Chris Rea was the star who beat pancreatic cancer at 33… and wrote the song that defines Christmas for so many while driving his Austin Mini up the M1

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According to Chris Rea, the story behind his song ‘Driving Home For Christmas’ wasn’t simply about the joy of returning to family after a trip.

The story centers around a surprising gift that rescued both his job and his house. It’s easy to see why it’s still considered one of the most heartwarming radio stories ever told.

The fact that Rea, who was 74, has died in the week of Christmas is particularly poignant. 

He often said that after fighting serious health issues for over forty years – including a battle with pancreatic cancer at age 33 – he considered each day a gift.

He died peacefully in hospital yesterday morning after a brief illness, with his family by his side, according to a statement released yesterday.

He recently shared a photo on social media of a highway sign saying, ‘Driving home for Christmas with a thousand memories,’ and joked about being stuck in heavy traffic, writing, ‘Completely stuck in tailbacks.’

‘If it’s a white Christmas, let’s hope the journey’s a smooth one.’

He was driving home with his wife, Joan, in their Austin Mini, traveling north on the M1 motorway from the Abbey Road studios in London, when he suddenly came up with the melody for what would become his hugely popular Christmas song.

He recalled rolling down his car window at the traffic lights and wishing the person in the next car a Merry Christmas.

It was 1978, and Rea’s dreams of becoming a successful rock singer and musician internationally weren’t going as planned.

The record label was unsure how to interpret his early success. His debut album had just come out, and it only managed to reach the lower end of the Billboard Top 50 chart in the United States.

I always thought the name of the album, Whatever Happened To Benny Santini?, was a brilliant, if slightly ironic, choice. It was clearly a jab at the image his publicists were trying – and not succeeding – to create for him: this classic, Sinatra-esque singer. It felt like a knowing wink, acknowledging the whole thing with a bit of self-awareness.

To make matters even more confusing, the publicity team in California mistakenly believed Rea played the piano instead of guitar. His friends found this incredibly funny and jokingly nicknamed him “Elton Joel,” combining the names of Elton John and Billy Joel.

The album included one good song, called “Fool (If You Think It’s Over)”, which he wrote himself, but it wasn’t successful in the UK.

Driving back to Middlesbrough in heavy traffic that evening, Rea hummed the first few notes of a Christmas song to Joan. He thought it might be a good fit for Van Morrison, and it got him thinking about writing songs for other artists.

If their other plans didn’t work out, starting a restaurant was an option. However, they needed to find funding quickly, as they were currently unable to make their house payments.

I’ll never forget what he told me on The One Show. He said when they opened the front door, snow actually fell inside the hallway and didn’t even melt – it was unbelievably cold! And there, on the floor, was just a single envelope. Inside? A royalty cheque! It was such a vivid detail, and really stuck with me.

The song “Fool (If You Think It’s Over)” became popular on adult rock radio stations nationwide and was climbing the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Americans didn’t care whether he was a piano player or a guitarist. They just loved his music.

Chris Rea preferred to keep things simple and avoided the trappings of fame. He didn’t like being labeled a rock star and resisted the attention that came with it.

He clarified, ‘I’m definitely not a rock star. In fact, I don’t have any of the qualities you’d expect from one.’

The thing I hate about being a rock star is that there’s so little actual music involved. Most of the time is spent traveling, doing interviews, and being polite to people just because you have to – and you’re lucky if you even get a chance to play music at all.

He had a strong dislike for celebrities who seemed to believe their own hype. He pointed out how difficult it was to deal with stars like Sting, who always needed a large team of people around them, comparing them to royalty from another era.

They’re very focused on their appearance, always getting work done on their faces. It feels self-absorbed, and I don’t relate to that.

Born in 1951 into a large family of seven, he didn’t excel in school and was expected to join his father’s ice cream business. However, he secretly hoped to become a journalist, and instead of following either of those paths, he decided to buy a guitar.

He learned to play slide guitar by mimicking the sounds of his favorite Chicago blues musicians. He’d tune his guitar to an open chord and use a bottle of his sister’s nail polish as a slide, moving it along the strings to create the sound.

In 1973, he started playing with a local band called Magdalene. The band was notable for having had David Coverdale as a former singer, who later joined the famous band Deep Purple.

He wasn’t interested in the wild lifestyle often associated with rock music. He once joked that his only truly mind-altering experience happened when he was ten years old, and it wasn’t due to drugs. Instead, it was a family trip to Italy, which felt incredibly vibrant and colorful after growing up in the rather gray part of England where he lived.

However, his dislike of the music industry’s typical practices hindered his success. While his initial single, “Fool,” and Elkie Brooks’s cover brought him attention, his later albums didn’t perform well.

The band started wearing T-shirts with a picture of Rea smiling – a playful jab at his typically serious expression.

He first achieved major success in the mid-1980s with two hugely popular albums, On The Beach and Dancing With Strangers, and the hit song Let’s Dance. Years later, he released Driving Home For Christmas, a song he’d written much earlier, and it became a massive hit, achieving triple platinum status in the UK.

He explained that the song still felt fresh, even after Stacey Solomon’s cover in 2011. He jokingly added that not hearing ‘Driving Home For Christmas’ would signal the end of his vacations.

Despite achieving success, his health issues kept things grounded. In 1984, he was diagnosed with cancer and had part of his pancreas removed during surgery.

Let me tell you, health is truly everything. This man faced a really tough battle with his wellbeing. He developed diabetes early in life, which meant daily insulin injections – seven of them, actually – just to manage it. Then, in 2016, he suffered a severe stroke, and sadly, cancer became another challenge he had to confront multiple times throughout his life. It just underscores how important it is to prioritize self-care and listen to your body.

He explained that the initial illness really knocked him off his feet. He was so shocked by the diagnosis that he nearly fell apart.

It felt like an enormous challenge. Life was good, but then I started feeling unwell after eating spicy foods, especially curry. This led to persistent fatigue.

Hearing the pancreatic cancer diagnosis was shocking. Doctors weren’t optimistic after my first surgery, but I was determined to pull through for my wife and daughters, Josephine and Julia.

He turned down a U.S. tour offered by his record label, prioritizing time with his family instead. When anyone challenged his choice, he’d bluntly state he’d rather garden and grow tomatoes than go on tour.

The success of ‘Driving Home For Christmas’ allowed him to live life on his own terms and follow his hobbies, like collecting classic cars. He even joked that his daughters believed he was a mechanic instead of a musician.

He sometimes felt bad about spending so much money on Ferraris. His friend, Nick Mason – the drummer for Pink Floyd and another car enthusiast – jokingly told him to stop apologizing for it, pointing out that the money could have been spent on something much worse, like drugs, but instead it went towards red cars.

He often found it frustrating when he drove his fast car and ended up stuck in traffic.

Chris Rea’s success continued with another popular song, “The Road To Hell.” However, for many people, he’s most remembered for being associated with his festive hit, “Driving Home For Christmas.”

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2025-12-23 03:39