The late musician bristled against his record companies, his producers and fame itself – but that friction ignited both his AOR hits and his raw, spirited take on the blues
For an artist best-known for a string of slickly commercial adult-oriented rock hits – Josephine, On the Beach, The Road to Hell, the Yuletide perennial Driving Home for Christmas – Chris Rea’s career was a rather more fraught business than you might have expected.
He had something of the splendidly grumpy refusenik about him. His debut single, Fool (If You Think It’s Over) was a transatlantic hit, earning him a best new artist Grammy nomination (he lost to Billy Joel, an artist the single had garnered comparisons to), but Rea announced that he “despised” the song: “It’s just not me.” He chafed at his record company’s expectations: his 1978 debut album, Whatever Happened to Benny Santini? got its title after his label suggested that he might consider adopting a stage name, and he later protested that the producers he worked with made his music too glossy and “smoothed-out”.
The 82-year-old singer says the disease is in its early stages and he plans to be back on stage in February
Barry Manilow has revealed that he has been diagnosed with lung cancer and will undergo surgery.
The 82-year-old singer, whose parade of high-spirited hits from Copacabana to Mandy has made him one of pop music’s most beloved showmen, will have surgery to remove part of his lung in an effort to fight off the disease, which is in its early stages.
La comédienne Monique Tarbès est décédée le 8 décembre à l’âge de 91 ans. Elle avait notamment été à l’affiche de « La Bonne occase » de Michel Drach ou encore de « Le Magnifique » de Philippe de Broca au côté de Jean-Paul Belmondo.
La comédienne Monique Tarbès est décédée le 8 décembre à l’âge de 91 ans. Elle avait notamment été à l’affiche de « La Bonne occase » de Michel Drach ou encore de « Le Magnifique » de Philippe de Broca au côté de Jean-Paul Belmondo.
Artist confirms image in Bayswater is by him, but gives no indication about another outside Centre Point tower
A new Banksy mural that shows two children lying down and looking at the sky has appeared in west London.
The artist revealed he was behind the artwork above a row of garages on Queen’s Mews in Bayswater by posting a photo of it to his Instagram account on Monday afternoon.
En général, deux approches existent pour regarder Star Wars : suivre la sortie au cinéma ou choisir l'ordre chronologique. Mais il existe un troisième ordre Star Wars plus original. Découvrez cette troisième solution qui bouscule chaque trilogie de la saga pour procurer une expérience de visionnage plus intense et surprenante.
Had just about enough of real-life Santas and 8-year-olds with booby traps? Kevin E G Perry rounds up a handful of darker and deranged movies that still deliver Christmas cheer
The British rock singer spoke with Roisin O’Connor, just days before his death aged 74, about the story behind one of the UK’s most popular festive songs
Chris Rea est décédé, ce lundi, à l’âge de 74 ans « des suites d’une courte maladie ». Le Britannique était connu pour ses titres « The Road to Hell », « Josephine » et « Driving Home For Christmas »
Chris Rea est décédé, ce lundi, à l’âge de 74 ans « des suites d’une courte maladie ». Le Britannique était connu pour ses titres « The Road to Hell », « Josephine » et « Driving Home For Christmas »
By rejecting the bombast of 80s pop, the late singer-songwriter’s track has endured, and thereby perfectly captures the nostalgic feelings at the heart of Christmas
Britain isn’t a great island for road songs. It’s not big enough, really, for you to hit the road and drive. And if you try, you may just end up stuck in traffic on the A1, where the late Chris Rea found himself in Christmas 1978, his wife behind the wheel of her Mini, he beside her as they tried to get from Abbey Road Studios in London to their home in Middlesbrough, 220 miles away.
He wrote the song on a whim, scribbling down the lyrics whenever passing headlights illuminated the car interior (as he told this paper’s Dave Simpson in 2016), then put it away with his other unfinished scraps when he got home. Eight years later, he paired his lyric with some jazzy chords he’d written and a song was born. At first, he shoved it on a B-side, but in 1988 he rerecorded it for a compilation, put it out as a single, and … it was not an instant hit. Instead it was a slow burner that went from radio playlists and department store PA systems into people’s hearts over many years.
En général, deux approches existent pour regarder Star Wars : suivre la sortie au cinéma ou choisir l'ordre chronologique. Mais il existe un troisième ordre Star Wars plus original. Découvrez cette troisième solution qui bouscule chaque trilogie de la saga pour procurer une expérience de visionnage plus intense et surprenante.
Trailer shows Matt Damon as the Greek hero, with Anne Hathaway as Penelope and Tom Holland as Telemachus
The first trailer has been released online for Christopher Nolan’s epic adaptation of Homer’s Odyssey.
Starring Matt Damon as the classic Greek hero, the trailer offers a series of shots of a bearded Damon as he sets out to return from the fall of Troy as his gravelly voiceover announces: “After years of war … no one could stand between my men … and home … not even me.”
Liam Gallagher, Paul Weller, David Beckham and former bandmates among the mourners at Manchester cathedral
The Stone Roses singer, Ian Brown, has remembered his bandmate Gary “Mani” Mounfield as a “true musical comrade” and “always a beautiful soul and spirit” as hundreds gathered for the charismatic bassist’s funeral.
Paul Weller, Liam Gallagher, Peter Hook, Tim Burgess, Bez, David Beckham and Gary Neville were among the mourners at the service at Manchester Cathedral on Monday morning. Outside, fans packed the street.
Chris Rea, the British singer-songwriter whose hits included Driving Home For Christmas, has died at the age of 74, a spokesperson for his family said.
The statement said that he died “peacefully in hospital … following a short illness”.
Selon la Fédération nationale de l’industrie laitière, les droits de douane imposés par la Chine sur les produits laitiers européens sont un « coup de massue » pour les exportateurs français.
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