But how have the vocal harmonies sung by a driver shut up in a snow-bound traffic jam all those years ago brought warmth to millions every December? The secret, as Rea himself said, was its simplicity. Chris Rea, who grew up in Middlesbrough and was one of Britain’s best-known rock singers with his bluesy voice and slide guitar playing technique, died aged 74 after a short illness. His wife, Joan, and two daughters were by his side when he died peacefully in the hospital.
Rea has had a career lasting more than four decades, with huge hits such as “The Road to Hell,” “On the Beach,” “Auberge,” and the ever-popular Christmas tune “Driving Home for Christmas.” Although the song first came to market in 1986, it has a very simple origin story. In December 1978, Rea found himself with a driving ban and a record contract winding down. His wife drove their old Austin Mini from Middlesbrough to London to pick him up from a session at Abbey Road Studios. Snow began to fall, roads came to a standstill, and as Rea looked around at the exhausted faces in other cars, he began to hum a phrase, the germ of what would prove to be Rea’s biggest ever-hit single: “Whenever the street lights shone inside the car, I began writing down the lyrics.”
At first, the song was relegated to the B-side, but it was later recorded again, this time with jazzy piano and strings, and has since become an almost annual anthem. Unlike the triumphant, euphoric quality of so many Christmas songs, its subtlety and own particular mundanity strike a chord. As one cultural commentator has said, the song is “a perfect cardigan to wrap yourself up in,” evoking smaller pleasures and smaller joys rather than grand, epic ones. It seems that this quality has ensured that the song has recirculated into charts again and again, including its current appearance in the top 30 of the UK Christmas charts and its prominent appearance in the new M & S advert.
Rea’s take on fame is complex. “None of my heroes were rock stars,” he said in an interview with Saga magazine. “The celeb thing has gone completely wrong in that everyone has just tried to outdo each other. They don’t put the work in.” Yet Rea has always been deeply committed to his art, having written 25 solo albums, two of which reached number one in the UK charts, and has retained a distinct blues-rock sound that has differentiated him from his peers.
His life has also been faced with serious health issues. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer at the age of 33, but he underwent major surgery, which resulted in the loss of his pancreatic tissue, liver, gall bladder, and duodenum. Additionally, he developed type 1 diabetes, and in 2016, he had a stroke. For one point, he was taking 34 pills per day to stay healthy enough to perform his tours. However, he remained determined in his mission to produce music. “It looked like the end, but something kept me going, which was this thought of leaving behind an album my two teens could say, ‘That’s what Papa did not the pop kind of stuff, but the blues kind of music. That’s what he was all about.’”
Aside from his involvements in the world of music, Rea is a huge motor racing fan, racing his own vintage cars. In fact, he once worked part-time in the pit wall of the Jordan Grand Prix Formula One racing team. Car enthusiasm is something that often inspired Rea in writing songs such as “The Road to Hell” or even “Driving Home for Christmas” itself. Tributes have been flooding in from fans and fellow artists. TV personality Lizzie Cundy recalled: “I starred in his music video ‘Driving Home for Christmas’ it was an honour to work with him and be involved in his iconic music video.”
Columnist Tony Parsons said he was “a hugely underrated songwriter” although Piers Morgan, another TV personality, couldn’t help but point out the irony of his death being “three days before Christmas.”
A post on his social media pages aptly described how “Chris’ music has created the soundtrack to many lives, and his legacy will live on through the songs he leaves behind.”
However, for the listeners, particular to those who listened to this gravel-voiced singer on the radio during their childhoods, this loss is mitigated by the continued pleasure that his songs provide. As the festive lights sparkle and traffic reduces on winter roads, “Driving Home for Christmas” will remain a musical offering that provides that same sense of comfort that Rea first sang about going home to people and to places that count.
