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Chris Rea  

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With his gravelly voice and smooth slide guitar, Chris Rea (4th March 1951), hailing from Middlesbrough, UK, became one of the biggest stars of the 1980s.

Inspired by the music of Joe Walsh and Ry Cooder, Chris Rea picked up the guitar quite late, at the age of 22. Yet it was as a solo artist that Rea achieved success, signing to Magnet Records, releasing his first single, "So Much Love" in 1974.

Following collaborations with Hank Marvin and Catherine Howe, Rea's debut album was then released in 1978, titled "Whatever Happened to Benny Santini?" The album showcased his biggest hit to date in the US, "Fool (If You Think It's Over)" which rocketed to number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100, also receiving a Grammy Award nomination for this song.

Despite this breakthrough, Rea failed to continue this momentum with his second, third and fourth albums, having to wait until 1983, when his record company ambivalently released a selection of raw demo tapes, titled "Water Sign," which became a surprise hit in Ireland and Mainland Europe, with the single "I Can Hear Your Heartbeat" entering the top 20 in several countries. Rea built on this success with "On The Beach" (1986) and "Dancing With Strangers" (1987), embarking on world tours, selling out stadium-sized venues, including two performances at Wembley Arena.

His 1989 album, "The Road to Hell" was his biggest breakthrough hit, becoming his first number one album in the UK. "Auberge" (1991) also topped the UK charts. Following this, Rea continued to release albums, whilst also overcoming pancreatic cancer over the early 2000s. After a successful recovery, Rea has continued touring, alongside sporadic recordings.

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Certainly one of the smoothest men ever to emerge from Middlesbrough, Chris Rea is probably one of the few sons of that town to experience not only pop success, but pop success on both sides of the Atlantic, too. In 1978, his track ‘Fool (If You Think It’s Over)’ went to number twelve on the U.S. charts, but whilst he wouldn’t replicate that achievement in the UK immediately, the eighties would see him become a household name in his homeland, with his iconic 1989 full-length The Road to Hell eventually going six times platinum on this side of the pond - the fourth in a run of five LPs that would reach that status and mark Rea out as a legend of AOR. Since recovering from pancreatic cancer in 2001, he’s gone back to his blues roots full-time, turning out a slew of albums from that genre and playing shows that lean that way, too. His last major UK jaunt, in March of 2012, saw him play a greatest hits selection from the eighties as well as a fair few blues tracks; his full live backing band proved equally adept at helping him out with both - like Rea himself, they’re incredibly versatile performers, something that he continues to prove to this day as he continues his blues odyssey.

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Chris Rea and his Band was more than Fantastick.5 new songs this time, he song alone whit out his Guitar and the others song we now was Out standing like always. Chris Rea has a voice like noby else. We have seen him many times before we now he has been sick so we dont think this time will bee fabolus but it was for sure, he is the musick, we just love him, so thanks for this wonderfull show. Kindly Nattodag from Sweden.

Chris Rea was on our bucket list. We live in Calgary and built our travel this fall around last nights INCREDIBLE show. Road to Hell is always a highlight not to mention dancing to Last Dance. Would do it all over again tonite if we could.Danke Sharon and Mitch

Sadly you should know Chris collapsed in Oxford the night before and the rest of the tour This one in Brighton & Bournemouth were cancelled. Glad he seems OK and hope he fully recovers, and does not try to continue and put his health at risk

Very good show.

Good organisation, started in time and the music was charming.

No enough car parking spaces and I would recommend using the tube if you have an event in Hammersmith.

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‘The Road To Hell Part 2’: How Chris Rea Added Fuel To The Fire

Hitting the road yet again, Chris Rea’s sequel album, ‘The Road To Hell Part 2’, went off the beaten track to fuse guitar with dance rhythms.

Ten years after The Road To Hell became his biggest success, Chris Rea ’s bold and refreshingly experimental sequel, The Road To Hell Part 2 , traversed a completely different musical terrain.

By the late 90s, the popularity of dance music seemed to be leaving soft-rock musicians such as Rea standing in the cold, outside the nightclub doors. “Everyone’s using the same bloody computer now, which is a big shame for a lot of players,” the singer-songwriter himself noted. However, one of the best Chris Rea songs , On The Beach, had been sampled by Dutch DJs York to become an Ibiza hit in the summer of 1999, suggesting that Rea had a better chance than many of connecting with an audience drawn to electronic music. Aiming to combine his predilection for blues-based slide guitar and live musicianship with computer-generated beats, Rea fashioned his 15th album, The Road To Hell Part 2 , with a mechanic’s precision.

Listen to ‘The Road To Hell Part 2’ here .

“I just went off left field with completely different ideas”

The first tantalising hint at Rea’s new direction came with The Road To Hell Part 2 ’s lead single, New Times Square, which bubbled with gentle, trance-like synths before engulfing listeners with a tsunami of thumping EDM beats. Released in October 1999, it surprised audiences by melding Rea’s throaty drawl with a euphoric club vibe.

Following on 15 November, The Road To Hell Part 2 revealed that Rea had more tricks up his sleeve: mixing bluesy riffs with clubby beats, the album picked up the traffic-related themes of its predecessor with the eight-minute opener Can’t Get Through. With its blaring sax and driving beat, this was a totally new musical highway for Rea. “I just went off left field with completely different ideas,” he admitted, telling interviewers how rock musicians needed to embrace new things. “Guys like Eric Clapton shouldn’t be saying music is dead.”

“I was genuinely inspired at how the man had changed in the traffic jam”

Having vaulted to prominence after writing a song about being stuck on the M25 motorway that circles London, Rea relished revisiting the concepts he explored on the original Road To Hell album, again mining his own family life for ideas. “I was genuinely inspired at how the man had changed in the traffic jam,” he said. Explaining that the first instalment was about being a father to young kids, he revealed, “This one is how those little kids are now teenagers, and he’s having to deal with teenage problems.”

Rea’s daughters, Josie (then 16) and Julia (11), had inspired him to tackle songs that shared his waspish views on modern parenthood. The rap-indebted Evil No.2 explores the inner mind of an errant teen, name-checking Eminem and blaming wayward, drug-taking behaviour on the lax morals of paper-chasing mums and dads (“I got a satellite dish, I’m all alone/With my little goldfish/And Eminem”). “It’s been something that I’ve been concerned about for some time,” Rea told the Daily Mirror . “While they’re off achieving, the child is in the bedroom having its mind completely screwed up. I don’t think that’s progress. Do you?”

“It’s about listening to three girls have a conversation about ecstasy”

At the time The Road To Hell Part 2 was released, the controversy around teenagers taking ecstasy was dominating news headlines, particularly after the death of 18-year-old Leah Betts in 1995. Rea’s song E tackles this subject head-on (“‘Tell me what’s so wrong with E’/That’s what I hear them say”). “E is a song about listening to three girls have a conversation about ecstasy,” Rea said. “They wanted to know the risks. It was my duty to tell them – to be honest with them.” By tackling a controversial issue in such a measured way, Rea implores parents to “talk about it” openly.

Just like before, Rea presents these very personal topics under the guise of a road trip, making The Road To Hell Part 2 a soft-rock ambulation aided by its dance-inspired production. The car radio becomes central to this journey, surfacing once again on I’m In My Car (“I don’t want to change a thing/This is my world you are sitting in”). “The other instance with The Road To Hell Part 2 is how happy men have got in cars,” Rea said, recalling how a friend of his would plan his drive home around his favourite radio show. “We are actually starting to enjoy this private space at the beginning and the end of each day.”

“When you open up to it, it’s just another way of making music”

Though it wouldn’t be right to call The Road To Hell Part 2 a fully-fledged dance record, it successfully hangs atmospheric synths and propulsive drum machine around Rea’s bluesy arrangements. A notable highlight is Last Open Road, which is built upon Rea’s experiments with guitar loops and sampling. “I took some blasting guitars, put them in a sequencer, and I had a lot of fun doing it,” Rea said.

Musically adventurous yet in keeping with Rea’s fondness for slide guitar, The Road To Hell Part 2 deserves credit for keeping pace with the popularity of dance music. “When you open up to it,” Rea said of his new approach, “it’s just another way of making music.” By finding a way to bridge the two worlds while bringing to life his pre-established themes of world-weary misdirection and parental anxiety, The Road To Hell Part 2 took fans on a detour unlike any Rea had led them on before.

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Chris Rea reveals tour dates as he goes back on the road again

Middlesbrough singer-songwriter will play dates across Europe from October-December to mark new album

• 14:24, 24 APR 2017
• Updated 14:25, 24 APR 2017

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Chris Rea is going back on the road to mark the launch of his new album.

The Middlesbrough-born musician will be playing 13 dates in the UK and Ireland - including The Sage at Gateshead - to coincide with new album Road Songs For Lovers, which is due later this year.

Before the British dates, Rea will play a gruelling run of 18 concerts in Holland, France, Germany, Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Estonia.

The nearest Rea will get to Teesside is on Tuesday, November 21, when he kicks off the UK leg of his tour by playing The Sage in Gateshead, and Friday, November 24 at the Harrogate Convention Centre. He will also perform at Sheffield City Hall on Monday, December 4.

It’s the 66-year-old Teessider’s first time out on the road since 2014’s “The Last Open Road Tour”.

Tickets go on sale on Friday at 9am.

It’s 39 years since Rea’s first singles chart hit, Fool If You Think It’s Over, reached number 30 in October 1978.

Since then, he’s enjoyed massive worldwide success, with his biggest singles hit 1989’s The Road To Hell (Part 2).

In recent years, he has had a well publicised battle with pancreatic cancer - but he’s now ready to play a lengthy list of live gigs again.

Two of his 26 albums which have made the UK charts so far reached the top spot - The Road To Hell in 1989 and follow-up Auberge in 1991.

For more details on the tour, visit the Chris Rea Facebook page: https:// www.facebook.com/ChrisReaOfficial

Full list of UK and Ireland gigs: November 21, The Sage Theatre, Gateshead; Nov 22, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall; Nov 24, Harrogate Convention Centre; Nov 26, Eventim Apollo London; Nov 29, Symphony Hall, Birmingham; Nov 30, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic; Dec 3, O2 Apollo, Manchester; Dec 4, Sheffield City Hall; Dec 6, Olympia Theatre, Dublin; Dec 7, Waterfront Hall, Belfast; Dec 9, Oxford New Theatre; Dec 10, Brighton Centre; Dec 12, Bournemouth International Centre.

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Chris Rea Announces UK Comeback Tour

Singer comes out of retirement with a blues quintet and new album

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Chris Rea has surprisingly announced a mammoth UK comeback tour, to take place next Spring.

The singer/guitarist is back from ‘early retirement’ with a newly formed quintet, The Fabulous Hofner Blue Notes – and has prepared over 20 new songs in homage to iconic 60s blues music.

Rea and his band will kick off the UK shows in Cardiff on March 13 – and the stint will also include a show at London’s Royal Albert Hall .

Serious illness which initially caused the singer to announce he would have to quit music two years ago has not stopped him from creating a new, looser, way of performing on stage – hence the quintet’s formation.

Rea said in a statement: “I love being on tour. That’s the best job in the world, if only I had a different body. My state of health can deteriorate any moment, however, which is why I simply had to find a different way of working.”

In the past two years, the guitarist has written a new guitar book called ‘The Return of The Fabulous Hofner Bluenotes’ – dedicated to early 60s guitar – and also including 20 brand new songs , and a new album is due for release this December.

Rea says of the bluesy tributes to his idol BB King: “That is the music that I have always wanted to play: real, genuine guitar music”.

The band members are: Robert Ahwai (guitar), Neil Drinkwater (keyboards), Colin Hodgkinson (bass) and Martin Ditcham (drums).

The band’s full tour dates are as follows:

Cardiff, St Davids Hall (March 13)

Plymouth Pavilions (14)

Bristol Colston Hall (16)

Brighton Centre (17)

Glasgow Royal Concert Hall (19)

Edinbugh Playhouse (20)

Birmingham Symphony Hall (23)

Bournemouth BIC (24)

Nottingham Centre (27)

London Royal Albert Hall (28)

Manchester Apollo (26)

Oxford New Theatre (30)

Liverpool Philharmonic Hall (31)

Newcastle City Hall (April 2)

Sheffield City Hall (5)

Harrogate International Centre (6)

Pic credit: PA Photos

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How Chris Rea became rock's ultimate survivor

From industry sharks to cancer and strokes, nothing can sink Chris Rea. Rock’s great survivor looks on the bright side of life

Few experiences in life are more humiliating than spluttering up the driveway of Chris Rea’s country pile in a decrepit Seat Altea. The veteran bluesman’s home is a trove of automobile porn: a gleaming Ferrari, a pristine Caterham 620, racing overalls, press clippings of Rea himself burning up the track. It’s becoming apparent why he wrote Road Songs For Lovers , his new semi-concept album, on which he admits that he finds peace only behind the wheel.

“I love it,” he says with a twinkle, that burnished face crinkling into a walnut. “I always have. I don’t know why. How do you explain love?”

Rea looks good, all things considered. Last week he had an MRI scan, the latest two-step in the 66-year-old’s long-standing dance with abdominal cancer. It turns out there are other ailments afoot.

“I had a stroke in the autumn,” he reveals. “Boy, that was a big shock. When I first got home I couldn’t play slide guitar. It was horrific. Very scary moment. I couldn’t play F major 7th. I got it into my head that my perception of pitch had gone with the stroke. And it took a lot of convincing from people saying there’s nothing wrong with what you’re playing. I’m getting it back now, hopefully, for the tour.”

You’d defy anyone to detect an issue on Road Songs . Rea’s supple, dextrous slide work is the fairy dust on these bluesy songs of open-road escapism, his desert-dry vocal wrapping them in parchment. He recorded his parts here, in his home studio.

“They have to drag albums off me,” he says. “If you’re not careful, you just polish. And that’s a weakness of mine. Because I don’t have a big ego. I don’t think I’m any good, really. I’d love to play something and think: ‘Yep, that’s the best thing I’ve ever done,” but I never do.”

He’s proud of these songs, though. Apart from the sinister trudge of Last Train , it’s easy to cast this album as a love letter to cars, the second great passion of Rea’s when he was younger.

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“You’re a little boy in Middlesbrough,” he reflects. “There are no colours, nothing glamorous. Everything is black and white. Then you’re stood with your dad and a German racing car goes past you at 180 miles an hour. Even if it did that now it would be incredible. Imagine the relative perception in 1956.

“They’re not an indulgence,” he stresses of his collection of cars. “I’m a proper racing driver. I’ve got an international C licence. I race a 1957 Morris 1000 police car. It’s not exactly a Lamborghini, is it? But I adore it. I’m an anorak. It’s about the engine, all that. It’s not about status. The Caterham will be my last car. It’s the heroin of car addicts. Nick Mason [Pink Floyd drummer and fellow petrolhead] once said to me: ‘You don’t have to take drugs to be an addict,’ y’know?”

Aren’t cars stereotypical things for a rock star to write songs about?

“I’m not a rock star!” Rea puffs, indignant. “There have been moments when I wish I was. When I see a Ferrari 250 GTO and it’s going for twenty-five million pounds, for about ten seconds I wish I was a rock star. It’s very difficult to be a rock star. When I’ve met people who are rock stars, they’re focused like you wouldn’t believe. They’re bothered about their hair. They’re constantly having something done to their face. How you look and how you sound is everything. It’s narcissistic. I’m not.”

Fame has always repelled him, Rea reminds me. Digging his heels in all the way, his reluctant ascent began with his 1978 hit Fool (If You Think It’s Over) , which he despised, and when the real circus began he was in too deep to walk away. “I signed a record contract that was the only one available to me at the time. I signed with the wrong record company for what I wanted to do, and I’ve been playing catch-up ever since.

“When I did The Old Grey Whistle Test , the other band that was on with me was Dire Straits. I knew that day that that was what I should be doing. But it was too late. If Mark Knopfler had asked me to join them that night, I would have. And I would have gone to court with my record company. But I don’t think my record company would have let me go. They’d have let me starve rather than let me go. Because somebody in Los Angeles had told the head of my record company: ‘Never let that boy go.’ It was quite sinister when you look back. “When someone said: ‘If you’re doing that TV gig, you’ve got to wear a leather jacket,’ I should have just said no to all that. But then I mightn’t have got this far. You’re constantly juggling what you want to do and what you have to do.

“We had all this when I went back to the blues. They all shit themselves. What they didn’t realise is that Chris Rea fans like that. That’s the bit they like, better than the poppier side or trying to have a hit single. One German journalist for a rock magazine said: ‘The best thing you can ever see is a Chris Rea sound-check, because they’re just grooving and playing.’ They used to have to get us off stage: ‘For fuck’s sake, we’re opening the doors.’ We’re playing away, happy as pigs in shit – because we love it.”

Last time we met, you said that the fallout from fame left you bad-tempered and aggressive.

“Terribly aggressive. Y’know, I was four times a week at the gym and I was sixteen and a half stone. And fearful and paranoid that some twat was gonna take me back to the old pop record days. I became horrendously paranoid. There’s nothing to be paranoid about any more.”

Aren’t you wary of Road Songs becoming a hit and the whole cycle starting again?

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“I don’t think we are. All through the spring I was saying to my manager: ‘John, promise me this. When it doesn’t happen, just stay calm. I don’t want any fucking getting drunk and having fights.’

“One of the things I’ve noticed is that I don’t think people care if you bring a new record out or not. When you go to Harley Street, all the doctors’ names are on brass plates, and underneath it tells you what they do. Well, that’s what we are. You’ve got ‘Mark Knopfler: Money For Nothing, Sultans Of Swing ’. Doesn’t matter what else he does, that’s his brass plate. ‘Chris Rea: Road To Hell, On The Beach, Driving Home For Christmas ’. If I made a triple album of the world’s best-ever music, better than Beethoven, they’d still want On The Beach .”

Does that realisation hurt famous musicians?

“It hurts accordingly to the size of your ego. The bigger the ego, the bigger the hurt. We’re all brass plates. I mean, Elton John brought a fabulous album out last year with the American producer [T Bone Burnett]. There won’t be one person at the next twenty thousand Elton John concerts that will wait for a song off that album. You’ve also got people who get the brass plate and put it in neon and do ‘best of’ tours. In fact, in Germany, the venue they’ll put you in and the type of money they’ll put up is totally dependent on what songs you’re contractually going to play. If you’re going to do all your hits, they’ll put you in the big arena in Dortmund; if not, they’ll put you in a club down the road in Cologne.”

Given Rea’s troubled relationship with paydirt, perhaps the most fascinating song on the new album is Money , a rare deviation from the car theme, on which New Orleans brass jousts with his grizzled commentary on modern avarice.

“That was me listening to the money programme [ Money Box ] on Radio Four,” he explains. “Everyone sees their politics from where they stand financially. That’s why everyone’s worried about Jeremy Corbyn, because he doesn’t have any financial desires, so he thinks you can live on thruppence. But when he wins… And he is going to win. There’s no doubt about it. I’ve got a bet. I’ve got sixteen to one. Him and his chancellor will decide how much money they think you need, everything else will go to the government.”

That’s bad news for millionaire musicians like you, isn’t it?

“No, because I think he’s right. A lot of people are like: ‘Fucking hell, Chris, don’t tell me you’re a Corbyn fan. For fuck’s sake, don’t tell anyone!’ I’ve written a song about him. It’s called What’s So Wrong With A Man Who Tells The Truth? Because he’s standing there, even his own party are laughing at him, and I thought: ‘You’re all laughing at your own peril.’ And yes, in the old way, Corbyn is useless. Because he says the wrong things. But the young people have had enough.

“Because of my health I’m constantly in some of these hospitals. And we need more money. Of course, Newsnight will say: ‘Yeah, but where’s he gonna get it from?’ Tax. It’s as simple as that. One of my musician friends said: ‘Well, we’re all going to leave the country.’ And I think the people who are left behind will say: ‘Good riddance.’”

Rea reckons Road Songs , released on his Jazzee Blue label, will cover his expenses but perhaps not much more.

“Well, touch wood, it’s not costing me money. But ten years with Jazzee Blue, you find out some of the things you just can’t get if you’re not with a big record company. There’d just be this mystery of why you couldn’t get in that magazine. It’s even happening now with gigs. Trying to get on a gig that Live Nation don’t own is extremely difficult. You find yourself not being able to get a venue. You don’t know why. The men at the top are still the men at the top. Most bands have become casualties of the business, but at the top of the business they’re on the same money as they always were. That bit hasn’t changed.”

How do you feel about other developments in show business?

“This is probably the only interview in the world this week where it’s you and me sat talking to each other,” says Rea. “Nowadays they’ll send emails and just say: ‘Answer the following questions.’ It saves money.

“One of my big shocks lately is how people – even in the business – listen to music. It’s frightening. When I first started, there was a man who went round Warners’ offices all day long, every day, resetting people’s hi-fis and playback systems. Now they’re all listening to it on a PC. And modern music has changed because of that. Young kids make music for a PC. So they won’t have a big, fat bass, because you can’t hear it on a PC. They’ll make a more pointed, rhythmic bass, and it’ll be quantised. And that’s modern music. One of the final milestones for me was Ed Sheeran at Glastonbury this year,” he continues. “Because people were saying that he was using a little black box, and he didn’t have a band. But the main point of that was nobody cared.

“We have terrible trouble when we tour. The last four people who’ve played the venue you’ve arrived into are saying: ‘Well, we didn’t have any trouble [with the sound].’ And you know that’s because it was all on hard disc. Of course you don’t have trouble, because you don’t have a buzzing 1962 Stratocaster!”

And yet, for all the dodgy live sound and brass-plate audiences, Rea says he’s raring to take Road Songs into its natural habitat when he goes out on his European tour in November.

“Touring is like a holiday,” he says. “And when we do Germany and England on the tour there’ll be an album that comes out of that. I’m already onto my next one now. My problem is it’s almost like having a form of autism. I seriously think it’s quite close, creativity. I get up this morning, quarter to seven. I’ve got to write something. I’m useless at doing nothing.”

Somehow, you suspect Chris Rea is the kind of musician who will never be done – unless his hand is forced by factors beyond his control. Again, where a ‘proper’ rock star would shut down any such enquiries, Rea is an open book on the subject of his gathering health issues.

“The medical is the leveller when you’ve been as ill as me, with permanent damage,” he says. “And it has a lot of effects that I wish it didn’t. But it does. Y’know, there are reasons why I can’t go to the Himalayas. And I’d love to. But the way my body is now, digestion-wise, I couldn’t go up there.”

He brightens. “I’m happy to be here,” he says. “I really am. And y’know, if you lose your pancreas and you’re on morphine for sixteen weeks in hospital, then you can say: ‘What’s wrong with me singing the blues?’”

Road Songs For Lovers is out now via Jazzee Blue/BMG.

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Henry Yates has been a freelance journalist since 2002 and written about music for titles including The Guardian, The Telegraph, NME, Classic Rock, Guitarist, Total Guitar and Metal Hammer . He is the author of Walter Trout's official biography, Rescued From Reality , a music pundit on Times Radio and BBC TV, and an interviewer who has spoken to Brian May, Jimmy Page, Ozzy Osbourne, Ronnie Wood, Dave Grohl, Marilyn Manson, Kiefer Sutherland and many more. 

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"Driving Home For Christmas": This Is Chris Rea Today

B ut how is the successful pop and rock singer doing today? Chris suffered some serious setbacks. His health set him back again and again...

Today the singer is dependent on countless drugs, as the British newspaper Mirror reports.

The now 72-year-old suffers from type 1 diabetes. Although Chris Rea is still on stage at his considerable age, he had to get used to taking things a little more slowly.

Watch the video above to learn more!

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Chris Rea facts: 'Driving Home for Christmas' singer's age, health, wife and children revealed

19 November 2020, 17:16 | Updated: 8 February 2022, 17:21

By Tom Eames

Chris Rea is one of the world's most respected and prolific blues rock musicians of all time.

The singer and guitarist makes a chart comeback every December thanks to his festive hit 'Driving Home for Christmas', but what are his other best known songs and is he married?

Here's all the important facts about the talented star:

What are Chris Rea's most famous songs?

Chris Rea - On the Beach (Official Music Video)

Chris Rea scored an early top 40 hit in 1978 with 'Fool (If You Think It's Over)', a song Elkie Brooks had a bigger success with three years later.

It wasn't until the late 1980s and early 1990s that Chris finally achieved true chart success with Dancing with Strangers and The Road to Hell albums.

His best known hit is probably 'Driving Home for Christmas', which didn't even reach the top 40 the first time around in 1988. However, it has reached the top 40 every year since 2007, peaking at 11 in 2018.

Read more: The Story of... 'Driving Home for Christmas'

His other famous songs include:

- On the Beach

- Josephine

- Let's Dance

- Tell Me There's a Heaven

- The Road to Hell (part 2)

Chris Rea age: How old is he and where is he from?

Chris Rea was born on March 4, 1951, and celebrated his 69th birthday in 2020.

He was born in Middlesbrough in Yorkshire, to an Italian father, Camillo Rea (died 2010) and an Irish mother, Winifred Snee (died 1983).

He was one of seven children, and his family were of the Roman Catholic faith.

What health issues has Chris Rea had?

In 2000, Chris Rea was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and underwent surgery which resulted in the removal of part of his pancreas and gall bladder.

Since having this surgery, Chris has had issues with diabetes and a weaker immune system, requiring over 30 pills and seven injections a day. He has had several operations since then.

Despite the setback, he stayed positive, saying: "It's not until you become seriously ill and you nearly die and you're at home for six months, that you suddenly stop, to realize that this isn't the way I intended it to be in the beginning.

"Everything that you've done falls away and you start wondering why you went through all that rock business stuff."

Chris Rea had a stroke in 2016, which left him with slurred speech and limited movement in his arms and fingers.

He soon quit smoking to halt further strokes, and thankfully was well enough to record more music and tour.

In September 2017, he released his 24th album, Road Songs for Lovers , and went on tour across Europe.

However, in December, Chris collapsed during a performance at the New Theatre Oxford. He was taken to hospital where his condition improved.

Who is Chris Rea's wife and does he have children?

Chris Rea is married to Joan Lesley.

They have been a couple since they met as teenagers in 1968 in Middlesbrough.

They have two daughters, Josephine (born 1983), and Julia Christina (born 1989).

Josephine lectures on Renaissance art in Florence, and Julia studied at the University of St Andrews.

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Chris Rea confirms huge UK tour

English singer-songwriter chris rea is heading out on tour this winter..

Chris Rea is set to play an eleven-date UK tour in November and December to celebrate the release of his new album Road Songs for Lovers, released in September.

The tour will kick off at the Sage Theatre in Gateshead followed by shows across the country in Glasgow, Harrogate, London, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield, Oxford and Brighton before coming to a close at Bournemouth’s International Centre.

Like all truly great artists, Chris Rea has followed his own unique artistic vision and a path that is his and his alone. And although his exemplary musical output to date is deeply embedded into the framework of the world’s rock n roll DNA, it is also safe to say that his presence has been something of a glittering thorn in the side of an industry that has always had him down as a perennial outsider.

As an artist and painter, blues aficionado and self-confessed motoring nut, filmmaker and Italian-influenced classical music composer, eclectic and maverick are two terms that hardly come close to describing a man who has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide for just being himself. In 2017 Rea returns to what he’s best known for – an album of gorgeous rock ballads which showcases his unique voice and a songwriting skill at the top of his game.

Below are those UK dates for Chris Rea’s tour:

21 November – Sage Theatre, Gateshead 22 November – Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow 24 November – HIC, Harrogate 26 November – Eventim Apollo, London 29 November – Symphony Hall, Birmingham 30 November – Philharmonic, Liverpool 3 December – O2 Apollo, Manchester 4 December – City Hall, Manchester 9 December – New Theatre, Oxford 10 December – Brighton Centre, Brighton 12 December – International Centre, Bournmouth

Get your tickets from 09:00 on Friday 28 April 2017 via Ticketmaster.co.uk .

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Chris Rea is an underrated blues-pop force – his soulful slide playing is well worth investigating

Inspired by the blues greats, the UK singer-songwriter developed a melodic open E slide style that’s very much his own

Perhaps a lesser known bluesman to the wider guitar playing community, but by no means less successful than any of his peers, is Mr Chris Rea. Hailing from the UK, Chris has had a rich and successful career, with 25 solo albums and many hit singles to his name.

Originally from Middlesborough, the guitar legend actually started his music career quite late in life. Originally wanting to be a journalist, Chris bought his first guitar in his early 20s, and was inspired in particular by Charley Patton, a well-known slide player on whom Chris based his own approach. 

Rea was influenced by Blind Willie Johnson, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Ry Cooder and Joe Walsh. He was also inspired by the Delta blues movement, in particular citing Muddy Waters.

But Rea’s sound and style are definitely more grounded in British rock, rather than blues in particular, and many of his records testify to that foundational sensibility. But he adopted many styles of music in his songwriting. 

Some records sound more classic rock while others have more Motown influence with extended 7th and 9th chords and lush string sections that might be more typically associated with artists like The Temptations. All the while, his distinctive slide guitar was used across all these records giving him his unique blues-pop sound.

In 1974 Rea managed to secure a solo recording deal with Magnet Records after fronting a few local bands, releasing his first single, So Much Love . This led him to further opportunities, including his contribution to Hank Marvin’s album, The Hank Marvin Guitar Syndicate , in 1977.

His own debut release came a year later, with Whatever Happened to Benny Santini ? It peaked at No 49 on the Billboard Hot 200, and was there for 12 weeks. The lead single off this record, Fool (If You Think It’s Over) was his most successful song in the USA, reaching No 1 on the Adult Contemporary singles chart and No 12 on the Billboard Hot 100. Despite this success, he’s had no ambitions to tour in the US and still hasn’t worked there to this day.

Chris had a fair bit of success in the European charts, though, but his major breakthrough wouldn’t come until his 10th studio record in 1989. The Road To Hell was his first UK number 1 album, being certified 6x Platinum by the BPI in 2004.

Rea made a return to his blues roots after many years of success with more contemporary pop and rock sounding records. Therefore, for the purposes of our studies on Chris’s playing, we’ll look at examples of his slide guitar style first in a pop-rock context, and then in a more soulful, Motown-inspired track. Enjoy! 

Get the tone

Amp Settings: Gain 3, Bass 5, Middle 5, Treble 5, Reverb 4

Any guitar, whether single coils or humbuckers will do the job nicely. You’ll need a slide for these solos, so a guitar with a medium action height will benefit you here. A clean amp on the edge of break-up with a touch of reverb will put you squarely in the sonic ballpark. Either neck or bridge pickup will do the trick, as long as you get a clear, singing tone.

Study One

This solo is a great example of Rea’s style from his pop-rock years. Chris plays everything (including regular lead guitar) in open E tuning, but we are in standard tuning here. The solo is constructed mostly around triads that contain notes all on the same frets, so as to accommodate the slide.

This solo is an example of Chris’s playing in a more soulful context. Notice that each idea is a development of what came before. We use the slide to essentially harmonise the original melodic idea using triads to create a choir-like effect that sounds airy and open, unlike conventional guitar strumming.

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Chris's career spans over thirty years and both The Road To Hell in 1989 and Auberge in 1991 debuted at No.1 in the UK, cementing his position as more...

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