Chris Rea Edition

Chris Rea remained one of the best-kept secrets in the music industry, releasing five albums between 1979 and 1983, none of them reaching even the Top 50 in the charts. All were very well received by both the critics and the public who knew the secret. His secret was a brand of late-night rock that had an element of class, not dissimilar at this stage of his career to the early-'80s Dire Straits albums, but totally out of step, and proudly so, with the music of the time – new romantic, power and synth pop. He opened the album Water Sign with the song "Nothing's Happening by the Sea," which was so far laid back it was almost horizontal, with a harmonica instrumental break, and the album closed with a nod to synth pop on the track "Out of the Darkness." "Love's Strange Ways" was a similarly slow-moving Dire Straits-style number with an acoustic guitar picking out some notes throughout the song. "Let It Loose" had a driving rock beat, as did "I Can Hear Your Heartbeat," the only single taken from Water Sign.

Chris Rea is not alone in the company of musicians who found fame later in life – think Jarvis Cocker, Leonard Cohen – and indeed it is interesting to note that he didn’t achieve UK Top Ten single status until the release of The Road To Hell (pt2), a record that was actually his eighteenth chart entry. Artist and painter, blues aficionado and self-confessed motoring nut, filmmaker and Italian-influenced classical music composer, eclectic and maverick are two terms that hardly come close to describing a man who has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide for just being himself. Road Songs For Lovers is beautifully nuanced and a record that regularly tugs at the heartstrings and is arguably Rea’s best album to date. The album, Road Songs For Lovers, continues Rea’s obsession with travel and motion…

The perfect album for a day at the beach, Rea's eighth album takes the listener from the water's edge of the title song to the sunny fields of the French countryside in "Giverny." The upbeat reggae feel of "Lucky Day" works particularly well, but it is "On the Beach" that's the standout track…

The Blue Jukebox is the twentieth studio album by Chris Rea, released in 2004. The cover artwork is inspired by Edward Hopper's Nighthawks painting.

Auberge is the eleventh studio album by Chris Rea, released in 1991. Auberge was a #1 album in the UK in 1991. The title track also gave Rea one of his biggest chart hits, reaching #16 in the UK charts. Other songs released as singles were "Heaven", "Looking For The Summer" and "Winter Song". Another song, "And You My Love", although not released as a single, has become a firm favourite among his fans and is regularly performed at live concerts.

The Road to Hell: Part 2 is the fifteenth studio album by Chris Rea, released in 1999, ten years after the first The Road to Hell. The Japanese edition includes two bonus tracks.

Auberge is the eleventh studio album by Chris Rea, released in 1991. Auberge was a #1 album in the UK in 1991. The title track also gave Rea one of his biggest chart hits, reaching #16 in the UK charts. Other songs released as singles were "Heaven", "Looking For The Summer" and "Winter Song". Another song, "And You My Love", although not released as a single, has become a firm favourite among his fans and is regularly performed at live concerts.

British singer and guitarist Chris Rea has enjoyed a run of popularity in Europe during the late '80s and early '90s after almost a decade of previous recording. Rea started out performing with a local group called Magdalene, taking David Coverdale's place; the band won a national talent contest in 1975 as the Beautiful Losers, but still failed to get a record contract…