Chris Rea said he ‘wasn’t afraid of dying’ after string of health problemspublished at 15:47 GMT
At the age of 33, the singer’s music career was brought to a halt when he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
He subsequently had parts of his pancreas, the duodenum, the gall bladder and part of his liver removed. He was also a type 1 diabetic and had problems with his kidney.
In 2016, the singer suffered a stroke, though recovered enough to record and tour his 24th album: Road Songs for Lovers.
A year later, fans shared their concern after the artist appeared to collapse during a performance. He was later said to be in a stable condition in hospital.
In a 2020 appearance on an episode of Gone Fishing with Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse, Rea reeled off a list of the medical procedures he’d received in 1994, which he called his “most successful year”.
“I’ve never really got over it,” he told the pair, adding that he was having to take “34 pills every day” to keep on top of his health.
Addressing his illnesses in another interview, Rea said he “wasn’t frightened of dying”, and said he used his health battles as inspiration to return to his musical roots – the blues.
“It did look like the end but what got me through was the thought of leaving a record that my two teenage daughters could say: ‘That’s what Papa did – not the pop stuff, but the blues music. That’s what he was about,'” he said.
Today, the singer’s family says he passed away aged 74, following a “short illness”.
Image source, PA Media
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