THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

689-Chris Rea-The Road to Hell (Parts 1 & 2)

1989-Number 10 single.

Best Bit-At 4.53. Bloody speed cameras, traffic jams, and middle lane drivers, he’ll be lucky to make it home for New Year, let alone Christmas.

Christopher Anton Rea was born on March 4th, 1951, in Middlesbrough, North Riding of Yorkshire, England. He was a late starter in the world of ‘Pop Music,’ as he didn’t join his first band ‘Magdelene’ until he was 22 years old, and he didn’t release his first solo Album until he was 27 years old. As this songs suggests, Chris Rea was always reluctant to play at being a celebrity, he has been quoted as saying,’There’s a certain discipline involved in being a real ‘rock star,’ and I just don’t have it.’ Since his early thirties Chris Rea has suffered with life threatening health issues. In 1994 he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and underwent a life saving operation to remove his pancreas, gallbladder, and a portion of his liver, as a result, he has type 1 diabetes, for which he takes multiple tablets, and has to inject himself several times a day for the rest of his life. In 2016 he suffered a stroke, which left him with slurred speech, and reduced movement in his arms and fingers. Soon afterwards he quit smoking to deter further strokes, and has since recovered enough to record and tour. Chris Rea has had a lifelong passion for motor cars, which could explain the inspiration for this song, as well as his perennial festive favourite ‘Driving Home for Christmas.’ He is a fan of historic motor racing, and races a ‘Ferrari Dino,’ a ‘Ferrari 328,’ and a 1955 ‘Lotus 6.’ In 1993, he participated in the 1993 ‘British Touring Car Championship ToCa’ shootout, as a guest driver. In 1995 he took the opportunity to get involved in Formula One, when he worked as a pit lane mechanic for the Jordan team, during the 1995 Monaco Grand Prix.

The discography of Chris Rea includes 25 studio Albums released between 1978-2019, and 72 singles issued between 1974-2011, there are also 14 official compilation Albums, one live Album, and one soundtrack Album available. In the UK, 14 of his studio Albums have reached the top 40, with both ‘The Road to Hell,’ (1989) and ‘Auberge,’ (1991) both making the Number 1 spot. In America, only his debut Album ‘Whatever Happened to Benny Santini?’ has made any commercial impact, when reaching Number 49 in 1978. In the UK, he has achieved 13 top 40 singles, with ‘Driving Home for Christmas,’ (1988) and ‘The Road to Hell’ (Part 2′) (1989) both peaking the highest at Number 10. In America on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, only ‘Fool (If You Think It’s Over’) has charted within the top 40, when reaching Number 12 in 1978.

‘The Road to Hell (Parts 1 & 2’) which are actually stated as two separate tracks, although they segue together, are the opening two songs on ‘The Road to Hell,’ which is the 10th studio Album from Chris Rea from October 1989. ‘The Road to Hell (Parts 1 & 2’) was written by Chris Rea, with the production being by Jon Kelly, who has worked alongside Rea on other occasions. He has also produced or engineered with other artists, including Kate Bush, with whom he co-produced with Bush, her third studio Album ‘Never for Ever’ in 1980.

‘The Road to Hell (Parts 1 & 2’) opens with sounds simulating the traffic on the M4. We hear rain, windshield wipers, and a series of disjointed traffic reports in different languages, including one that states the delay will last about four hours. Chris Rea got the idea for ‘The Road to Hell (Parts 1 & 2’) when he was stuck in traffic, and feeling frustrated, while on the ‘M4’ Motorway in England. At the start of the song Rea imagines the ghost of his dead mother, who had died in 1983, approaching his vehicle, and she warns him that he is on ‘the road to hell,’ and that he should choose a different path through life. Rea was never in love with the ‘Pop Star’ lifestyle, and all that it entailed, and the song is a warning to himself to follow his own dreams, and not those of others.

‘Oh look out world, take a good look what comes down here, you must learn this lesson fast and learn it well. This ain’t no upwardly mobile freeway, oh no, this is the road, this is the road, this is the road to hell.’