Chris Rea, singer of Driving Home for Christmas and other hits, dies aged 74
Rea rose to fame in the late '70s and '80s with songs such as Fool (If You Think It’s Over), Let’s Dance and On the Beach.
Singer Chris Rea, who is best known for the Christmas classic Driving Home for Christmas, has died at the age of 74, it has been confirmed.
The musician passed away on Monday (22nd December) in hospital following a short illness, his family said. He was surrounded by his family, including his wife and two children.
His family said in a statement: "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 beloved Chris. He passed away peacefully in hospital earlier today following a short illness, surrounded by his family.”
The singer was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and had his pancreas removed in 2001. In 2016, he suffered a stroke.
Rea released his debut album Whatever Happened To Benny Santini?, which was in reference to the stage name his record label had hoped he would adopt, in 1978.
The track Fool (If You Think It's Over) in the album went on to be nominated for a Grammy.
Rea's career slowed down for a number of years after that, until his 1985 album Water Sign proved to be a big hit across Europe and marked an upswing in his career.
The singer's most commercially successful period came in the late 1980s, during which two of his studio albums – The Road To Hell (1989) and Auberge (1991) – went to number one in the UK.
But it is for the track Driving Home for Christmas for which he will be best remembered.
The song, which was first released in 1986, has made a reappearance on the UK Singles Chart every year since 2007, and reached number 10 in 2021.
Rea previously revealed that, ironically, he had written the song at a time he wasn’t allowed to drive.
Speaking on a Mortimer And Whitehouse Gone Fishing Christmas special in 2020, he explained to Mortimer: "I was on the dole when I wrote that."
He added: "My manager had just left me. I'd just been banned from driving, right.
"My now wife, Joan, she had to drive down to London, picked me up in the Mini, and take me home, and that's when I wrote it."
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Molly Moss is a Trends Writer for Radio Times, covering the latest trends across TV, film and more. She has an MA in Newspaper Journalism and has previously written for publications including The Guardian, The Times and The Sun Online.
