Christopher Anton Rea, better known as Chris Rea, was one of the biggest hits of the 1970s and 80s. He was popular for his gravelly voice, as well as hits such as Home for Christmas and The Road to Hell.
The British rock and blues singer-songwriter, guitarist and actor is an icon in the British and American music industry. He released hit songs like Crazy (If You Think It’s Over), which earned him a Grammy nomination as Best New Artist in 1979. Other notable songs include, I Can Hear Your Beats From Heart, Stainsby Girls, Let Me Dance, Tell Me There’s a Heaven, and If You Were Me, a duet with Elton John.
Interesting facts about Chris Rea
1. His first career idea didn’t include music
At first he wanted to be an ice cream maker, a way to continue the family legacy. Then he wanted to become a film writer and film scorer. However, the environment he found himself in was not conducive to his dreams.
Rea was born on March 4, 1951 in Middlesbrough, England, UK. He was one of seven children (three boys and four girls) born to an Italian father, Camillo Rea, and an Irish mother, Winifred Slee.
As a child, he spent a few months of each summer in Italy until the age of 12, when he got a job as a table cleaner and joined the family in making ice cream. He sought to learn more about the business in order to improve it, but his ideas failed to gain his father’s approval. At this he left and his place was taken by one of his brothers.
He also thought of becoming a journalist, which he said was his first love. He believed he could have had a successful career there because of his love for reading. At the age of 21, quite late for her new venture, Rea bought her first guitar and began learning to strum the instrument. Although he was left-handed, he played right-handed; a mark of the true genius in him.
With inspirations from Charlie Patton, sister Rosetta Tharpe, Ry Cooder and Joe Walsh, Rea developed a style of playing called slide guitar. He has since quit the guitar and learned other instruments. He also plays piano, keyboards, accordion, harmonica, Hammond organ and mandolin. Armed with his guitar-playing technique and deep, deep voice, Husky, Guinness Rockopedia described him as a “gravel-voiced guitar mainstay.”
2. Musical inspiration
Rea joined local Middlesbrough band, Madeleine, in 1973, began writing songs for them and eventually became a singer. Later, he formed his own group, The Beautiful Losers which received the Melody Maker Best Newcomers award in 1975. He embarked on a solo career after signing a recording contract with Magnet Records, then the group broke up in 1977.
His first album titled What Ever Happened to Benny Santini? was released in June 1978 and produced by Elton John’s record producer Gus Dudgeon. So far he has recorded 25 studio albums and 7 compilation albums with his 1989 album, The Road to Hell becoming his most famous and successful. By 2009, Chris Rea had sold over 30 million albums worldwide.
Despite being an acclaimed rock singer-songwriter, the killer mentioned that none of his musical heroes were rock stars. But he’s very good at what he does, which begs the question of who or what inspires him.
Rea listened to Delta Blues musicians like SonnyBoy Williamson II, Muddy Waters, as well as opera and orchestral classics. He considers himself a successful musician but never a rock star, even with acclaimed success in the genre.
3. Chris Rea’s Love Life
In an industry where everything is volatile, including longevity, the thought of holding it for a long time in one’s personal life deserves recognition. Chris Rea has somehow managed to strike up an amazing marriage with his wife Joan over the years.
The duo met as teenagers in 1968 in their home country Middlesbrough and have stuck together ever since. Their relationship is notable as one of the oldest in the music industry. They have two daughters – Josephine, born September 16, 1983 and Julia, born March 18, 1989.
4. He has an infectious appreciation for life and living
Rea has had to battle so many things in the music business and in her life – a succession of life-threatening illnesses is one of them. He was diagnosed with peritonitis in 1994 and six years later with pancreatic cancer.
From that point, he underwent a series of surgeries, including a Whipple procedure in which his pancreas was removed. The process further exposed him to diabetes and a generally weaker immune system; he even suffered a stroke in 2017. Among the myriad of drugs and injections he has to take every day, Chris Rea had a reason to reflect on his life and his life, saying that doing dealing with his own mortality had made him appreciate life, family and the things he loves more.
It was also during this period that he started doing what he always wanted to do musically, focusing on what really interested him. He changed his musical direction to return to the roots of the blues and also created his own label named Jazzee Blue. Rea’s latest songs, such as Encore So Far From Going, are spontaneous and about how he feels about life.
5. Chris Rea never gave up on his dreams
One of his childhood dreams was to become a writer and composer of film music. Although he has yet to write a film, he has composed many songs for films and even starred in a handful.
He wrote the title track and the score for Top Souple Epaule Dure (1993), La Passione (1996) and played the lead role in Shots (1999).