Chris Rea, the British singer-songwriter best known for the enduring festive favorite Driving Home for Christmas, has died at the age of 74. His family confirmed that he passed away peacefully in hospital on Monday following a short illness, surrounded by those closest to him.
Born in Middlesbrough, Rea grew up in a large household as the son of an Italian father and Irish mother. One of seven children, he often spoke about feeling like an outsider in his hometown, helping out in his family’s ice cream business before music took hold of his life.
Rea did not follow a conventional path to stardom. He explored journalism and worked laboring jobs before committing fully to music in his early twenties. After stints in bands including Magdalene and the Beautiful Losers, he launched his solo career in the mid-1970s. His debut album, Whatever Happened to Benny Santini?, was released in 1978 and featured the single Fool (If You Think It’s Over), which became a surprise hit in the United States and earned him a Grammy nomination.
Although his early success seemed challenging to sustain, Rae gradually built a devoted fan base across Europe. By the late 1980s, he had become one of Britain’s most reliable chart artists. Albums such as The Road To Hell (1989) and Auberge (1991) both reached number one in the UK, while singles including On The Beach, Josephine, and Let’s Dance adopted his signature mix of blues, soft rock, and soul. Over the course of his career, he released 25 studio albums and sold more than 30 million records worldwide.
However, it is Driving Home for Christmas that ultimately secured Rea’s place in popular culture. Written during a difficult period in his life, the song was inspired by a car journey from London to Middlesbrough when he was unemployed, without a manager, and banned from driving. His future wife, Joan, drove him home in her mini, and the lyrics were born out of frustration and longing. Recorded years later and released in 1988, the song grew steadily into a seasonal classic, returning to the charts repeatedly and reaching new audiences through advertising campaigns and cover versions.
Despite his achievements on the commercial scale, Rea had a complicated relationship with fame. He often expressed discomfort with celebrity culture and preferred a quiet life with his family and his music. He also remained very much connected to his hometown, a fact that was acknowledged by his friend Bob Mortimer, who described him as a “Boro legend forever” in his tribute.
Rae also encountered significant health issues. Diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the 1990s, he later underwent surgery that left him diabetic. In 2016, he suffered a stroke that temporarily shook his confidence as a musician. Even so, his determination to keep working never faded. He returned to recording and touring, releasing road songs for lovers in 2017 and continuing to explore his blues roots in later projects.
In addition to his career in music, Rea was also a huge motorsport enthusiast and at one point even stood in as a pit mechanic for the Jordan Formula 1 team during the 1995 season.
Chris is survived by his wife, Joan, and their two daughters, Josephine and Julia, both of whom inspired songs bearing their names. He often credited his family with helping him endure illness and the pressures of a long career. In his words, music and family were inseparable.
