Chris Rea, the musician known for the holiday classic “Driving Home for Christmas,” has died at 74 following a brief illness. His family confirmed his passing on Monday.

In a heartfelt statement, his wife Joan and daughters Josie and Julia shared the news: “With profound sadness, we announce the passing of our cherished Chris. He departed peacefully in the hospital earlier today, surrounded by family, after a short illness.”

Rea’s beloved song “Driving Home for Christmas” has consistently returned to the UK Singles Chart annually since 2007, even reaching the top 10 in 2021.

Hailing from Middlesbrough, Chris met Joan at 16. Over the years, he faced significant health challenges, including peritonitis, pancreatic cancer, and diabetes, which required him to use insulin seven times daily by 2017.

Singer Chris Rea has died at the age of 74 (pictured in 1996)

The star’s death was announced by his wife Joan, who he met aged 16 (the couple pictured in 2013)

Fans quickly took to Twitter to pay tribute to Rea, recalling his music, passion for cars, and the bittersweet timing of his passing so near to the holiday season.

Fans penned: ‘Genuinely gutted to hear this. A proper Teesside legend. Safe drive home Chris… Damn… he lived for his cars, wonderful guitarist, and made so many great albums. RIP Chris Rea… Aah no! Bad news…

‘Chris Rea has died. Shocked. Talented, he was also a really nice guy. I’m freaked because I mentioned him in a pre-Yule newsletter from my website. Chris had loads of friends in Ireland. He’ll be missed. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam…

‘The saddest news. RIP Chris Rea, rock and blues legend – and long time petrolhead – who has passed away aged 74. Chris with his beloved Caterham 7, named ‘Blue 7′, at Reims race circuit, 1991 (Martyn Goddard)’.

Chris suffered a major health scare during his career when he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer at the age of 33.

He had part of his pancreas removed along with his gall bladder and part of his liver, but went on to make a recovery and lived with diabetes as well as kidney problems.

He also suffered a stroke in 2016 but he recovered and went on to release two more albums Road Songs for Lovers in 2017 and One Fine Day in 2019.

Chris is survived by his wife and two daughters (the star is pictured in 2009)

Chris previously revealed: ‘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.’

Speaking of his successes and impact on his health, he said: ‘I made a lot of money, but you can dangerously let it lead you on…

 ‘It depends what company you keep. I once said to Michael Winner, ‘I’m the poorest man on this Barbados beach.’ On days like today, the richest man in the world is the one who hasn’t got a bad shoulder.’ 

Chris previously shed light on writing the iconic tune, as he previously told Bob Mortimer: ‘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.’

Tributes swiftly flooded in for the star on Twitter, with many referencing his music, his love of cars and the cruel irony of his passing being so close to Christmas

Chris was born in Middlesbrough and didn’t start making music until he was in his 20s when he learned to play the guitar and joined several local bands before landing a solo record deal with Magnet Records.

He released his first album Whatever Happened to Benny Santini? in 1978 and scored a US hit with the single Fool (If You Think It’s Over) and earned himself a Grammy Award nomination for best new artist.

The star continued to record albums but didn’t score a big hit in his native UK until he released Dancing with Strangers in 1987 while 1989’s The Road to Hell featured his two-part track of the same name which became one of his most famous tunes.

His other best known song is the festive track Driving Home for Christmas which was originally released as a B-side to the single Hello Friend in 1986. He re-recorded it in 1988 and it featured on his 1988 album New Light Through Old Windows.

According to the BBC, Rea previously admitted he didn’t want to release the track but his record company forced him to.

He said: ‘I didn’t need a Christmas song hanging around at that point. I did everything I could to get them not to release that record. Thankfully they did!’

This is a breaking news story. More to follow.