- Chris Rea - rest in peace
- Rock hero has passed away aged 74
- Rea was known for his love of cars
- Auctioned vehicles with proceeds going to charity
- Actually passed his test in an ice cream van
- We take a look at his private collection
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Christmas won’t be the same without Chris Rea.
The legendary rocker has passed away peacefully in hospital aged 74 following a short illness and ‘surrounded by his family’, a spokesperson said.
Here we look back on his life - and gaze fondly at some of the cars he owned.
It’s worth pointing out from the start that Rea supported various charities and many of his beloved motors were sold at auction to raise funds for them, which is a measure of the man we’ve lost.
What’s the story behind Chris Rea’s Driving Home for Christmas?
Despite penning the 1986 smash hit Driving Home for Christmas, the backstory behind the Xmas anthem is more complicated than you might expect.
As he explained on his YouTube channel, the tune was penned in 1978 (years before it was actually recorded) after his wife had picked him up from London to drive him home to his native Middlesbrough in a Morris Mini 1000.
Rea was actually banned from driving at the time… and on the dole after being let go by his manager. He had £200 quid to his name.
The song wasn’t about the joy of a yuletide road trip - it was about trying to negotiate the UK’s godforsaken motorway network under a blanket of snow and while looking around and seeing so many other frustrated motorists.
He told the Guardian in 2016: “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 … ‘ Then, whenever the street lights shone inside the car, I started writing down lyrics.”
Rea wasn’t keen initially to see Driving Home for Christmas in the charts, fearing it ‘would ruin any credibility I had left’.
But you shouldn’t mistake that for believing Rea didn’t enjoy Chrimbo.
After being asked ‘Do you like Christmas, Chris?’ by pal Bob Mortimer (another fellow Middlesbrough FC fan) on BBC show Gone Fishing, he replied: “I love it. Big Christmas tree, candles on the table, sprinklings of stars on the tablecloth, and a fine assortment of wines for Christmas.”
What car did Chris Rea pass his driving test in?
Rea was born in ‘Boro to an Italian father Camillo and Irish mother, Winifred. And the family ran a successful ice cream factory and chain of cafes in the local area.
And what car did Rea use to pass his driving test? An ice cream van, of course!
He told the Telegraph in 2016: “I passed my test in an ice-cream van - a 1,500-weight Commer ice-cream van. I passed then had to take the examiner to hospital; when I did the emergency stop, he was sitting on a Greco’s wafer biscuit tin in the van (best chocolate wafers in the world, by the way), and came off and landed on the heavy-duty battery. Had to have stitches down his leg.”
What was Chris Rea’s first car?
Rea’s first car was a 1968 Ford Anglia.
He admitted hand-painting it red to look like a Ferrari!
Rea was behind the wheel of that Ford Anglia when he had his first crash, aged 17. He describes it as having an ‘off’ going across the Yorkshire moors while ‘chasing a Mini’.
Rea’s love of Ferraris
As you can tell by the way he painted his first car (see above), Chris Rea loved his Ferraris and owned many of them over the years.
In 2023, one of Rea’s Prancing Horse motors - a 1995 Ferrari F355 Berlinetta - came up for sale with Ferrari specialists Bell Sport & Classic.
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It was a ‘1 of 1’ car finished in Blu Scuro Micalizzato and described as being in ‘Holy Grail’ spec.
A 3.5-litre V8 engine produced 375bhp and gave the F355 the oomph to accelerate from 0-62mph in a mere 4.7 seconds - and then on to a top speed of 184mph.
And the price? It was offered at just below £200,000.
Chris Rea and Caterham
A passionate motorsports fan, Rea owned a 1987 Caterham 7 and even made it part of his art - with a Caterham featuring on the cover of his 1991 album Auberge.
That car eventually sold at auction in 1995 for £11,762, with all proceeds going to charity the NSPCC (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children).
Back in 2006, Caterham launched the Superlight R400, powered by a Cosworth-developed 2.0-litre engine that chucked out 210bhp.
Rea was apparently first in line to buy one, telling the firm: “When I heard about plans to introduce a replacement for the old R400, I simply had to have one! The combination of Cosworth power and the Series 3 chassis delivers an adrenaline rush and a level of performance that I cannot resist."
Chris Rea’s electric Mini
British firm MINI Recharged Heritage takes classic mini cars and converts them from petrol to all-electric power.
And Rea recently received his own build (as thank you from BMW-MINI); a 1989 example in Midnight Black. The battery cover even has a custom graphic that celebrates Driving Home for Christmas by having the lyrics pictured inside a vinyl record.
The leccy Mini went under the hammer in January this year with a guide price of £35,000.
All proceeds from that sale went to domestic abuse charity Refuge, and Rea told them: “I’m incredibly proud to see this Mini, which holds such personal significance, being auctioned for such a vital cause. Driving Home for Christmas has always been a special song for me, and to know that the proceeds from this car will go towards supporting those affected by domestic abuse gives it even more meaning. It’s a privilege to be part of this collaboration with Refuge, and I hope it helps raise both awareness and much-needed funds for the charity’s life-changing work.”
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