RIP Chris Rea (74)

Sad to hear. 

I first heard The Road To Hell while in a battered army truck picking its way down into the Great Rift Valley in Kenya.  Smashed relics were scattered all around.

Later I went to a Chris Rea indoors concert in Melbourne.  He was mortified that he could not get the sound quality quite right.  It took half the concert, but eventually the sound got fixed to his liking.

I was MC for a conference and the morning after the night before, I discovered the conference venue had left a full sound system in place.  Quick dash to my car, and The Road to Hell made its way to the CD player for a beautifully graduated start to the day, especially for those with headaches.

In my opinion, Chris was a real audiophile and music lover

Unique talent. Unmistakably recognizable voice. You will be missed Chris. RIP

Wow! Crushed hearing this😞…I remember the very first time I ever heard one of his songs. It was “On The Beach”, and I was just mesmerized by his voice…I was so hoping the DJ on the radio would say who it was after the song. Thankfully he did and I went out the very next day and grabbed New Light Through Old Windows cassette…

It wasn’t just his voice, it was his beautiful lyrics. The more songs I listened to the more I was hooked. Chris Rea had a way of just capturing you and evoking a feeling with his voice and lyrics. I listen to “All Summer Long” and it just brings me back to a great time in my life…Who else could write “Kiss the rain and laugh as it goes by”…if anyone has never heard “All Summer Long” just listen to that song and the lyrics…He will indeed be missed…

BBC obituary. 

BBC news of passing.