Middlesbrough-born musician had hits with Driving Home for Christmas, On the Beach and The Road to Hell
Chris Rea, the British singer-songwriter whose hits included Driving Home For Christmas, has died at the age of 74, a spokesperson for his family said.
The statement said that he died “peacefully in hospital … following a short illness”.
Rea blended blues, pop, soul and soft rock on 25 studio albums, featuring hits including The Road to Hell, taken from a UK No 1 album of the same name; Driving Home for Christmas, a perennial seasonal favourite; and tracks such as On the Beach and Josephine that earned popularity in the Balearic dance scene. He sold more than 30m albums.
He was born in 1951 in Middlesbrough to an Italian father and Irish mother, and had six siblings. “To be Irish Italian in a coffee bar in Middlesbrough – I started my life as an outsider,” he later said.
