We look back at the incredible resilience of a music legend who spent decades battling health issues, from the “miracle” surgery that saw his organs removed to the dramatic stage collapse that horrified fans.
For millions, Chris Rea’s most famous song was the definitive sound of the festive season. His anthem, Driving Home for Christmas, has become a staple of December and a top runner for Christmas number one.
But behind the scenes, Rea fought a lengthy medical battle that left him needing to take 34 pills a day after being diagnosed with cancer aged 33. Since then, the singer has been battling the aftermath of such intensive treatment.
From surviving pancreatic cancer to collapsing in front of thousands of fans, we take a look back at his health struggles over the years.
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diagnosis of cancer
The singer’s health battle started in 1994 when he was 33 years old and diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The survival rates were alarmingly low at the time. He had a massive, 14-hour operation, which is regarded as one of the most challenging surgeries in modern medicine, to save his life.
His stomach, duodenum, gall bladder, bile duct, and pancreas were removed by surgeons. He was declared to be a Type 1 diabetic who required several pills and daily insulin injections.
He ate a lot of food and maintained a constant state of physical sanity. He had to reevaluate his career due to his health issues; despite his popularity, he never traveled to America.
He claimed that because of his illness, “I was never a rock star or pop star,” “I had the opportunity to pursue my musical interests.”
Stroke
The singer had a stroke in 2016 but recovered enough to record and tour his 24th album, Road Songs for Lovers.
He described it as a “very frightening moment… I realized that the stroke had changed my perception of pitch. And it required a lot of convincing from those who claimed there was no problem with the game.
He was unable to sing because his voice was slurred and his side was weakened, but he vowed to keep singing.
Stage collapse
However, on December 9, 2017, the physical strain reached its peak. Rea suddenly slumped and fell backward while performing at the New Theatre in Oxford a short while into his set.
The 66-year-old singer was taken to a hospital in a stable condition as the audience savagely watched.
daily prescriptions
In his later years, Rea was open about the “horror” of his daily health routine. In a 2020 appearance on an episode of Gone Fishing with Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse, Rea reeled off a list of the medical procedures he’d received in 1994, which he called his “most successful year”.
He told the pair, “I’ve never really got over it,” adding that in order to stay healthy, he was taking “34 pills every day.”
Death
After Rea’s death was announced this afternoon, a slew of tributes poured in.
Rea said in another interview that he “wasn’t afraid of dying” and that he benefited from his health struggles as an inspiration to return to the blues, his musical roots.
“It did seem like the end, but the thought of leaving a record that my two teenage daughters could say “That’s what Papa did — blues music, not the pop stuff. He claimed that that is what he was trying to accomplish.
A Rea family’s and Rea’s two children’s spokesperson said: “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Chris.”
He was surrounded by his family and passed away peacefully in a hospital earlier today after a brief illness. Rea and his wife Joan, who had two daughters named Josephine and Julia, were long-married.
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