Singing legend Chris Rea, best known for his festive hit 'Driving Home for Christmas', gifted his wife Joan the rights to all his songs after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The 73-year-old died in hospital earlier today surrounded by his family.
In his last television appearance on the BBC's 'Mortimer and Whitehouse Gone Fishing' Christmas special, Rea recalled the moment he learned of his diagnosis. 'I was in hospital and the pancreatic cancer nurse comes in and tells me it’s not grade three cancer, phone your wife!' he said. 'So I phone my wife and she pulled the car over and burst into tears.'
The Middlesbrough-born singer added: 'I gave her all the money, all the rights to all the songs.' He joked that his wife has not returned them. The rights to 'Driving Home for Christmas' are enormously valuable, with annual royalties estimated at £200,000 and around £7 million banked since its release in 1986.
The song's origins date back to December 1978, when Rea and Joan, his childhood sweetheart, drove six hours from London to Middlesbrough with just £220 between them. Upon arriving home at 3am, they found a letter from a US performing rights organisation informing them that his song 'Fool (If You Think It’s Over)' had charted in the US, accompanied by a cheque for £15,000.
Rea's family announced his death in a statement: 'It is with immense sadness that we announce the death of our beloved Chris. He passed away peacefully in hospital earlier today following a short illness, surrounded by his family.' Tributes have poured in from across the music world, with Middlesbrough Mayor Chris Cooke saying: 'Chris Rea was deeply proud of his Middlesbrough roots and the people of our town were equally proud to call him one of their own.'
