Chris Rea is an English songwriter who can boast of having sold over 30 million albums to date.
He started his musical career relatively late by buying his first guitar at only 22 years old.
It was in 1973 that he joined his first group "Magdalene", replacing David Coverdale who had left for the Deep Purple. Then he created his own group "Beautiful Losers" which he quickly left to record his first solo track "So much love". We are then in 1974.
We had to wait until 1978 to see the release of his first album "Whatever happened to Benny Santini ?". Album from which his biggest hit on the other side of the Atlantic will be extracted, namely "Fool (If you think it’s over)".
The following three albums will unfortunately not meet the same success.
Business resumed in 1983 when the album "Water sign" was released, which was to hit the spotlight in Europe, notably thanks to the excellent Single "I can hear your heartbeat". The singer's notoriety will suddenly gain momentum on the old continent.
New air gap in 1984 followed by a dazzling cover in 1985 with the release of the album "Shamrock diaries" from which will be extracted two flagship Singles that are "Stainsby girls" on the one hand and especially the magnificent "Josephine" which will be a real hit.
He did it again a year later in 1986 with the release of the album "On the beach" which produced one of his biggest hits with the Single of the same name.
The album "Dancing with strangers" was released in 1987 but was only relatively successful.
It was not until 1989 that he achieved consecration with the release of the album "The road to hell" which will allow him to reach for the first time the No.1 place of the English Top Album. The Single of the same name and "Texas" will be the major hits.
The year 1991 will be the year of release of his last successful album "Auberge".
And the Singles "Nothing to fear" in 1992 and "Julia" in 1993 (Single in homage to his second daughter), will be his last Singles to know the favors of Charts.
This will not prevent him from continuing the adventure in a somewhat different musical direction in the years and decades that will follow. A sequel to the adventure that will in any case allow him to show a different facet of his talent.
To discover or rediscover...
Discography (among others ...) :
70s Decade :
So much love 1974
Fool (If you think it’s over) 1978
Whatever happened to Benny Santini ? 1978
Diamonds 1979
80s Decade :
Tennis 1980
Dancing girls 1980
Loving you 1982
Every beat of my heart 1982
Let it loose 1983
I can hear your heartbeat 1983
I don’t know what it is but I love it 1984
Touche d'amour 1984
Ace of hearts 1984
Stainsby girls 1985
Josephine 1985
All summer long 1985
On the beach 1986
Let’s dance 1987
Loving you again 1987
Que séra 1988
Driving home for Christmas 1988
Working on it 1989
The road to hell 1989
That's what they always say 1989
90s Decade :
Tell me there's a heaven 1990
Texas 1990
Auberge 1991
Heaven 1991
Looking for the summer 1991
Winter song 1991
Nothing to fear 1992
God's great banana skin 1992
Soft top, hard shoulder 1993
Julia 1993
Espresso logic 1993
Johnny needs a fast car 1994
You can go your own way 1994
'Disco' La Passione 1996
Girl in a sports car 1996
The Blue Café 1997
Square peg, round hole 1998
Sweet summer day 1998
Thinking of you 1998
New Time Square 1999
2000s Decade :
All summer long 2000
Who do you love 2001
Your love is setting me free 2001
Changing times 2002
Dancing the blues away 2002
Blue street 2003
Big C big sea 2003
The beat goes on 2004
Long is the time, hard is the road 2004
Cry for home 2005
The king who sold his own 2005
Where the blues come from 2005
Twister inside 2008
Blues for Janice 2008
Meet me on the mountain 2008
Come so far, yetstill so far to go 2009
2010s Decade :
Dancing my blues away 2011
You got lucky 2011
Happy on the road 2017
Nothing left behind 2017
Road songs for lovers 2017
Do you still dream ? 2019
One sweet and tender touch 2019
Let me be the one 2019
Tracks :
1974 ... the very first steps. Who could imagine at this stage the incredible career that awaits this young singer in the years to come ...
1978 ... we find him 4 years later with this excellent track where everything is finally there : the voice as well as the musical style. This light and airy musical style that will make him famous ...
1978 ... a year 1978 which saw him reveal himself in an obvious way. This young singer has an obvious talent that only asks to be expressed ...
1979 ... a particularly rhythmic and perfectly formatted title for the time. The rise in power is linear and will inevitably make it possible to produce great and beautiful things in the future ...
1980...a beginning of the 80s more complicated to manage than expected. The young singer cannot confirm his excellent start made in previous years...
1980...so we will have to wait a little longer for the big take-off. But we're getting closer, we're getting closer...
1982 ... after a year 1981 empty, here it is back in this year 1982 in a certain form. Sufficient form in any case to see him return to success ...
1982 ... a pretty, simple ballad with formidable efficiency. Certainly, its success will be limited in the Charts but we will be largely satisfied with it !
1983 ... a style that begins to stick more and more with the latest fashionable musical trends. So we imagine a sequel accordingly ...
1983 ... and the BIG sequel, here it is ! Here he gets his first global top hit with this title which literally explodes his notoriety and sets fire to all the Dancefloor on the planet. HU-GE !
1984 ... a quality sequel, but which cannot compete with the previous steamroller. A year 1984 which will unfortunately be slightly a step below ...
1984 ... only this title will succeed in doing well in this year 1984. A light and airy title which works very well ...
1984 ... nothing exceptional in this year 1984 but a good job, quite simply. What more could you ask for when the minimum quality is respected ...
1985 ... a transitory title before the legendary hits. The big fireworks are fast approaching, so you just have to be a little bit patient ...
1985 ... and the great fireworks display, here is the beginning. He begins by delivering this HUGE title which instantly makes him one of the biggest phenomena of the moment. MAG-NI-FI-CENT !
1985 ... this title will not have the same level of success as its predecessor but it is clear that the singer has a perfect command of his subject. Once again !
1986 ... the 2nd part of the fireworks display. He returned a year later with an equally incredible track like 'Josephine'. A title that smells of hot sand. Sea, sex and sun ! What talent !
1987 ... a much more rock sequel, therefore more rhythmic. Friendly but got us used to better ! And yet it is with this title that he will experience one of the biggest successes of his entire discography. Like what...
1987 ... back to basics. As soon as he is light and airy, the title works. Even if this title will not remain as its best ranked, it works perfectly !
1988 ... in the same vein. With the result a nice top hit which allows him to stay in the race without too much difficulty. All good !
1988 ... this time, he gives half in the jazzy. And my gosh, it also works. A multi-style artist who dares everything in terms of musical orientation...and this for our greatest pleasure !
1989...a first title to end this year 1989 and close a decade in the best possible way. An exceptional decade for the artist in every way...
1989 ... yet another title which confirms a truly above-average talent and which reinforces, if necessary, his status as major singer of the decade. HU-GE !
1989...now remains to be seen if he will succeed in repeating in the next decade everything he was able to accomplish during this decade of the 80s...
11990...a decade that will be less favorable to him but which will not see him disappear, far from it...1990...a decade that will be less favorable to him but which will not see him disappear, far from it...990 ... a smooth change of decade. Despite an obvious title quality, this title will only experience very limited success. A decade of 90 which will prove to be much more complicated to manage than expected ...
1990...a decade that will be less favorable to him but which will not see him disappear, far from it...
1991 ... the last top hit. Times are getting harder and harder for the artist. With an obvious drop in inspiration ...
1991 ... this title will be much more inspired but it will go almost completely under the radar. Frankly shame because it literally floats in the air ...
1991 ... slight rebound in the Charts with this new title. A year 1991 decidedly placed under the sign of softness and air. We want more !
1991 ... a year 1991 which saw him release an incredible number of high caliber titles in the Intimist field. A know-how really well above the average !
1992 ... yet another title full of finesse, an area in which he excels in every way. A beginning of the 90s resolutely oriented towards 'With emotions'...
1992 ... an adventure that continues for good even if the level of success has nothing to do with what he experienced before. The main thing is to believe in it as they say !
1993... it is clear that the level of inspiration is not quite the same as during the previous decade but the quality is still there anyway...
1993 ... small year 1993 with a level of success flush with the daisies. That doesn't stop him from releasing some pretty titles like this !
1993...some titles even start to go 'through' which is not really reassuring. To be continued as they say...
1994... ditto for this one. It remains to be seen whether this trend will continue and increase or, on the contrary, will resolve on its own...
1994 ... for the year 1994, it will be this title which will pull more or less its pin of the game. It is clear that the qualitative level unfortunately decreases from year to year ...
1996 ... a nice gift offered to Shirley Bassey by the singer and which will serve in the soundtrack of the film 'La Passione', a film also written by the singer. A film that will unfortunately pass somewhat under the radar ...
1996 ... the 90s will be irremediably oriented Intimist. And frankly, when you see the quality of what he offers, who would complain !
1997 ... a pretty ballad of which he has the secret. Nothing exceptional during all this decade of 90 but a good job, quite simply !
1998...an end of the decade that allowed him to stay afloat for a while. It remains to be seen whether the next decade will eventually be one of too many...
1998 ... his last 'little' hit of the decade. A decade that was inevitably disappointing when you know its potential. But when inspiration no longer follows, we do what we can ...
1998 ... all the titles produced during this decade will not be unworthy, that's clear. He will just have lowered his inspiration level a notch. It happens even to the best ...
1999 ... unbelievably, here he launches himself without a net in the pure and hard dance version of the 90s. Seemed highly risky but partially successful. Partially...
2000 ... he will even attempt the transition to the 2000s. A good will which commands respect but which unfortunately will not allow him to return to the race ...
2001 ... a know-how in the Intimist which has always been its strong point. Whatever the decade, he has always known how to release titles of more than certain quality in this area. An adventure that continues no matter what. For better and for worse...
2001...he will purely and simply disappear from the Singles charts, never to return. Fortunately, the base of basic fans remains sufficient for the albums to continue to do well...
2002... his folko-blues reorientation will unfortunately marginalize him more and more and everything that will come out thereafter will only interest a public for the less initiated...
2002... after everyone leads his career as he sees fit but not wanting to stick to the musical standards of the moment necessarily has a price...
2003... which does not bother him more than that at first sight because he will amplify the phenomenon a little more with this new opus...
2003 ... not to mention that he will even remove the lyrics on this new opus which will not help matters. The sanction in the Charts will be violent on the albums side...
2004... it is certain that it is really difficult to recognize the Chris Rea that we knew in the 80s with the Chris Rea of this decade 2000...
2004 ... he will still manage to straighten his head for a while with this new opus and show de facto that he still exists ...
2005... the relapse behind will be violent to say the least with a new unscrewing in the Charts. Times are really getting tougher...
2005...yet he does everything he can to try to maintain a minimum level of quality. But even that is no longer enough to keep him in the race...
2005... after as long as he continues to take pleasure in what he does why would he change course ? Everyone pursues his career as he sees fit...
2008...you still have to remember that he started his career almost 30 years ago, which is not nothing ! And it is far from over at first sight...
2008... the first part of career was more commercial than the second, that's clear. What he now offers is far, very far from his first compositions...
2008...very few artists have been able to maintain the same line of composition for so long. Who would blame him for that...
2009... whatever the case, the adventure continues at all costs and he continues to believe in it anyway. Isn't that the main thing as they say...
2011...and another decade, one ! He will not give up until the end and will go as far as his strength will allow him to do so...
2011... with each new opus it makes people happy, that's for sure ! Because the fans of the first hour rejoice at the highest point as soon as they see new titles coming out, that's for sure...
2017...we will lose sight of him for almost 6 years but here he is again ! He has been present at the highest level for 40 years and he thinks that it would surely be worth it to continue a little longer...
2017...especially since he is still present in the Charts and that can only comfort him to believe that everything is still possible...
2017... what is also certain is that he still does not intend to review either his style or his sound. So he continues in his own way and without really looking around...
2019...the level of productivity remains impressive to say the least and shows once again that he is far from having said everything...
2019...the proof with this new opus, one more ! Impossible to stop him at this stage and we therefore imagine that the adventure is still far from over...
2019...a title that won't be the last because we know that with him nothing is ever over. It remains to be seen when he will decide to return next time...
Wiki :
Facebook Page :
Greatest Hits :
Discography :
Commentaires