CHRIS REA

CHRIS REA
Announces the ‘Road Songs for Lovers’ European Tour in 2017

Chris Rea will play a full European and UK tour in October, November and December,
to celebrate the release of his new album, ‘Road Songs for Lovers’

Chris Rea live in Budapest on November 6th, 2017 at Budapest Arena
after a 5-year-break

The album will be released in September, with the European tour starting on October 7th in Amsterdam. Tickets for the shows will be on sale on Friday April 28th.

Like all truly great artists, Chris Rea has followed his own unique artistic vision and a path that is his and his alone. And although his exemplary musical output to date is deeply embedded into the framework of the world’s rock n roll DNA, it is also safe to say that his presence has been something of a glittering thorn in the side of an industry that has always had him down as a perennial outsider. Artist and painter, blues aficionado and self-confessed motoring nut, filmmaker and Italian-influenced classical music composer, eclectic and maverick are two terms that hardly come close to describing a man who has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide for just being himself. In 2017 Rea returns to what he’s best known for: an album of gorgeous rock ballads which showcases Rea’s unique voice and a songwriting skill at the top of his game.

Born in Middlesbrough in 1951, Rea released his debut album in 1978 and promptly had a huge US hit with the first track to be lifted off the record, Fool If You Think It’s Over. In 1983, Rea's fifth studio album Water Sign sold over half a million copies after I Can Hear Your Heartbeat became a Top 20 hit all over Europe. Rea’s follow up, Wired To The Moon was also a huge success and attendant tours of Europe would ensure that Rea commandeered a significant fan-base that has stayed with him through subsequent decades.

In 2000, Rea’s, King Of The Beach reached the Top 30 but his well-documented illness meant that he took a brief sabbatical from recording before returning to his blues roots.

Rea is not alone in the company of musicians who found fame later in life – think Jarvis Cocker, Leonard Cohen – and indeed it is interesting to note that he didn’t achieve UK Top Ten single status until the release of The Road To Hell (pt2), a record that was actually his eighteenth chart entry. Perhaps it is this fact that makes Rea such a breath of fresh air and a man effortlessly in control of his own faculties as a singer songwriter. “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 music,” he says. “The best change for my music has been concentrating on stuff which really interests me.“ He is obviously referring to his love of motor racing, painting and the blues but if Road Songs For Lovers proves one thing it is this: you can add beautiful, poignant rock ‘n’ roll love songs to that pantheon of passions.

Tickets for the Budapest show are available from 10 a.m on April 28th via www.livenation.hu and www.ticketpro.hu. There are only seated tickets available, in a theatrical layout, fans should make sure they have their tickets soon this time.

Further info:
www.chrisrea.com
www.livenation.hu
www.ticketpro.hu

Chris Rea plays:
October 2017
Saturday 7th Amsterdam, Netherlands Carré
Monday 9th Paris, France Salle Pléyel
Wednesday 11th Brussels, Belgium Forest National
Friday 13th Erfurt, Germany Messe
Sunday 15th Dusseldorf, Germany Mitsubishi-Electric-Halle
Tuesday 17th Leipzig, Germany Arena
Wednesday 18th Dresden, Germany Kulturpalast
Friday 20th Frankfurt, Germany Jahrhuderthalle
Sunday 22nd Mannheim, Germany Rosengarten
Tuesday 24th Stuttgart, Germany Liederhalle
Thursday 26th Dortmund, Germany Westfahlenhalle
Saturday 28th Hannover, Germany Kuppelsaal
Sunday 29th Hamburg, Germany Mehr!Theater
Monday 30th Berlin, Germany Tempodrom
November 2017
Wednesday 1st Munich, Germany Philharmonie
Friday 3rd Vienna, Austria Stadthalle
Monday 6th Budapest, Hungary Budapest Arena
Tuesday 7th Prague, Czech Republic Congress Centre
Friday 10th Tallinn, Estonia Nordea Hall
Monday 13th Moscow, Russia Crocus City Hall
Wednesday 15th St Petersburg, Russia Ledovi Dvorets
Tuesday 21st Gateshead, UK Sage Theatre
Wednesday 22nd Glasgow, Scotland Royal Concert Hall
Friday 24th Harrogate, UK HIC
Sunday 26th London, UK Eventim Apollo
Wednesday 29th Birmingham, UK Symphony Hall
Thursday 30th Liverpool, UK Philharmonic
December 2017
Sunday 3rd Manchester, UK O2 Apollo
Monday 4th Sheffield, UK City Hall
Wednesday 6th Dublin, Ireland Olympia
Thursday 7th Belfast, Northern Ireland Waterfront
Saturday 9th Oxford, UK New Theatre
Sunday 10th Brighton, UK Centre
Tuesday 12th Bournemouth, UK International Centre