UK: 'Driving Home For Christmas' singer Chris Rea dies

The guitarist and songwriter Chris Rea passed away after a short illness, his family said. His Christmas song became an integral part of the holiday spirit around the world.

British singer and songwriter Chris Rea has died at 74, his family's spokesperson said.

Rea, the artist behind the holiday hit "Driving Home for Christmas," passed away after a brief illness.

The singer had his pancreas removed in 2001 due to pancreatic cancer, while also suffering a stroke in 2016.

The spokesperson said he was surrounded by his family at the time of his passing.

A star of the 80s, 90s

After finding success in the 1970s and 1980s, including a Grammy nomination for the song "Fool (If You Think It's Over)," he became one of the biggest solo artists in the UK just before the nineties, with two of his solo albums making it to the top of the charts in the UK.

"Driving Home For Christmas," which was released in 1986, also featured in this year's festive advert of British retail giant M&S.

Chris Rea was born in 1951 to an Italian mother and an English father in the northerastern city of Middlesbrough, England. 

Edited by: Dmytro Hubenko