Chris Rea lived in seclusion in Cookham Dean until the end. With his wife Joan, his daughters and his classic car collection, he found happiness away from the stage.
The British singer Chris Rea spent the last years of his life in seclusion with his family in the British village of Cookham. The musician died on December 22, 2025 at the age of 74. The “Driving Home for Christmas” interpreter died in a clinic after a short illness, surrounded by his family.
Five decades of music history
Chris Rea released music over five decades – a total of 25 studio albums. His biggest hit came with his tenth album “The Road to Hell” (1989). The concept album, which deals with modern society through dark lyrics, became his first number one album in Great Britain. In later years, Rea increasingly turned to blues and said goodbye to commercial pop. After the 2000s he increasingly released blues-focused pieces and albums.
Fight against cancer
The musician has suffered from massive health problems since the 1990s. At the age of 50, Rea was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He had to undergo serious operations – with only a 30 percent chance of survival. “If cancer hadn’t almost killed me, I would have become another selfish star egomaniac,” Rea told Garth Pearce in a 2009 interview. He has become more thoughtful and now lives more consciously. He just wants to uncompromisingly make the music that means something to him and therefore return to his blues roots. He founded his own label “Jazzee Blue” and released the unexpectedly successful record “Dancing Down The Stony Road”. The musician also produced a film: “La Passione”, inspired by his own childhood story, was released in 1996.
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Farewell tour and later albums
In 2006, Chris Rea went on a farewell tour through Europe because he believed that he would no longer be able to cope with the health problems in the future. But after his health improved again, the blues rocker played more tours and produced four more albums. In 2013 he was immortalized on the “Munich Olympic Walk of Stars”.
Stroke and last concerts
In 2016, the musician suffered a severe left-sided stroke, which caused him to live with balance problems from then on. After quitting smoking and recovering, he continued working on his album Road Songs for Lovers. As part of this, a promotional tour was planned that would include 37 concerts. At his 35th concert at the New Oxford Theater in December 2017, the then 66-year-old collapsed. The last two concerts were canceled. His last album “One Fine Day” was released in 2019 and – unlike the previous two albums – was not a chart success.
Last years: Withdrew into private life
In the last years of his life, Rea lived in seclusion with his family. He was married to Joan Lesley and had two daughters: Josephine (* 1983) and Julia Christina (* 1989). He also continued to give regular interviews and was open about his health problems. He maintained his paintings and vintage car collection and lived a quiet life at home.
In an interview with “Saga” magazine in 2024, the musician reported on his relationship with Lesley and the “most beautiful moments every morning when we fight over who gets to make the coffee”. “We still feel like we’re 16,” which they are very happy about. The couple had been together since their teenage years. He is also very proud of his daughters: “Josephine is giving a lecture on Renaissance art in Florence, and Julia is studying in St. Andrews. We are so lucky to have them,” Rea continued.
The guitarist and singer remained modest and rather introverted until the end. “I was never a rock star or a pop star, and this whole illness was my chance to do what I always wanted to do with music,” he told Saga. “And I don’t keep any posters or memorabilia in the house. I’ve donated most of my gold records to charity, so there’s nothing hanging on the walls. I’ve learned to be happy over the years.”
In an interview with Bob Mortimer, Rea talked about the creation of his Christmas hit:
The final interview on “Driving Home for Christmas”
At the beginning of December 2025, Rea talked about the creation of “Driving Home for Christmas” in an interview with “The Independent”. He wrote the song when his record contract was about to expire, the manager wanted to quit and he had to be driven from Abbey Road Studios to Middlesbrough by his wife in the old Austin Mini because he was banned from driving. The song remained his most successful hit.