CHRIS REA
THE STORY OF A GUITARIST
One of the UK’s biggest rock icons, Chris Rea’s discography spans a remarkable 25 studio albums. His extraordinary chart success boasts 32 UK Top 75 hit singles and nine UK Top 10 albums, including two No.1s. A Grammy Award nominee and three-time Brit Award nominee, Rea has sold more than 40 million records worldwide.
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Born in Middlesbrough to an Italian father and an Irish mother, Rea and his wife Joan met when they were 16 years-old. They have two daughters, Josephine and Julia.
ICE-CREAM OR GUITAR?
Rea picked up the guitar for the first time at 21 years of age, while working at his father’s ice cream shop. He learned fast. Although he once almost walked away from music to expand the family ice cream business, his songwriting prowess, unique voice and singular guitar technique were too compelling to go unnoticed. Soon labels lined up to sign him, and stardom beckoned…
FAMILY OVER FAME
While his star status was quickly realised, Chris Rea refused to play the celebrity game. His recordings charted worldwide from the off. His 1978 debut single ‘Fool (If You Think It's Over)’ was an instant worldwide hit. Despite US chart-topping success and the subsequent label pressure, he chose to develop his career in Europe, focusing more on family life.
HIT MACHINE
The hits continued; from ‘I Can Hear Your Heartbeat’ to ‘Stainsby Girls’ and ‘Josephine’ on the Shamrock Diaries album, which laid the foundation for future hits such as ‘On the Beach’ and ‘Let's Dance’, in turn segwaying to perhaps the most critically acclaimed Rea opus, Road To Hell, followed by the No. 1 album Auberge.
FROM ILLNESS COMES INSPIRATION
Rea’s discography has been punctuated – and influenced – by several bouts of illness and recovery. In 1994, Rea was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The adversity sparked a fire, in music and beyond… An avid racing fan and skilled driver, just a year later, he took the opportunity to operate as a pit lane mechanic for the Jordan Formula 1 team at the Monaco Grand Prix.
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Ever the fighter, after recovering from a life-saving operation to remove his pancreas, gallbladder and part of his liver in 2001, he embarked on a series of albums that freed him from restrictive studio decisions to reveal the real Chris Rea, his origin influences and his true musical instincts. This spanned from 2002’s Dancing Down The Stony Road right through to 2019’s One Fine Day. His groundbreaking Blue Guitars project in 2005 was a tome of historical significance, comprising 137 blues-inspired tracks. Again, it epitomised the music that Rea had always wanted to record.
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Chris Rea is also recognised as a critically-acclaimed artist. His paintings are sought-after worldwide, perhaps none more so than those that make up the eleven Blue Guitars album covers.
PASSION
From music to film, racing to painting, family to friends, Rea’s passions have driven him to compose, create, compete, cherish, endure, and fundamentally, to live life.
HEAR THE HITS, JUST LIKE BEFORE
Rea-magined – which sees Rea’s protégé Paul Casey play the legend’s classic hits live – marks another chapter in the ongoing story of Chris Rea’s indelible contribution to modern songwriting.
