![]() I’ve played with everyone from Status Quo to Talk Talk, but nothing impresses them as much as the fact that I play on Driving Home for Christmas. None of her friends know who the hell Chris Rea is but they know that song – as soon as it comes on, they start singing it. Driving Home for Christmas is a Christmas song written and composed by Singer-songwriter Chris Rea the version was originally released as the b-side to his. You put on the radio or sit in the coffee bar, and it’s on. I did lots with Chris, so at the time it was just another session, but it’s nice to be part of a song that’s turned out to be one of the most played Christmas singles of all time. I thought it was a hooky little number, a pretty little song. His evergreen Driving Home for Christmas track is a hit yet. I just overdubbed my parts: a bit of percussion, put some jingle bells in there, tucked away discreetly. Ashley King DecemPhoto Credit: WMG BMG has announced it has acquired the catalog of singer-songwriter Chris Rea. The song was already recorded and ready to go. The next thing I knew, I was in this little place laying down the drumbeat to this Christmassy track, even though it wasn’t Christmas. As would often happen, I turned up for a coffee and a chinwag prior to doing something for him. He had a modest home studio – in what had been the garage, as I remember. We recorded Driving Home for Christmas at Chris’s house near Maidenhead. ![]() At first, it was another radio hit – but then it started re-entering the Top 40 every year. Max played the distinctive jazzy intro, we did a classic 1950s Christmas carol-type arrangement, and loved it. Then a DJ flipped it over and started playing it, so Max suggested we re-record it and add some strings. I’d never intended to write a Christmas hit – I was a serious musician! So initially, the song came out on a B-side. You should get it down.” I went back to my tin, and the words to Driving Home for Christmas fitted perfectly. Someone said: “That’s a great tune, that. ![]() We started joking around, playing this Count Basie-type thing. Some years later, my career had turned around and Max Middleton and I were testing two new pianos. The song went in my old tin full of unfinished stuff. Since 2007, the song has re-entered the UK Top 75 each year around Christmas time as well as several other European country's listings. We went from being down to our last £220 to being able to buy a house. artistfacts Songfacts: This perennially popular Christmas tune was originally recorded by Chris Rea in 1986, peaking at 53 on the UK single chart two years later. My song Fool (If You Think It’s Over) had been a hit in the US, so there was a cheque for £15,000. It was so cold inside the house that the snow tumbled on to the doormat and didn’t melt. Rea singing the 1988 hit, which was 10 years in the making. ![]()
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