The man The voice The guitar

Chris Rea song or album with special memories

All topics concerning Chris' discography
Post Reply
Mr_Blues
REAlly addicted
REAlly addicted
Posts: 559
Joined: 09 Sep 2005, 19:04
Location: Finland

Chris Rea song or album with special memories

Post by Mr_Blues »

Here´s the deal, in this topic everyone could tell us all about songs or albums with special memories attached to them. How´s that sound? :)

My memory is something what I think I shared here years back, but will tell that as I´m waiting for the summer
and this memory is about summer nights.

This goes back to 1994 and 1995, I was 14/15 years old during those times.
I used to hang out a lot at my friend´s home and I had walkman casette player with me
and I used to listen Best Of Chris Rea collection, the first record I knew from him.
This collection album was my stepfather´s but I think I listened it more than he :)
Anyhow, I can remember those summer nights when it was time to get back to home,
had my walkman casette player and bike. It was just me when I took the bike and
started to cycling with Chris Rea music playing in my ears. I can remember that
gentle summer breeze, fading sunshine, yet bright as sun never goes fully down here during the summer
and still rather warm weather. Songs like Road To Hell, Josephine and Let´s Dance playing while cycling and it felt like the best moment in a day, you could felt being free, no worries, all joy.
And it felt that you could keep cycling until the morning, and yet it felt like the ride lasted a lot longer
than it actually took, it was only few kilometres after all. It´s been 15 years from those days and I can
still remember like it was yesterday. What a great feeling, I´m looking for the summer :)
Too many good words to add here.
I better just sit back and drink beer. :)
User avatar
Jim M
Support
Support
Posts: 518
Joined: 08 Aug 2007, 22:12
Location: Crescent Beach /British Columbia / Canada

Re: Chris Rea song or album with special memories

Post by Jim M »

Good topic Mr. Blues
I've told this here before I'm sure but I have many memories around various C.R. albums but 2 stand out.
I met my wife in 1988 and we were on our 1st date when I put On THe Beach in the cassette player in my car.
She could not believe what she was hearing and loved every song.At the end of our date she took the tape as she left my car so I knew I'd see her again.I was right as we moved in together 2 weeks later (I think it was the album) !
I was in downtown Vcr. and went into Virgin records (they've since left the Canadian market).They usually only have a couple of C.R. albums (CD's) and there it was Dancing Down The Stony Road ! I called my wife and told her about my find and she made me promise not to open it till I got home.WE sat down on our back deck with a couple of bottles of very nice red wine on a hot summer Friday night and listened to this FANTASTIC CD several times that night.
I lied there is a 3rd very special memory 2009 BUSH HALL :D
When Lily e-mailed me about the possibility of this concert I started smiling from that moment on !
When I was confirmed as going you could not wipe the smile from my face for weeks.
Meeting Kevin & Tina before the concert was very neat and when we arrived at the pub prior to the show and meeting Peter, Lily,Bart & Sheba WOW !Spending time having a beer before and after the show was interesting just being among other fans who knew C.R. as well or better than me -what a great feeling ! Of course the concert was beyond my wildest expectations as I'd never seen him live before.to be 2 meters away from this man playing live was one of the best experiences i've ever had :D
JIm
Nothings Happening By The Sea
User avatar
Bart
Webmaster
Webmaster
Posts: 698
Joined: 25 Jan 2005, 19:45
Location: Maastricht; The Netherlands
contact:

Re: Chris Rea song or album with special memories

Post by Bart »

Hello everybody;

Indeed a wonderful idea, this topic!
I have told my story many times but perhaps in short here as well. I have special memories to (almost) all songs on the Auberge album (specially Auberge, heaven and Set me free) as this was my introduction to Chris Rea. I had bought the cassette in Hungary while on vacation with my mother and my aunt and on the (long) way back to the Netherlands I pursued my aunt (who was driving) to keep on playing this cassette... So when I hear these songs, I always go back to the back seat of her white Volkswagen Jetta; I was 12 y.o. and I just had the most wonderful vacation.
Another memory is regrettably a little bit more sad… As some of you may know I have been ill for some years and during this time I studied in Den Bosch while my parents lived in Maastricht (approx 140 km). So I had to travel a lot between these cities by train and then I used to listen to Chris, most often the Deltics album. It still makes my cry sometimes when I hear some of those songs (specially Seabird) because it reminds me of that dark period in my past…
And of course (to close with a happy memory) every song that Chris has played live since 1993 (my first concert) takes me back to the concert where I heard that song live the first time (e.g. when listening to Julia I often think about the concert at Utrecht Vredenburg in 1998 when I heard this song live the first time).
REAgards, Bart (webmaster)
Mr_Blues
REAlly addicted
REAlly addicted
Posts: 559
Joined: 09 Sep 2005, 19:04
Location: Finland

Re: Chris Rea song or album with special memories

Post by Mr_Blues »

Good posts Jim & Bart, that´s what I was talking about with this topic :)
So, is there only three persons with this kind of memories, come on people ??? :)

I will give two more memories.

1. Album Water sign. back in 1996 I was living in school dormitory in this big town which had record stores etc. After school I used to hang out in those record stores checking out records, some of them had also used records. Didn´t have that much of money so for a long time I had only one new album which was in that period of time Water Sign. I used to listen that album and everyone else could heard it as well time to time as everyone used to play their music out loud. Hah hah, made people nuts with the Water Sign and they said why don´t you play something else for a while :) One said that he didn´t like Water Sign but Road to Hell was good album for him :)

2. Album Deltics. Back in those 1996/1997 times I also found chinese food, sometimes I went out to eat it.
Not too long before I got chinese cooking book and I started to try some of the food in my home. And the Deltics album was at that time the new album for me and I used to listen a lot of it while cooking that chinese food :) So, everytime I hear Deltics, it brings me chinese food to in my mind :D
Too many good words to add here.
I better just sit back and drink beer. :)
Mr_Blues
REAlly addicted
REAlly addicted
Posts: 559
Joined: 09 Sep 2005, 19:04
Location: Finland

Re: Chris Rea song or album with special memories

Post by Mr_Blues »

Come on people, don´t be so boring !
If someone is trying to start conversation over here you just keep the silence,
that´s not the point with the forum.

Or are you telling that you got no memories including songs or albums of Chris Rea?
Too many good words to add here.
I better just sit back and drink beer. :)
User avatar
blueskev
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 166
Joined: 16 Sep 2005, 21:35
Location: Kent England

Re: Chris Rea song or album with special memories

Post by blueskev »

Mr_Blues wrote:Come on people, don´t be so boring !
If someone is trying to start conversation over here you just keep the silence,
that´s not the point with the forum.

Or are you telling that you got no memories including songs or albums of Chris Rea?
Hi Mr Blues, I'm sure we've all got plenty of memories of particular songs/albums :-)

"Nothing to Fear" was the first song that I heard Chris play in 1998 (I think) and it still makes the hairs on my neck tingle when I hear it. The stage was totally dark apart from the spotlight on Chris as he played the slide intro and I was absolutely spell bound. The sound was like nothing I had heard before and really started my love of Chris's slide playing.

I have seen him many times since but those first few magic minutes will always stay with me and when I hear "Nothing to Fear" I'm always back in that London theatre in 1998.
Regards,
Kev.
It's just me
and my deep blue ways...
User avatar
vivienne
cREAtive fan
cREAtive fan
Posts: 59
Joined: 24 Feb 2009, 20:04
Location: New Zealand

Re: Chris Rea song or album with special memories

Post by vivienne »

Hi Kev I can just imagine the moment as that is an amazing piece of music and one of my favourites.

My first recollection of hearing Chris is nowhere near as dramatic or memorable but still remains as a special moment for me. I was at a summer BBQ with friends and in the background the song "On the Beach" was playing in the background. It was a lovely balmy summer night, in the company of good friends and from the moment I heard that song I was hooked. I went out out bought the tape (no CDs in those days) and whenever I hear this song it takes me back to that time with my good friends.
'Til the morning sun shines
On my love and me
tz5632
bREAth of blues
bREAth of blues
Posts: 28
Joined: 04 Dec 2007, 15:17

Re: Chris Rea song or album with special memories

Post by tz5632 »

Hi,

I just saw this thread so I wanna contribute some thoughts to it :)

When I did my military service in Germany in 1993, Espresso logic was released. I was an avid fan of Chris Rea since 1990 and bought every release of him - more than that i tried to get the old 12" vinyls from the early 80s. But back to the topic - I didn't expect a new CD as TOO MUCH PRIDE was just released in July/August 1993. So I went through some lousy times doing my duties for the German Bundewehr. And then out of nowhere was this new song by Chris Rea presented by the local radio station (which was called SWF3 - maybe some fellow Germans still know this station) - at first I didn't recognise any Chris Rea similarities. Just some drums and nothing else...but after the intro I knew that i would like the rest of the album as much as I enjoy teh song JULIA. Shortly after the release of Espresso logic a mini tour was announced and I was very lucky to attend to the Cologne concert - it was awesome!!! And so everytime I listened to Espresso logic (the album) I think of the days back in 1993/94. It was all in all a great time...and it is still a very good album.

That's my Espresso logic story...

All the best
Tobi :D
gjvg
cREAtive fan
cREAtive fan
Posts: 63
Joined: 02 Nov 2005, 07:51
Location: Almere Holland

Re: Chris Rea song or album with special memories

Post by gjvg »

It probably isn't the most well-known song from Chris.
"Danielle's Breakfast"

It's a instrumental number from his album Dancing With Strangers.

My wife Ingrid and I played this album very often in 1988, when she was pregnant from our second son.
After giving birth, she had to stay in bed for a few days and then she played this song very often.
It made her a little melancholic, cos with the birth of our second child , we decided that our family was complete...
And every time since that period in may 1988, when we played Danielle's Breakfast it touched her.

Six years ago she was struck by breast-cancer.
And in May 2016 it was clear she did not have a long time to live anymore.
She made a list of songs she liked to be played at her funeral. Amongst others she wanted that we played "Danielle's Breakfast"

Tommorow, 25th December, Xmas day, she would have had her 58th birthday,
I certainly will play Danie'lle's Breakfast for her............
Image (Picture taken in 2005 when Chris showed his paintings in Galerie Donkersloot Amsterdam)
Last edited by gjvg on 25 Dec 2016, 19:09, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
Jim M
Support
Support
Posts: 518
Joined: 08 Aug 2007, 22:12
Location: Crescent Beach /British Columbia / Canada

Re: Chris Rea song or album with special memories

Post by Jim M »

Thank You for sharing what must be a very difficult memory !
All the best from Canada
Jim
Nothings Happening By The Sea
User avatar
ann268
REAlly addicted
REAlly addicted
Posts: 480
Joined: 08 Mar 2010, 13:12
Location: Netherlands

Re: Chris Rea song or album with special memories

Post by ann268 »

What a beautiful memory. Music and giving birth can be strongly related. Had that with my eldest daughter and Eric Clapton his song Tears in Heaven. Our daughter died three months after her birth.
That song is an ode to her life.
I wish you strenght for today gjvg.
You're never to old to dance!
Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 11 guests