Chris Rea, known for his iconic festive song Driving Home For Christmas, has died aged 74 after a ‘short illness’.
A statement from his family said he ‘passed away peacefully in hospital earlier today following a short illness, surrounded by his family.’
He was previously diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and had his pancreas removed in 2001, and in 2016, he suffered a stroke but no cause of death has been given.
The star rose fame in the late 70s and found continued success into the 80s with hits such as Fool (If You Think It’s Over), Let’s Dance and The Road To Hell.
He is best known for his 1986 Christmas hit, Driving Home For Christmas, which also features in an M&S advert this festive season.
His family added the news came with ‘immense sadness’, calling the singer ‘beloved’.
Just last week, Rea revealed to the Daily Express, he had originally written his famous Christmas track for Van Morrison but decided to record it himself first.
The song sat gathering dust on a shelf for eight years until his label put it as the B-side track to Hello Friend.
A DJ then accidentally played it instead of the A-side, with Rea still unsure ‘why or how’ that mix-up happened.
But instead of being a mistake, the song firmly became a Christmas classic, climbing up the charts each year in the age of streaming.
He shared: ‘It’s got a story everyone can relate to: you’re stuck in traffic, when all you want to do is to get home and be with your loved ones. Everyone in the country is doing the same thing at the same time.
‘It’s a frustrating song, but it’s also hopeful and comforting. It’s funny, because I’d just been banned from driving when I wrote it.
‘But I was feeling good at the time too, and people say they can hear that infectious feel-good mood when they hear it.’
Even with the song’s growing popularity, Rea avoided playing it until 2014 when his tour crew begged him to add it to the set.
The response from the crowd was, of course, ‘nuts’ — especially with all the fake snow falling.
He said: ‘The noise was deafening, and we covered everyone with fake snow. But I got fined £12,000 for the clean-up afterwards! I was more in the Christmas spirit than the venue was.’