Mark Arbuckle: November 2025

Driving Home For……

Don’t panic people, this is NOT about Christmas Songs! It’s still a bit early for that.
Although I did see my first TV Crimbo Ad on 2nd of November!

No it’s an appreciation of one of my favourite 70’s singer/songwriters and Middlesbrough’s favourite son. The very talented, but vastly underrated Christopher Anton Rea.

Although the ‘underrated’ tag is probably wrong for an artist who has recorded 25 studio albums and sold 40 million records in his long career.

Known for his distinctive, gravelly voice and slide guitar work, he also plays piano and drums

Inspired by Ry Cooder and Joe Walsh, self taught Rea modestly commented that when compared to Mark Knopfler and Eric Clapton, “I definitely missed the boat“. 

Everyone will be familiar with his massive Christmas hit which to date has had 300 million streams and which still earns the affable Rea £200k a year, and of course ‘The Road To Hell (Part Two)‘ which was written when he was stuck in traffic on the M25.

Among his many other hit are…..
‘I Can Hear Your Heartbeat’, ‘Josephine’, (written about his daughter) ‘On the Beach’, ‘Let’s Dance’, ‘Tell Me There’s a Heaven’, ‘Auberge’, and ‘Julia’.

In the USA he is best known for the 1978 single ‘Fool (If You Think It’s Over)’, which spent three weeks at No. 1 and earned him a Grammy nomination as Best New Artist in, but despite the breakthrough he never toured the USA

In his early days Magnet Records marketed him as a singer/songwriter and tried to promote him as the next Elton John or Billy Joel, much to the amusement of his mates who duly christened him Elton Joel.

My favourite Chris Rea song and the one I want to highlight here is ‘Stainsby Girl‘ which he wrote for his wife, Joan Lesley.

“Some girls used to kiss and run

Never knew what they had done

Some girls always wasted time

Keep you hanging on the line

Some loved horses and always stayed at home

But the Stainsby girls loved the Rolling Stones

Now some had games that you had to play

Making rules along the way

Strange attractions newly found

Pride and passion kicked around

Some girls stole your heart

Like most girls do

But a Stainsby girl could break it in two

And I fell in love, I fell in love

I fell in love with a Stainsby girl”

The song begins slowly and climaxes with a soaring slide guitar crescendo accompanied by a superb saxophone solo

If you’ve been fortunate enough to have fallen in love with your very own Stainsby Girl, (or Stainsby Boy) then I admire and applaud you. 

I certainly did……

Unfortunately Rea has had serious health issues for many years. However he has continued to make music and has found greater appreciation for life, his family, and the things he loves.

One of which is vintage racing cars

In an interview, he said…..
“It’s not until you become seriously ill, nearly die and you’re at home for six months, that you suddenly stop, to realise that this isn’t the way I intended it to be in the beginning.”
“I was never a rock star or pop star and all the illness has been my chance to do what I’d always wanted to do with my music.”

But here’s a timely tip Chris: 

If that road is really as hellish as you said and you want to make it home for December 25th, then I think you’d better set off soon……

Ten of the best from Mr Rea…..