b. Christopher Anton Rea, 4 March 1951, Middlesbrough, North Riding of Yorkshire, England. Rea is a singer-songwriter and guitarist with a wide following throughout Europe. Of Irish/Italian parentage, he grew up in the north-east of England where his family owned an ice cream parlour. Rea's first band was Magdalene, a local band in which he replaced David Coverdale, who had joined Deep Purple. As Beautiful Losers, the band won a national talent contest in 1975 but remained unsuccessful. Rea went solo, signing to Magnet Records where Gus Dudgeon produced his first album. With a title referring to a suggested stage-name for Rea, it included the impassioned "Fool (If You Think It's Over)", which reached the Top 20 in the US and was later covered successfully in the UK by Elkie Brooks.

Listen to Rea, Chris at Finetune.

• The Road To Hell (Part 2)
• All Summer Long (Radio Edit)

• Chris Rea
• Dire Straits
• Eric Clapton
• Bob Dylan
• Pink Floyd
• Sting
• Queen
• Paul Simon
• Elton John
• Gary Moore
• Phil Collins
• R.E.M.
• U2
• Coldplay
• Johnny Cash
• The Police
• Bruce Springsteen
• INXS
• Rolling Stones
• Leonard Cohen