At Age 74: British Star Chris Rea Has Passed Away

The singer-songwriter Chris Rea, who was one of the most prominent names in British pop-rock, leaves behind a career spanning over four decades and sales of over 30 million albums. Rea passed away after facing severe health challenges over the years, including surgery to remove his pancreas following a cancer diagnosis and a collapse during a performance in 2017.

This was reported by British media in a statement released on behalf of his family's spokesperson. Rea, who was particularly identified with the hit Driving Home For Christmas, leaves behind a career of more than forty years and sales exceeding 30 million albums.

Rea struggled with serious health issues: in 2001, he underwent surgery to remove his pancreas due to cancer, which left him diabetic, and in 2016, he suffered a stroke. In 2017, he collapsed during a performance in Oxford and was hospitalized.

He was born in 1951 in Middlesbrough to an Italian father and an Irish mother, and was one of seven siblings. In his youth, he worked manual labor jobs, including in his father's ice cream factory, and considered a career in journalism before turning to music. After playing in various bands, including Magdalene and The Beautiful Losers, he embarked on a solo career and released his debut single in 1974. The peak of his commercial success came in the late 1980s, when he launched a streak of six top-ten albums in the UK, two of which reached number one.

By the 2000s, Rea no longer enjoyed the same chart presence and returned to the blues roots that had influenced him at the start of his journey.

Rea integrated blues, pop, soul, and soft rock into his work, releasing 25 studio albums. Among his most famous songs are The Road to Hell, the title track from an album that reached number one on the British charts; Driving Home For Christmas, which became a seasonal classic; and also On the Beach and Josephine, which gained surprising popularity in the Balearic dance scene. He achieved his first success in the US when his song Fool (If You Think It’s Over) reached number 12 in 1978, earning him a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist.