Chris Rea, “Driving Home For Christmas” Singer, Dies At 74 – Entertainment News
By Karen Beishuizen
The voice behind songs like “Road to Hell”, “Auberge” and “Driving Home For Christmas” is silenced forever.
Chris Rea died on 22 December in a hospital after a short illness. He was 74.
Christopher Anton Rea was born on 4 March 1951 in Middlesbrough.
He started his career in 1978 with his debut album “Whatever Happened to Benny Santini?” and the lead single “Fool (If You Think It’s Over) “ reached number 1 on the Adult Contemporary Singles chart and number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100.
“Water Sign” was his fifth album. Released in 1983, the single “I Can Hear Your Heartbeat” was a huge hit all over Europe.
“Shamrock Diaries” was his seventh album. Released in 1985, the songs “Stainsby Girls” and a song he wrote for his daughter, “Josephine”, became big hits.
The follow-up album “On The Beach” and its title track were released in 1986 among critically acclaim.
“Let’s Dance” was released as the first single of his ninth album “Dancing With Strangers” and peaked at No. 12 in the UK.
His tenth studio album was his major breakthrough: “The Road to Hell” (1989) enjoyed massive success and became his first No. 1 album in the UK. In 1991, “Auberge” repeated its predecessor’s success, reaching No. 1 in the UK albums chart, and was another hit across Europe.
In 1993 the album “Espresso Logic” made the Top 10 and “Julia”, written about his second daughter, became another big hit.
His biggest hit was “Driving Home For Christmas” which was written in 1978 when Chris was stranded and his wife had to pick him up. The song was released in 1988 and has made a reappearance on the UK Singles Chart every year since 2007.
Chris Rea is survived by his wife Joan and daughters Josephine and Julia.
Ringside Report sends their condolences to The Rea Family in their time of grief.
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