Chris Rea

bluesrockclassic rocksoft rocksinger-songwriter

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About

Christopher Anton Rea (4 March 1951 – 22 December 2025) was an English rock and blues singer-songwriter and guitarist. He was known for his distinctive raspy voice and his use of slide guitar. Over the course of his career, Rea released 25 studio albums, including two that reached number one on the UK Albums Chart: "The Road to Hell" (1989) and its follow-up "Auberge" (1991). He achieved his first UK Top 10 single with "The Road to Hell (Part 2)", having already established a substantial following across mainland Europe. Rea’s music frequently reflected personal themes and was, at various points, shaped by ongoing health problems. His best-known songs include "I Can Hear Your Heartbeat", "Stainsby Girls", "Josephine", "On the Beach", "Let's Dance", "Driving Home for Christmas", "Working on It", "Tell Me There's a Heaven", "Auberge", and "Julia". He also recorded the duet "If You Were Me" with Elton John. Rea received nominations for the Brit Award for British Male Solo Artist in 1988, 1989, and 1990. Despite his international success, Rea never toured the United States. There, he was primarily known for the single "Fool (If You Think It's Over)" (1978), which reached number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent three weeks at number one on the Adult Contemporary chart, leading to a Grammy Award nomination for Best New Artist. In the late 1980s, his song "Working on It" reached number one on the U.S. Mainstream Rock chart. Across his career, Rea sold more than 40 million records worldwide. Studio albums Whatever Happened to Benny Santini?

Source: Last.fm