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BANNED from driving and facing tough times, Chris Rea found himself unable to pay for a train ticket home from London to Middlesbrough for Christmas.
This situation compelled the singer to persuade his wife, Joan, to undertake the arduous journey from the North East back to Teesside to pick him up.
Chris Rea, pictured in the late 1980s, has passed away at the age of 74 following a brief illness.Credit: Iconic Images
Despite his well-known song, Chris had a profound passion for cars – seen here driving his Lotus 6 at Silverstone.Credit: Rex
Chris Rea with his wife Joan, whose snowy, traffic-laden drive to bring him home for Christmas inspired his holiday hit.Credit: Shutterstock Editorial
The gravel-voiced musician had never intended to write a song, fearing it might tarnish his credibility.
However, as they navigated through snowstorms and traffic jams heading north, the lyrics began to pour out.
Today, his single will resonate from countless car stereos as people travel across Britain to reunite with their families.
Chris described the song's creation as “a classic festive story.”
The guitarist reminisced: “It was 1978, just before Christmas. Everything seemed bleak for me — I was on the verge of losing my record contract, and my manager had just informed me he was leaving.”
“My wife got into our old Austin, and we immediately set off back home.”
“Then it started snowing. We kept getting stuck in traffic, and I would glance over at the other drivers, all looking so miserable.”
“Jokingly, I began to sing: ‘We’re driving home for Christmas…’”
“Then, whenever the streetlights illuminated the car, I started jotting down lyrics.”
It took years before he set the words to music, adding: “I never aimed to write a Christmas hit — I considered myself a serious musician! So initially, the song was released as a B-side.”
‘Crisis after Crisis’
Recorded and released as a standalone single in 1988, it only climbed to number 53 on the charts.
However, since 2007, the song has re-emerged in the festive charts every year, reaching a peak of No. 10 in 2021.
Father of two, Chris shared in 2016: “If I’m ever stuck on the M25 – the Road To Hell (which is the title of another one of his hits) — I’ll roll down the window and start singing, ‘I’m driving home for Christmas’ to the people beside me. They love it. It’s like giving them a present.
Then it started snowing. We kept getting stuck in traffic, and I’d look across at the other drivers, who all looked so miserable. Jokingly, I started singing: “We’re driving home for Christmas…
Chris Rea on writing Driving Home for Christmas
“I’d never performed it live until one year at Hammersmith Odeon. The concert was on December 21, and the road crew kept urging me to do it.
“We rented 12 snow cannons. When we started the song, the noise of the crowd was so loud that you could hardly hear it, and we unleashed the machines.
“We covered the stalls with three feet of artificial snow. The venue charged me £12,000 for cleanup.”
Tributes poured in last night, with Sun on Sunday columnist and music journalist Tony Parsons honoring Chris as a “top man” and a “hugely underrated songwriter.”
Football Club referred to the singer as a “Teesside icon,” while the town’s Labour MP, Andy McDonald, tweeted that Chris “will live on through his beautiful music.”
The local mayor, Chris Cooke, remarked that the singer “helped put us on the map.”
Singing in his signature husky voice, Chris sold over 30 million albums.
Chris was born in Middlesbrough in March 1951 to a second-generation Italian immigrant father, Camillo Rea, and an Irish mother, Winifred.
As one of seven children, his father operated an ice cream parlor and cafe chain.
He recalled: “My grandfather had traveled from
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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