Rea was also influenced by Blind Willie Johnson and Sister Rosetta Tharpe as well as by the playing of Ry Cooder and Joe Walsh. He had initially thought Patton's playing sounded like a violin. Rea's playing style was inspired by Charlie Patton whom he had heard on the radio. Rea bought his first guitar in his early twenties, a 1961 Hofner V3 and 25-watt Laney amplifier He played primarily "bottleneck" guitar, also known as slide guitar. At that time he wanted to be a journalist and attended St Mary's College, Middlesbrough. After leaving, he was replaced by one of his brothers. He wanted to improve the business, but his ideas got no support from his father. When he was twelve, he worked clearing tables in the coffee bar and making ice cream in the factory. The name Rea was well known locally thanks to his father's ice cream factory and café chain. His family were of the Roman Catholic faith. Slee (died September 1983), as one of seven children.
1.6 2006–2015: Continuation of blues albums and tours.1.5 1995–2005: Recovery from illness, return to blues roots and Blue Guitars.1.4 1989–1994: Chart dominance, The Road to Hell and Auberge.1.2 1973–1982: Early career and "Fool (If You Think It's Over)".As of 2009, Rea had sold more than 30 million records worldwide. A decade later, Working On It topped the Mainstream Rock chart. This success earned him a Grammy nomination as Best New Artist in 1978. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent three weeks at No. Rea has never toured the United States, where he is best known for the 1978 single " Fool (If You Think It's Over)," which reached No. Rea was nominated three times for the Brit Award for Best British Male Artist: in 1988, 19. His other hit songs include " I Can Hear Your Heartbeat", " Stainsby Girls", " Josephine", " On the Beach", " Let's Dance", " Driving Home for Christmas", " Working on It", " Tell Me There's a Heaven", " Auberge", " Looking for the Summer", " Winter Song", " Nothing to Fear", " Julia", and " If You Were Me", a duet with Elton John.
British Hit Singles & Albums says that Rea was "one of the most popular UK singer-songwriters of the late 1980s" and "already a major European star by the time he finally cracked the UK Top 10 with the release of the single " The Road to Hell (Part 2)." his 18th chart entry." Two of his most successful studio albums, The Road to Hell (1989) and Auberge (1991), topped the UK Albums Chart. He has produced twenty-five solo albums, with several from his later blues period - such as Blue Guitars (2005) - having multiple discs. Louder magazine calls Rea "rock's ultimate survivor", given his recovery from several bouts of serious illness. After learning to play the guitar relatively late, a short burst of local band activity led to his launching a solo career in 1978. He is known for his distinctive, husky singing and slide guitar playing, with the Guinness Rockopedia describing him as a "gravel-voiced guitar stalwart".
Christopher Anton Rea ( / ˈ r iː ə/ REE-ə born 4 March 1951) is a British rock and blues singer-songwriter and guitarist from Middlesbrough, England.