Chris Rea, "Driving Home for Christmas" singer dies at 74 (Cause of death revealed)

Credits: HungamaExpress

British singer Chris Rea died at age 74 in a hospital on December 22, 2025, after a short illness, his family announced in a statement.

The Middlesbrough-born musician, known for his blues-rock style and holiday hit "Driving Home for Christmas," passed away surrounded by family members.

As for his cause of death, Rea had faced health challenges over the years, including pancreatic cancer diagnosed in 2001, which required surgery to remove his pancreas and parts of other organs, leading to type 1 diabetes.

He also suffered a stroke in 2016 and collapsed onstage during a performance in 2017.

Rea underwent multiple operations related to retroperitoneal fibrosis, a condition affecting internal tissues.

"I've had nine major operations in ten years. A lot of it is to do with something called retroperitoneal fibrosis, where the internal tissues attack each other. No one knew it existed 20 years ago, and it's completely unpredictable.. It's affected the colon, the pancreas, the gall bladder, the liver – and then I get a stroke," Rea said in a past interview.

Rea started his music career in the 1970s after joining local bands in his twenties and signed a solo deal with Magnet Records.

His debut album, "Whatever Happened to Benny Santini?" in 1978, featured the U.S. hit "Fool (If You Think It's Over)," earning a Grammy nomination for best new artist.

Rea achieved success in Britain during the 1980s with songs like "On the Beach," "Josephine" and "Let's Dance," followed by number-one albums "The Road to Hell" in 1989 and "Auberge" in 1991.

"Driving Home for Christmas," first released as a B-side in 1986 and re-recorded in 1988, became a perennial UK chart entry since 2007, reaching number 10 in 2021.

The track appeared in a Marks and Spencer advertisement in 2025.

"I was on the dole when I wrote that. My manager had just left me. I’d just been banned from driving. My now wife, Joan, had to drive down to London to pick me up in the Mini and take me home, and that’s when I wrote it," Rea told comedian Bob Mortimer in a television appearance.

Rea released 25 studio albums over his career and shifted toward blues music in later years, with his final album "Road Songs for Lovers" in 2017.

Rea leaves behind his wife Joan, whom he met at age 16, and daughters Josephine and Julia.