Overview
- Rea’s family announced he died peacefully in hospital this morning at age 74 after a brief illness.
- He was best known worldwide for 'Driving Home for Christmas', first released in 1986 and inspired by a snowy 1978 journey with his wife, as recounted by the BBC.
- The holiday track returned to the UK singles chart last week at No. 30.
- His career peaked with late‑1970s and 1980s hits including 'Fool (If You Think It’s Over)' and 'Let’s Dance', and albums The Road to Hell (UK No. 1, 1989) and Auberge (1991).
- Born in Middlesbrough to an Italian father and Irish mother, he began in the band Magdalene and is survived by his wife Joan and their daughters Josephine and Julia.