Chris Rea

Chris Rea was a British singer-songwriter and guitarist celebrated for his distinctive gravelly voice and slide guitar work. Rea enjoyed a run of popularity in Europe during the late '80s and early '90s after almost a decade of recording. Rea started out performing with a local group called Magdalene, taking David Coverdale's place; the band won a national talent contest in 1975 as the Beautiful Losers, but still failed to get a record contract. Rea left the band and recorded the album Whatever Happened to Benny Santini? (an allusion to a discarded stage name), which went gold on the strength of the U.S. Top 20 hit "Fool (If You Think It's Over)." Rea was not heard from again in the U.S. for some time, concentrating his efforts on his main fan base in Europe. A compilation of tracks from Rea's '80s albums, New Light Through Old Windows, was released in 1988 and sold well in the U.K. and Europe and charted in the U.S. Rea followed it up with the critically acclaimed The Road to Hell, which many regarded as his best album. The Road to Hell and its follow-up, Auberge, went to the top of the U.K. album charts, but did not prove as successful in the U.S., where he failed to chart with his subsequent releases. He released his most ambitious project in 2005, an 11-album, 130-track box set of all new material inspired by the blues and his own paintings called Blue Guitars. Despite severe health issues, including a pancreatic cancer diagnosis in the early 2000s and a 2016 stroke that affected his ability to play, Rea continued to record and perform, releasing the buoyant Return of the Fabulous Hofner Blue Notes in 2008. Road Songs for Lovers and One Fine Day followed in 2017 and 2019. Rea passed away at age 74 on December 22, 2025. ~ Steve Huey, Rovi