British singer and guitarist Chris Rea. Biography

Chris Rea (full name Christopher Anton Rea) is a British singer, guitarist and songwriter with a unique husky baritone voice, thanks to which he became one of the most recognizable musicians of the twentieth century. During his life, the artist has released 25 studio albums in the genres of blues, pop, soul and soft rock. The peak of his career is considered to be the 1989 album The Road to Hell, which topped the UK chart and received multi-platinum status, forever inscribing the musician's name in the history of rock music.

Childhood and youth

The musician was born on March 4, 1951 in Middlesbrough in the northeast of England in a Catholic family, where besides him there were six other children — two brothers and four sisters. His father Camillo Ri was an Italian immigrant. He moved to Britain from a small village near Mount Falcone and became a well-known entrepreneur in the city, who owned an ice cream factory and a cafe chain. Winifred Slee's mother was of Irish descent and was a housewife.

In his youth, Chris, like his brothers, worked at an ice cream factory and helped his father in a cafe, but he did not see this as his vocation. Since childhood, he dreamed of becoming a journalist and enrolled in St. Mary's College after school. However, he was soon expelled after a heated argument with a teacher. The young man had to return to the family business, and at the same time he began to study music.

The beginning of a creative journey

A turning point in Chris Rea's life was his introduction to the playing of American guitarist Joe Walsh from The Eagles, whom he first heard at a friend's house. Later, having saved money, he bought his first guitar and began to learn to play on his own, imitating his idol. And in 1973, he joined the local Magdalene band, in which the future Whitesnake leader David Coverdale once started.

According to the musician, he started making music relatively late, at the age of 21, when his fellow guitar virtuosos Eric Clapton and Mark Knopfler had already achieved a lot by that age.

Chris didn't just play guitar in the band. He also wrote the lyrics, and then took the place of the vocalist after his predecessor did not show up for the performance. In 1974, Ree, along with other members, founded the band Beautiful Losers, which was awarded by the Melody Maker newspaper as the best beginner band of the year, but did not receive commercial success.

Home for Christmas: what is remembered by British singer Chris Rea

During his life, the artist recorded 25 studio albums.

Solo career

In 1977, the musician left the band to focus on his solo career. In the same year, he signed a contract with the label Magnet Records and a year later released his debut album Whatever Happened to Benny Santini (1978). The name of the record was a reference to the stage name Benny Santini, which the producers offered the musician to promote in the American market, but which he eventually refused.

The lead single from this album, Fool (If You Think It's Over), brought the musician fame overseas. The song reached number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and was nominated for a Grammy. In the UK itself, the single was initially overlooked, and only after its success in the United States did it rise in the charts at home.

This was followed by the albums Deltics (1979), Tennis (1980) and Chris Rea (1981), which consolidated the success. Critics called the musician one of the brightest rock authors of our time, "who creates clear images for the future." However, by that time, Chris Rea's relationship with the label had completely soured. This led to the fact that the musician was denied funding for the recording of his next album, Water Sign, which was released in 1983 and consisted entirely of demos.

According to the musician, in the event of the album's failure, he seriously considered leaving music and opening an Italian restaurant, but suddenly the album found a response in Europe, selling half a million copies in a few months. This gave the musician a second wind, and he went on a tour of Europe, where his loyal audience gradually formed.

The European breakthrough was cemented by the albums "Wired to the Moon" (1984) and "Shamrock Diaries" (1985), which went platinum and gave the world one of the most soulful hits — the song "Josephine", dedicated to the musician's eldest daughter.

Working on the album The Road to Hell

The tenth studio album, The Road to Hell (1989), became a real triumph. The recording took place in the French studio Miraval under the direction of producer John Kelly. The album topped the UK charts, staying on the charts for 100 weeks, and received six-fold platinum status from the British Phonogram Producers Association (BPI).

After the release of the album, Chris Rea established himself as one of the UK's leading guitarists and best-selling artists, and the album's eponymous song instantly became a rock classic. Her studio version contains a reference to the chronic traffic jams on the M25 highway around London, which the singer regularly observed returning from the studio. Standing in this almost frozen stream, Chris Rea scribbled the lines of the future hit on a piece of paper.

However, in the original version, the song contained the musician's memories of how his dead mother appeared to him in a dream, standing by the side of the road, and warned him that the road he was following in life led to hell. The record company found this intro too boring and released only the main part of the song.

Social activities

During his long career, Chris Rea has received a number of significant awards and nominations. During the peak of his popularity, from 1988 to 1990, he was nominated three times in a row for the Brit Award as the best British solo artist. The main recognition of his commercial success was the numerous platinum and gold certifications of his albums and a Grammy nomination.

The musician also participated in many charity projects. In 1989, he, along with such stars as Ringo Starr, David Gilmour and Kate Bush, recorded the single Spirit of the Forest in defense of the rainforest. In the same year, he took part in the re-recording of the charity single Do They Know It's Christmas as part of the Band Aid II project.

In later years, the musician was engaged in charity through the sale of his paintings, the proceeds of which he used to help children from disadvantaged families.

Personal life

Unlike the stereotypical image of a rock star, Chris Rea's personal life was a model of stability and dedication. The musician has repeatedly stressed in interviews that his wife and family have always been his main source of support and inspiration.

He met his future wife, Joan Leslie, in 1968, before he learned to play the guitar. They were both 16 years old at the time. The couple got married in 1980 and went through life together until the musician's death.

The couple had two daughters: Josephine (born 1983) and Julia Kristina (born 1989). The birth of children became a powerful creative impulse for the musician. The hits of Josephine and Julia are dedicated to them.

Later, Josephine devoted her life to art, lectured on Renaissance masters in Florence. Julia was educated at the prestigious St. Andrews University.

Fighting the disease

Chris Rea has had serious health problems for a long time. In the mid-1990s, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The musician underwent several complex operations. In 2016, he suffered a heart attack, but continued to write music.

The singer passed away on December 22, 2025 at the age of 74. According to representatives of his family, he died in hospital after an illness, surrounded by his loved ones. It is symbolic that the artist died three days before the Catholic Christmas, a holiday that he loved very much and dedicated several songs to.