Chris Rhea has died "peacefully in hospital" days before Christmas

The statement read: "It is with immense sadness that we announce the death of our beloved Chris. He passed away peacefully in hospital earlier today following a short illness, surrounded by his family."

Rea was born in Middlesbrough and didn't start making music until he was in his 20s when he learned to play the guitar and joined several local bands before landing a solo record deal with Magnet Records.

He released his first album Whatever Happened to Benny Santini? in 1978 and scored a US hit with the single Fool (If You Think It's Over) and earned himself a Grammy Award nomination for best new artist.

Rea continued to record albums but didn't score a big hit in his native UK until he released Dancing with Strangers in 1987 while 1989's The Road to Hell featured his two-part track of the same name which became one of his most famous tunes.

His other best known song is the festive track Driving Home for Christmas which was originally released as a B-side to the single Hello Friend in 1986.

He re-recorded it in 1988 and it featured on his 1988 album New Light Through Old Windows.

Despite failing to become a chart hit at the time of its release, Driving Home for Christmas has become a regular in the charts over the holidays ever since and it's appeared in the UK Singles Chart every year since 2007.

It peaked at number 10 in 2021.

According to the BBC, Rea previously admitted he didn't want to release the track but his record company forced him to. He said: "I didn't need a Christmas song hanging around at that point. I did everything I could to get them not to release that record. Thankfully they did!"

Rea suffered a major health during his career when he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer at the age of 33.

He had part of his pancreas removed along with his gall bladder and part of his liver, but went on to make a recovery and lived with diabetes as well as kidney problems.

Rea also suffered a stroke in 2016 but he recovered and went on to release two more albums Road Songs for Lovers in 2017 and One Fine Day in 2019.

He is survived by his wife Joan and their two daughters Josephine and Julia.