two were 17, and his two daughters, Josephine and Julia.
