Chris Rea, British singer of “Driving House for Christmas,” dies at 74

Chris Rea, the British singer-songwriter greatest identified for the hit “Driving House for Christmas,” has died on the age of 74, his household introduced on Monday.

“It’s with immense unhappiness that we announce the demise of beloved Chris,” stated a press release on behalf of his spouse and two youngsters, the BBC reported. “He handed away peacefully in hospital earlier as we speak following a brief sickness, surrounded by his household.”

Further particulars weren’t instantly out there.

Christopher Anton Rea was born in 1951 in Middlesbrough, in northeast England, to an Italian father and Irish mom. He was one in all seven youngsters.

He got here late to the guitar, choosing one up at 21, and performed in bands earlier than going solo.

Rea discovered fame within the Eighties in Britain with hits reminiscent of “Idiot (If You Assume It is Over)” and “Let’s Dance.”

All through his profession, Rea recorded 25 solo albums, two of which — “The Street to Hell” in 1989 and “Auberge” in 1991 — went to No. 1 within the nation. The music he’s in all probability most well-known for within the U.S., “Idiot (If You Assume It is Over),” earned Rea a Grammy nomination for Greatest New Artist in 1979.

“Driving House for Christmas,” first launched in 1986, turned one of many U.Okay.’s most beloved festive songs and featured in a Marks and Spencer’s TV commercial this yr.

In response to the BBC, the household was identified regionally for Camillo’s ice cream manufacturing facility and cafes, which his father owned.

The mayor of Middlesbrough, Chris Cooke, paid tribute to Rea on Monday, saying the singer “leaves behind an excellent legacy.”

“Chris Rea was deeply pleased with his Middlesbrough roots and the folks of our city had been equally proud to name him one in all their very own,” he stated, in line with the BBC. “Tens of millions of individuals all over the world will take heed to his music tonight. His songs helped put Middlesbrough on the map and he leaves behind an excellent legacy.”

He had suffered from well being issues, together with pancreatic most cancers, and in 2016, he suffered a stroke. In newer years, he turned away from pop and launched a number of bluesy data.

Rea is survived by his spouse and two daughters.