Driving Home for Christmas singer Chris Rea has died at the age of 74.
The British rock and blues singer-songwriter died in hospital on Monday 22 December after a short illness.
“It is with immense sadness that we announce the death of our beloved Chris,” a spokesperson for Rea’s wife and two children said in a statement. “He passed away peacefully in hospital earlier today following a short illness, surrounded by his family.”
Rea is best known for his perennial festive hit, Driving Home for Christmas, which was released in 1986. For many years, it has been a staple on Christmas playlists and usually returns to the U.K. charts every holiday season, reaching its peak of No. 10 in 2021.
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This year, the song was used in the M&S Food Christmas advert and reached number 30 on the Christmas singles chart.
As well as his beloved festive classic, Rea also enjoyed success with singles like Working On It, Fool (If You Think It’s Over), Auberge, On the Beach, and The Road To Hell in the ’70s and ’80s.
Rea released more than 20 studio albums over the course of his career, most recently with 2019’s One Fine Day. In addition, he dropped an eight-track festive compilation titled The Christmas Album last month.
The musician has suffered a series of health issues since the 1990s. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 1994 when he was only 33, and subsequently had his pancreas removed a few years later, after which he became a diabetic. He also suffered a stroke in 2016.
Rea is survived by his wife Joan, whom he began dating as a teenager, and their daughters Josephine and Julia.
Chris Rea released 25 studio albums and sold more than 40 million records worldwide in a career spanning five decades, cementing his reputation as one of Britain’s most prominent pop artistes. Photo: AFP
Chris Rea, an English singer-songwriter and guitarist best known for his festive hit Driving Home For Christmas, has died aged 74 following a short illness, his family said on Monday.
Hailing from Middlesbrough, a port town in northeast England, Rea’s song Fool (If You Think It’s Over) from his debut studio album in 1978 was his biggest chart hit, reaching the US Billboard Hot 100 and earning him a Grammy nomination.
He released 25 studio albums and sold more than 40 million records worldwide in a career spanning five decades, cementing his reputation as one of Britain’s most prominent pop artistes.
Driving Home For Christmas, written during a snowy journey when he was unemployed and released in 1986, became a seasonal staple in Britain, re-entering UK charts annually and featuring in festive advertising campaigns.
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“My manager had just left me, I’d just been banned from driving, my now wife, Joan, she had to drive down to London, pick me up in the mini and take me home, and that’s when I wrote it,” Rea said in a video clip posted on Instagram last week.
The song was used this year in a Christmas-season ad campaign by retailer M&S.
A motor-racing enthusiast, Rea took part in the 1993 British Touring Car Championship as a guest driver. Two of his album covers, Auberge in 1991 and The Best Of Chris Rea in 1994, featured cars.
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