Tell me there's a heaven - Chris Rea

The whole concept of heaven and the afterlife is one of mindboggling stupidity. It supposes that you have to be miserable your whole damn life and then, when you're dead, suddenly everything turns into a warm, fuzzy, mellow state of constant happiness. This is especially ridiculous when you consider all the people dying of hunger, war, murder and environmental disasters.

Chris Rea once wrote this song about it: 'Tell me there's a heaven'. The song was released at a time when death and unhappiness were all around me. I thought the lyric of this song was highly appropriate for the cynicism I felt about the things that were going on, and I still think it's one of the best songs ever written - lyrically as well as musically.

My collection: 7" single no. 2264
Found: Record fair, April 8, 1995
Cost: 3 guilders
Tracks: 'Tell me there's a heaven' / 'And when she smiles'

Nothing to fear - Chris Rea

I don't know for sure, but this might well be the longest single ever released. Chris Rea's 'Nothing to fear' clocks in at 9 minutes and 10 seconds: truly an epic song. It's this length that piqued my interest when I came across this single during a week in London in 1992. I listened to it on a listening post, and decided I liked it enough to buy it.

I'm glad I did: it's probably the best song of Chris Rea's career. Taken from his 1992 album 'God's great banana skin', it reached number 16 in the UK singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 1737

Found: Virgin Megastore, October 17, 1992

Cost: 2 pounds

Tracks: 'Nothing to fear' / 'Nothing to fear (edit)', 'Strange dance'

Hello friend - Chris Rea

Chris Rea has made some beautiful music during the course of this 30 year career. Recently there have been rumours of him retreating from the music scene, but he is still at it. In 1986, he released the album 'On the beach', from which this single, 'Hello friend' was taken. 'Driving home for Christmas', which would be released as a single on its own in 1988, makes its first appearance here on the B-side of the single. But there was more: the copy I bought in London in 1994 featured a second single with two lengthy live tracks, recorded in Montreux.

In August 2008, it was reported that Rea had donated 25,000 pounds to the Conservative Party. Fortunately, he's got more knowledge about making music than he has about politics.

My collection: 7" single no. 2185

Found: London, September 28, 1994

Cost: 2 pounds

Tracks: 'Hello friend' / 'Driving home for Christmas' // 'It's all gone (live)' / 'Steel river (live)'

Download: here