Chris Rea dies three days before Christmas
India McTaggart
Chris Rea is known for his hit Homecoming for ChristmasHe died at the age of 74.
The singer had suffered from a short illness. In a statement issued on behalf of his wife and two children, a spokesman said: “It is with great sadness that we announce the death of our beloved Chris.
“He passed away peacefully in hospital surrounded by his family earlier today after a short illness.”
Rea was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer when he was 33 and faced nine surgeries as he battled the disease.
in 2017 collapsed on stage At the New Theatre, Oxford, mid-song. He had suffered a stroke the year before but continued with his live tour called The Road Songs For Lovers.
The singer-songwriter from Middlesbrough penned the Christmas hit in 1978. It was released as a single ten years later and has charted every year during the festive period since 2007.
The song comes in at number 13 on this year’s UK Christmas chart and also features in this year’s M&S Food Christmas advert, starring comedian Dawn French.
Rea rose to fame in the late 1970s and ’80s with hits such as: Fool (If You Think It’s Over), Let’s Dance And Road to Hell.
When Road to Hell When it was released in 1989, he became one of Britain’s biggest solo stars.
The musician has previously been candid about his health problems, following his diagnosis with cancer in 1994 and having his pancreas removed in 2001.
A year after his stroke in 2016, he told BBC Breakfast: “I had my stroke right around this time last year and I quit smoking around this time last year.”
He also revealed that after surgery to treat his cancer, his gallbladder and the left quarter of his liver were “completely destroyed.”
Rea is survived by his wife, Joan, whom he began dating when he was 16, and their daughters, Josephine and Julia.
Telegraph, London
