Incredible story behind 'Driving Home for Christmas' as singer Chris Rea dies aged 74
Following the heartbreaking news that singer Chris Rea has passed away at the age of 74, people are remembering the story behind his beloved festive song 'Driving Home for Christmas'.
A family spokesperson said the musician from Middlesbrough had passed away following 'a short illness'.
"It is with immense sadness that we announce the death of our beloved Chris," a statement from the family added.
"He passed away peacefully in hospital earlier today following a short illness, surrounded by his family."
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Rea rose to fame in the 70s and 80s following his debut album Whatever Happened To Benny Santini?.
The 1978 record featured track 'Fool (If You Think It’s Over)' which ended up being nominated for a Grammy.
Two of his studio albums The Road To Hell (1989) and Auberge (1991) also went to number one in the UK.
Surprisingly, Rea's most popular song 'Driving Home for Christmas' was a flop when it came out in 1986.
The song was written 10 years before it was released
The famous song, which features in this year’s M&S Food Christmas advert, was written 10 years before it was released, reports Smooth Radio.
His wife drove all the way to London's Abbey Road Studios to take him back home to Middlesbrough in 1978 because his record company at the time wasn't willing to buy him a train ticket.
While he was stuck in traffic, Rea said he 'started singing 'We're driving home for Christmas...' and then started to write down the lyrics with the help of street lighting that shone into the car.
It was intended for Van Morrison
Rea has actually written the track for Northern Irish singer Van Morrison, but could not get it to him.
Then after testing out the backing track with keyboard player Max Middleton, he realised that the Christmas carol-style instrumental suited the lyrics.
'Driving Home For Christmas' was a flop
After two years of it being out, 'Driving Home for Christmas' only got to 53 in the charts.
But as the years went by, the song grew in popularity, re-entering the charts in 2007, and peaking at 10th place in 2022.
He hated performing the song
One time he was 'badgered' into performing the song at the Hammersmith Odeon, recalling: "I went, 'If I’m going to sing this f**king song, we’re gonna do it properly.' So we hired 12 snow cannons. We put three feet of artificial snow in the stalls. The venue charged me £12,000 to clean it up."
There wasn't a proper video until 2009
Funnily enough, there wasn't a proper music video until 2009, and so Rea decided to get some big name celebs on board like Martin Shaw, Gail Porter, Jimmy Greaves, Matt Di Angelo and Lionel Blair for charity.
"I wanted to do something special this Christmas and what better way than to help keep a roof over people’s heads when they need it most – at Christmas. By teaming up with Shelter we can hopefully make a difference," he added.
The likes of Stacey Solomon, Tony Hadley, Gavin James, Michael Ball and Joe McElderry have covered the song over the years.
Anish Vij