Chris Rea

Chris Rea (born Christopher Anton Rea, 4 March 1951, Middlesbrough, England) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist associated with rock and blues. Characterised by a gravelly vocal style and prominent slide guitar, he became widely known from the late 1970s onwards and achieved his greatest commercial success in the United Kingdom and Europe during the late 1980s and early 1990s. He is also closely associated with the enduring seasonal song “Driving Home for Christmas”.

Rea grew up in Middlesbrough and initially worked in his family’s business before turning seriously to music in his early twenties. After signing a recording deal, he released his debut album Whatever Happened to Benny Santini? (1978) and gained early attention with the single “Fool (If You Think It’s Over)”, which charted in both the UK and the United States. He continued recording through the 1980s, developing a distinctive blend of radio-friendly rock and blues-inflected guitar work across albums such as Water Sign (1983) and Shamrock Diaries (1985).

Rea reached his peak commercial period with The Road to Hell (1989), a UK number one album that established him as a major European concert draw. He followed this with Auberge (1991), another chart-topping release, and with a run of popular singles including “The Road to Hell (Part 2)”. “Driving Home for Christmas”, first released in the 1980s, later became a recurring feature of UK seasonal charts and playlists. His music from this era was marked by accessible songwriting alongside a distinctive guitar sound and a visual aesthetic linked to road imagery.

In the mid-1990s Rea expanded his work beyond standard album formats, writing and directing the film La Passione (1996) and contributing music to the project. In the 2000s he experienced significant health problems and subsequently focused more strongly on blues-based recording, releasing large-scale projects such as Blue Guitars (2005). He continued to issue albums and undertake selected touring, with later releases often reflecting a more roots-oriented approach than his earlier mainstream hits.

Rea’s record sales are widely reported as more than 30 million worldwide. He remains an important figure in British and European rock, with a catalogue that spans chart pop-rock, blues and soundtrack work. His songs continue to attract listeners through radio, streaming and seasonal reissues, and his guitar style has been cited as an influence on later players working in rock and blues traditions.