Singer-songwriter Chris Rea, known for ‘Driving Home for Christmas,’ dies at 74

British songwriter and musician Chris Rea is seen during his performance at the Capitol in Offenbach, Germany, Thursday, Feb. 23, 2006. (AP Photo/Bernd Kammerer)

LONDON — Chris Rea, the singer and songwriter best known for the hit “Driving Home for Christmas,” has died at 74, his family said Monday.

Rea died in the hospital following a short illness, according to a statement from his family to Britain’s Press Association news agency.

Rea found fame in the 1980s in Britain with hits such as “Fool (If You Think It’s Over)” and “Let’s Dance.”

Two of his studio albums, “The Road to Hell” in 1989 and “Auberge” in 1991, went to number one in the country.

“Driving Home for Christmas,” first released in 1986, became one of the U.K.’s most loved festive songs and featured in a Marks and Spencer’s TV advertisement this year.

The musician was born in 1951 in Middlesbrough, in northeast England, to an Italian father and Irish mother.

He had suffered from health problems including pancreatic cancer, and in 2016 he suffered a stroke.