Christopher Anton "Chris" Rea born 4 March 1951 is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist, recognisable for his distinctive, husky voice and slide guitar playing. The British Hit Singles & Albums stated that Rea was "one of the most popular UK singer-songwriters of the late 1980s. He was already a major European star by the time he finally cracked the UK Top 10 with his 18th chart entry; The Road to Hell (Part 2)". As of 2009, he has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide.

In the U.S. he is best known for the 1978 hit song "Fool (If You Think It's Over)" that charted No.12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent three weeks at No.1 on the U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. This success earned him the Grammy Award nomination for the Best New Artist in 1979. His other hit songs include, "I Can Hear Your Heartbeat", "Stainsby Girls", "On the Beach" (U.S. Adult Contemporary No.9), "Let's Dance", "Josephine", "Driving Home for Christmas", "Tell Me There's a Heaven", "Auberge", "Looking for the Summer", "Winter Song", "Nothing To Fear", "Julia", "Working On It" (Mainstream Rock No. 1), and "If You Were Me", a duet with Elton John.

Two of his studio albums, The Road to Hell and Auberge, topped the UK Albums Chart. Rea was nominated three times for the Brit Award for Best British Male Artist: in 1988, 1989 and 1990. The book Guinness Rockopedia described him as a "gravel-voiced guitar stalwart".