BMG is pleased to announce it has acquired the music interests of Grammy- and BRIT Award-nominated rock and blues singer-songwriter Chris Rea.

The news comes as his evergreen ‘Driving Home For Christmas’ is a hit once again, currently sitting in the Top 10 Spotify charts in the UK, Germany, Austria, and Norway. The song, originally released as a B-side in 1986, has since become a seasonal perennial, charting on the Official UK Singles Chart every year since 2007. In the first chart week of 2022, it reached number 10 on the Official UK Singles Chart, its highest chart position yet since its release 34 years ago.

The acquisition builds on Rea’s existing relationship with BMG which released and published his 2017 album Road Songs For Lovers, his highest-charting album in nearly 20 years.

It includes his royalty interests in 17 studio albums including hit tracks such as ‘Driving Home For Christmas’, ‘On The Beach’, ‘Road To Hell’ and ‘Fool (If You think It’s Over)’.

Middleborough-born Rea, known as one of rock’s great survivors, has his roots in the blues and is recognized as one of rock’s greatest exponents of the slide guitar. Rea's debut studio album Whatever Happened to Benny Santini?, released in 1978, produced the breakout single ‘Fool (If You think It’s Over)’ which reached number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100. He built his career through the Eighties in the UK and Continental Europe, breaking through with his tenth album, 1989’s The Road To Hell, which reached Number One in the UK and was certified six times platinum. Its 1991 successor Auberge also reached Number One on the Official UK Albums Chart and was a hit across Europe.

Alistair Norbury, BMG President Repertoire & Marketing UK, said, “Chris Rea’s integrity as a musician and his commitment to his art is legendary. BMG is proud to become custodian of his music interests. Chris’s work is one of the foundation stones of British blues rock and sits happily among BMG’s peerless blues catalogue including the work of John Lee Hooker, Peter Green and Gary Moore.”