Christopher Anton Rea (born 4 March 1951) is a successful singer-songwriter, from Middlesbrough, England. Chris Rea was a prolific artist, releasing eight albums in the 1980s. His first major success in the UK was 1985's SHAMROCK DIARIES and the songs Stainsby Girls and Josephine. Follow up albums ON THE BEACH and DANCING WITH STRANGERS became big UK hits before the NEW LIGHT THROUGH OLD WINDOWS compilation album in 1988 brought Rea great success, cementing his reputation as one of the UK's finest singer-songwriters. His next full album was to be his major breakthrough. THE ROAD TO HELL, released in 1989 enjoyed massive success and became his first number one album in the UK. The follow-up album, AUBERGE, also enjoyed massive European success, reaching the top spot in the UK.   Rea next released GOD'S GREAT BANANA SKIN which managed to reach Number 4 in the UK, with the single Nothing To Fear giving him another Top 20 hit. A year later ESPRESSO LOGIC hit the Top 10 and the track Julia, written about his second daughter, gave him his 11th Top 40. A period of ill health meant his next album did not appear until 1998. Despite no singles being released and little promotion, THE BLUE CAFE still made the UK Top 10. However it proved to be Rea's last. In 1999, 10 years after Road To Hell Rea released ROAD TO HELL PART 2. Unfortunately, the album did not live up to expectations. However it didn't get Rea down and in 2000 he released KING OF THE BEACH, receiving critical praise and a healthy Top 30 placing.   Following a severe bout of pancreatitis, and a predicted 50% chance of survival after an operation called a Whipple procedure, Rea promised himself that if he recovered, he would be returning to his blues roots. This is what he did in 2002, releasing the album DANCING DOWN THE STONY ROAD following recording sessions in France and the UK. (An abridged version of the album was later released with the title Stony Road.) The album was followed by a DVD of the same name, comprising a ‘Making Of’ documentary and footage from a concert in Cologne. Since then he has released the blues albums BLUE STREET (FIVE GUITARS) (an instrumental jazz-blues album) and the recently released THE BLUE JUKEBOX (another jazz-blues influenced album released to critical acclaim). He has recently worked with David Knopfler for two albums, WISHBONES (2001) and SHIP OF DREAMS (2004).   Chris Rea released his final box-set album, BLUE GUITARS in 2005. Consisting of 11 CD's and 1 DVD (Dancing Down The Stony Road), the album is Rea's testament to blues. Each album contains self-compositions, played and performed in a specific genre of the blues. The box-set includes a book containing reproductions of colourful paintings by Rea. This album closes the final chapter of his solo career as he does not intend to make any further solo records. He has stated that he will continue to make records with some of his favourite players under the name "The Fireflies". He has now released an album containing recordings of his live performances called THE ROAD TO HELL AND BACK.