Chris Rea, a rock and blues musician, spent many hours traveling, and many of his songs were inspired by his passion for vehicles and driving.
Two of his 25 solo albums reached the top of the UK albums chart. Songs like Road to Hell, Auberge, On the Beach, and Driving Home for Christmas all include his characteristic gravelly voice and slide guitar playing.
Christopher Anton Rea was one of seven children born to an Italian father and an Irish mother in 1951 in Middlesbrough, in the northeastern part of England. His father, Camillo Rea, was the owner of the family’s well-known cafes and ice cream factory.
Chris Rea, a Christmas singer, passes away at the age of 74.
As a youngster, Chris worked in the cafes and drove one of his dad’s ice cream trucks for his driving test. The examiner sliced his leg after falling off the box he was seated on when he was requested to perform an emergency stop.
Rea stated, “I had to take him to the hospital but he still passed me.”
In his early twenties, he purchased his first guitar, a 1961 Hofner V3, while still working for his father.
Rea stated that he was “meant to be developing my father’s ice cream cafe into a global concern, but I spent all my time in the stockroom playing slide guitar” .
Chris Rea wrote in the image caption, “The road always becomes a metaphor for where we are going in life.”
Rea performed with local bands Magdalene and The Elastic Band, but it was The Beautiful Losers who brought him recognition and helped him land a solo recording contract with Magnet Records.
Whatever Happened to Benny Santini?, his debut studio album, was published in 1978.
He was nominated for a Grammy Award for best new artist after the lead track, Fool (If You Think It’s Over), became a huge smash in the US and peaked at number one on the (adult) contemporary singles Billboard chart.
He is remembered as “more of a thoughtful, introspective poet than a natural pop performer” by Magnet Records co-founder Michael Levey.
Writing and composing music for movies had been one of Rea’s boyhood ambitions.
In 1996, he accomplished both with his film La Passione. In addition, Rea acted in the 1999 comedy Parting Shots and composed the soundtrack and theme song for the movie Soft Top Hard Shoulder.
Getty Images is the image source for Chris Rea.
“Music and cars fit together very well” is the caption for the image. Rea clarified
When Rea’s record label insisted on releasing Driving Home for Christmas in 1986, he was already well-known for his slide guitar skills.
At that point, he remarked, “I didn’t need a Christmas song hanging around.” I exerted every effort to prevent that record from being released. Fortunately, they did.
The song was inspired by a challenging year in his own life.
Rea’s record deal was about to expire in 1978, and he and his manager had split up.
His wife drove down to fetch him up in her ancient Austin Mini since the record company refused to cover the cost of his train ticket from London to his Middlesbrough home.
They kept getting caught in traffic when it began to snow on the way back up, and Rea remarked, “I’d look across at the other drivers, who all looked so miserable.”I began humming in jest, “We’re driving home for Christmas,” and I began writing down the words whenever the street lights came on inside the car.
“At the age of 21, Rea started learning to play the guitar.”It’s one of those instances when composers get to spend years and years crafting a tune. It took five to ten minutes. When a song is successful, you don’t recall giving it much thought—it just happens.
After being urged to do so by his team, he finally performed the song live in December 2014. During the song, he let loose the twelve snow cannons he had hired.We filled the stalls with three feet of fake snow. I was charged £12,000 by the venue to clean things up.
Road to Hell was also inspired by the heavy traffic at the crossroads of the M4 and the M25.
When Rea was 33 years old and received a pancreatic cancer diagnosis, his singing career was temporarily halted.
He underwent surgery that involved the removal of a portion of his liver, duodenum, gall bladder, and pancreas. In addition, he had kidney issues and type 1 diabetes.
Despite his success, he never toured America due to health issues that forced him to reevaluate his career.I was never a pop or rock star, and this disease has given me the opportunity to pursue my lifelong musical ambitions,” he stated.
This included recording Let’s Dance with his close buddy Bob Mortimer for the FA Cup Final of Middlesbrough Football Club in 1997.
When Mortimer appeared on the BBC comedy series Would I Lie to You, he said that after they had finished filming it at his studio, Rea cracked an egg into a bath for him. The video discussing whether something was true or false went viral.
Traveling in cars served as inspiration for some of Rea’s songs, and he was delighted to acknowledge that he was a car addict.
A 1957 Morris Minor 1000 police car was among the antique vehicles he owned and raced.
He once assisted in pit lane and was friends with Eddie Jordan, the owner of the Jordan Formula 1 team.The entire uniform was mine. He gave me responsibility for Eddie Irvine’s car’s rear right tire warmer.
Despite having a stroke in 2016, he was able to record and perform his 24th album, Road Songs for Lovers.
Rea claimed to have traveled to London for a very long period. He thought, “I see couples in cars. Are they married, coworkers, or having an affair?”
“You get ideas for songs and you’re actually on a road – the road always becomes a metaphor for where we’re going in life,” the artist recently remarked, referring to his penchant for writing about the small things in life.
About the Author
