Chris Rea, who passed away after battling pancreatic cancer and a stroke, had success with 1988’s Driving Home for Christmas, which has been a top UK singles artist since 2007 and has been charting since then.
Chris Rea found the inspiration for Driving Home for Christmas 10 years before it was released — after a sweet interaction with a driver on the M1.
The rock singer’s wife Joan had collected him from London’s Abbey Road studios in their Austin Mini to take him back to his hometown Middlesbrough, Teesside, for Christmas in 1978. However, they got stuck in traffic during heavy snowfall on the M1 and Chris noticed all the other motorists “looked miserable”.
However, the enthralling entertainer wound down his passenger side window to wish his family a happy Christmas and to spread the cheer. By that time, he had already sold out of the UK singles with Fool (If You Think It’s Over). He was struck by the idea for a tune that would depict the trials and tribulations of Christmas travels, but it didn’t for another ten years until the tune was released.
And even then, Mistletoe and Wine by Cliff Richard only managed to top the charts at the time, peaking at number 53. However, it has resurrended in the decades since and has since appeared in the UK Singles Chart every year since 2007 in part as a result of the streaming services.
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Chris died this week, days before Christmas, following a battle with pancreatic cancer and a stroke. The 74-year-old star is best remembered for Driving Home for Christmas, which has since been covered by numerous artists, including Engelbert Humperdinck and Stacey Solomon.
In an interview in 2016, he had revealed the nature of its creation. Chris recalled the lengthy trip up to Teesside, saying, “I wished this person next to us a happy Christmas by staring down at the lights.” “
As the song’s popularity grew, loyalty checks were issued every year. As Chris, one of seven children, was impressed with Auberge in 1991 and Nothing to Fear in 1992, it served as a springboard for success. The former was praised by Billboard for its “rockabilly guitar backdrop,” “psychedelic organ vibes,” and “lighthearted horn riffs.”
However, Chris would later refute his claims that he wasn’t a rock star. In an interview, the modest Middlesbrough father-of-two said, “I am not one at all. I’m not a rock star at all.
