More albums from Chris Rea
About Chris Rea
Artist Biography
Singer-songwriter Chris Rea, inspired by blues legend Charley Patton, taught himself to play slide guitar while working at his father’s ice cream shop in Middlesbrough, England.
∙ After stints with the bands Magdalene and Beautiful Losers, he landed a solo deal with Magnet Records, which paired him with Elton John producer Gus Dudgeon for his first two albums.
∙ Rea’s 1978 debut, Whatever Happened to Benny Santini?, produced the Top 20 hit “Fool (If You Think It’s Over)” and earned him a Grammy Award nomination for Best New Artist.
∙ He originally intended to give his 1988 song “Driving Home for Christmas” to Van Morrison, but he wound up recording it himself and scoring a massive UK holiday hit.
∙ In 1989, The Road to Hell topped the charts in the UK and Germany, while also reaching the Top 10 in Austria, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland.
∙ An avid auto racing fan and collector of sports cars, Rea featured a painting of his prized Caterham 7 on the cover of his multiplatinum 1991 album, Auberge.
∙ He has sold more than 40 million albums worldwide.
Hometown
Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England
Genre
Rock
Similar to: Chris Rea
Discover more music and artists similar to Chris Rea, like Dire Straits, Mark Knopfler, Simply Red