Driving Home for Christmas singer Chris Rea said he ‘wasn’t afraid of dying’ as he stayed defiant in the face of a number of serious health battles that littered his star-studded career.

The 74-year-old, whose iconic song has made a reappearance on the UK Singles Chart every year since 2007, passed away on Monday following a short illness.

Just hours before his death he shared a touching social media post, featuring a car on a snowy motorway and a road sign reading: ‘Driving home for Christmas with a thousand memories’.

In the message, posted on Sunday, Chris added the caption: ‘Top to toe in tailbacks If it’s a white Christmas, let’s hope the journey’s a smooth one.’

Middlesbrough-born Chris suffered a number of major health scares throughout his life, including a pancreatic cancer diagnosis at the age of just 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 went on to release two more albums Road Songs For Lovers in 2017 and One Fine Day in 2019.

Meanwhile in 2017, he was rushed to hospital after he appeared to collapse onstage during a performance in Oxford.

However, instead of allowing his health battles to halt his career, Chris said he harnessed them to return to his musical roots – the blues.

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

Chris Rea is seen shortly before he collapsed on stage while performing in Oxford
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Chris Rea is seen shortly before he collapsed on stage while performing in Oxford

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

Chris' final social media post featured a car on a snowy motorway with a road sign reading: 'Driving home for Christmas with a thousand memories'
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Chris’ final social media post featured a car on a snowy motorway with a road sign reading: ‘Driving home for Christmas with a thousand memories’

‘It did look like the end but what got me through was the thought of leaving a record that my two teenage daughters could say: ‘That’s what Papa did – not the pop stuff, but the blues music. That’s what he was about,” he said in one interview.

Chris previously revealed the extent of the operations he had undergone since 1994, describing the period as a living nightmare.

He said: ‘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.’

Chris’s death was announced by his devastated family today. A statement from his wife Joan and their daughters, Josie and Julia, read: ‘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.’

During his last TV appearance on the BBC’s Mortimer and Whitehouse Gone Fishing in 2020, Chris revealed that childhood sweetheart Joan was a huge support when he was diagnosed with cancer.

The hour-long special saw Bob Mortimer share how his health battles had strengthened the bond between him and his family.

Chris was quick to agree. He said: ‘It was exactly the same for me.

‘I was in hospital and the pancreatic cancer nurse comes in and tells me “it’s not grade three cancer phone your wife!”

‘So I phone my wife and she pulled the car over and burst into tears.’

He added that he then left her all the royalties to his famous hit Driving Home for Christmas.

‘I gave her all the money, all the rights to all the songs, and now she won’t give them back,’ Chris joked.

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

Chris suffered a major health scare during his career when he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer at the age of 33 (Chris pictured in Sheffield in 2012)
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Chris suffered a major health scare during his career when he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer at the age of 33 (Chris pictured in Sheffield in 2012)

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

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)…

‘Thought I better get in there nice and quick! RIP Chris Rea. You’ll always be Driving Home for Christmas in this house. Doubt you would have wanted a Paddington meme, mate, but I’m feeling festive’.

Chris previously shed light on writing his iconic tune Driving Home for Christmas.

He told Bob Mortimer: ‘I was on the dole when I wrote [Driving Home For Christmas]. 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
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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 the track in 1988 and it featured on his 1988 album New Light Through Old Windows.

According to the BBC, he 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!’