‘He never forgot his Teesside roots’

Singer and guitarist Chris Rea never forgot his Teesside routes, according to those who knew and met him.

The 74-year-old, who died on Monday, was born in Middlesbrough in 1951 to an Italian father and Irish mother, with his family known for selling ice creams around the town.

While he found fame with hits like Driving Home for Christmas, which was inspired by a journey back to the North East from London, he also wrote much-loved songs about his hometown, such as Steel River.

Tributes have been pouring in from those who knew him, including Tyneside legends Lindisfarne who hired him as a support act in the 1970s, and the fans who felt like they did.

BBC Radio Tees’ Gary Philipson met and interviewed Rea multiple times over the years.

“He never forgot where it all started for him,” the radio presenter said, adding: “He had this wonderful way of capturing Middlesbrough.

“When everybody was knocking Middlesbrough, he was writing songs to champion the town.”

Philipson said the musician’s family were “massive” in Middlesbrough and the singer never forgot his early years performing gigs in the area.

Rea was one of seven children and his family was known for Camillo’s ice cream factory and cafes, owned by his father Camillo Rea.

The singer also remained a big fan of his “beloved” Middlesbrough FC, who he would regularly go and see play at the club’s old ground Ayresome Park.

Philipson said Rea was “playful” and “impish”, with an “amazing mind when it came to music” and a special love for the blues.

“From that little town in the north of England, he was picking up on the radio this blues music that was coming over [from America],” Philipson said.

“That gave him that deep feel for what music he wanted to do.”

Sound engineer Stuart Epps, who worked with Rea for decades, said the musician was “embarrassed” by the success of Driving Home for Christmas.

“He was an amazing guy, an amazing musician and I miss him very much,” Mr Epps said.

Rea’s fellow North Easterner Ray Laidlaw, founding member of Lindisfarne, first encountered the singer-songwriter on their 1978 tour when the Teessider’s band were booked to be the opening act.

“Chris had a reputation already at that early stage,” Mr Laidlaw said.

“As soon as we saw the band and heard him singing, we knew he was the perfect opener for us.

“Our audience loved him, as did we.”

Laidlaw, from North Shields, said he instantly knew Rea would be a success, adding: “It’s a difficult thing to quantify but Chris always had that extra something, that intangible thing.

“He was natural writer and performer, nothing was contrived about what Chris did.”

Rea was a “world class” slide guitarist and “great songwriter”, Laidlaw said, a “good lad” with a “lovely, very low deep laugh”.

He also never lost touch with his North East roots, the Lindisfarne drummer said.

“If you chopped his arm off it would be like a stick of rock and say ‘Boro’ inside.”

Rea found further fame when he appeared in the North East-based Christmas episode of Mortimer and Whitehouse: Gone Fishing, starring comedians Paul Whitehouse and another Boro lad Bob Mortimer, in 2020.

On X, Mortimer shared a picture of Rea in the bath with an egg, a reference to the comedian’s wild tale on Would I Lie To You in which he claimed the singer had advised he crack an egg into his bath.

Mortimer, who adapted Rea’s song Let’s Dance for a Middlesbrough FA Cup run, said Rea’s death was “so so sad”, adding he was a “lovely brilliant funny giant of a bloke” who would be a “Boro legend forever”.

Middlesbrough FC said Rea was a “Teesside icon”, a feeling shared by Philipson.

“I’m genuinely shocked. He was one of ours wasn’t he.”