Chris Rea - The Christmas Album (2025)

Chris Rea has one of the most distinctive voices in rock, and since the release of ‘Driving Home For Christmas’ in 1988, it has become as synonymous with Christmas as holly, mistletoe and turkey!

The Christmas Album is Rea’s first album for the Christmas season. This eight track compilation album is available as a CD and vinyl and brings together tracks from throughout his catalogue that embrace a Christmas theme. There is also a limited edition white 7” vinyl single of ‘Driving Home For Christmas’ including an instrumental version on the b-side.

‘Driving Home For Christmas’ naturally opens The Christmas Album, but also closes it with the original version many may not be familiar with! The original 1986 version was a b-side of ‘Hello Friend’, but Rea decided to re-record and release it in 1988, alongside some of his other early songs for his album ‘New Light Through Old Windows’. Originally it found modest success, but as time moved on it has become a staple of Christmas radio airwaves, compilation albums, movies and playlist that dominate December and has gone on the chart in the UK Top 40 every year since 2007!Chris Rea's first Christmas album, 'The Christmas Album', will be released on November 28, 2025, on CD and vinyl.

The English artist's distinctive, warm-toned voice is familiar to generations, as his huge Christmas hit, 1988's "Driving Home For Christmas", has forever been associated with the holiday of love.

It's no wonder that the opening song of the new release, and even the closing song (in a different version), has become the evergreen recording. However, the eight-piece disc offers more than that: songs such as "Footsteps In The Snow", "Joys Of Christmas", "Winter Song" and "Rudolph's Rotor Arm", all of which evoke the atmosphere of Christmas, winter anticipation and festive lights.