- “Driving Home for Christmas” – Chris Rea
The ultimate festive driving anthem. Written while stuck in snowy London traffic in his wife’s battered Mini, this song captures the hope, warmth, and frustration of holiday journeys. It’s even more poignant this year following Rea’s passing. - “Fairytale of New York” – The Pogues ft. Kirsty MacColl
A bittersweet classic that tops every UK festive playlist. - “Last Christmas” – Wham!
Synth-pop perfection for those frosty drives. - “All I Want for Christmas Is You” – Mariah Carey
The ultimate yuletide anthem. - “I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday” – Wizzard
Sing-along magic for traffic jams. - “Merry Xmas Everybody” – Slade
Pure festive energy. - “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” – Band Aid
A charity classic that still resonates. - “White Christmas” – Bing Crosby
Timeless nostalgia. - “Feliz Navidad” – José Feliciano
A multilingual dose of cheer. - “All Alone on Christmas” – Darlene Love
Perfect for solo drives under twinkling lights.
Chris Rea
December 22, 2025, Chris Rea, aged 74, sadly passed after a short hospital illness, surrounded by family. He leaves a legacy including not only Driving Home for Christmas but other blues-rock gems like The Road to Hell.
Born in Middlesbrough, Rea overcame severe health challenges: pancreatic cancer diagnosis at 33, a stroke in 2016, even collapsing on stage later – yet he kept playing right through to a Christmas compilation just this past October.
His iconic festive anthem captures the essence of the holiday journey — the anticipation, the memories, the velvety familiar melancholy of home-bound roads. It holds extra poignancy now.
However, Chris Rea wasn’t just our soundtrack to Christmas — he was a genuine car nut, and his love of motoring shaped both his music and life:
- Early Drives and Mini Beginnings
As a teenager, Rea learned to drive his father’s ice‑cream van — so enthusiastically that during his test, he had to take the examiner to hospital after a mishap… but still passed! In his teen years, he owned a red 1968 Ford Anglia, which he painted to resemble a Ferrari. He once said: “I then crashed it chasing a Mini across the Yorkshire moors… my dad’s mechanics would fix it.” - Mini-Inspired Lyrics
It was in a battered Austin Mini — driven by his future wife, Joan — that inspiration struck for Driving Home for Christmas. Stuck in snowy London traffic, Rea began jotting down lyrics. - The Racing Obsession
His passion didn’t just stop at road-going cars. He raced a Caterham 7, several Lotuses, and even competed in the Ferrari Challenge series. Later, he raced a quirky police-liveried Morris Minor on historic circuits. Rea went to the extent of recreating Ferrari’s legendary 156 ‘Sharknose’ F1 car for his film La Passione — a tribute to his childhood hero Wolfgang von Trips. - Ferrari F355 Berlinetta (pictured, above)
He even owned a rare 1995 Ferrari F355 Berlinetta — one of the most desirable manual, right-hand drive examples ever — finished in Blu Scuro Micalizzato. - In the F1 Paddock
His motorsport connections earned him a spot on Eddie Jordan’s pit crew at both the 1993 Donington Grand Prix and 1995 Monaco GP. He even worked on warming tires for Eddie Irvine’s F1 car. - Words from the Road
Rea said: “The road always becomes a metaphor for where we are going in life.” He also shared that despite being under a driving ban when writing Driving Home for Christmas, he’d confess: “I still sing it at other drivers when I’m stuck on the motorway.” And speaking just days before his passing: “It has that hope and warmth to it… and the frustration of being stuck in motorway traffic — that’s what people relate to.”
Chris drove many roads — literally and musically — but what he built behind the wheel and on vinyl remains timeless. As you queue in traffic this Christmas, playing Driving Home for Christmas, remember: it’s the journey that counts — and in his case, every mile was essential to the music.
