Ukraine's leading English-language newspaper since 1995

(Courtesy) Legendary British guitarist and singer-songwriter Chris Rea, well known for his husky voice, is coming to Kyiv to present his album of best hits “Still So Far To Go – The Best of Chris Rea.”

During his musical career that spans 30 years, Rea has authored a great many popular rock and blues songs, including “The Road to Hell,” “Let’s Dance” and “Julia On the Beach,” among others. Rea released his debut record “What Happened to Benny Santini?” in 1978. The single from it, “Fool (If You Think It’s Over),” remains his biggest hit in the U.S. to date. It was even nominated for a Grammy as the Song of the Year. In the 1980s Rea recorded plenty, but the UK audience only began to notice him after the release of “Shamrock Dairies” featuring songs “Stainsby Girls” and “Josephine.” “New Light Through Old Windows” compilation album enjoyed some serious success, but the real breakthrough came to Rea with the release of “The Road to Hell” in 1989. It became his first number one album in the UK. By the end of 1990s Rea started losing popularity, but he continued his work as a recording artist. In 2001, the musician had to undergo a risky operation for his pancreatitis, and after this near-death experience, Rea changed his musical direction from rock to blues. He then recorded “Blue Guitars” collection of 11 CD’s in just a year and a half, and even created all the art for album covers by himself. Rea was more proud of this work than anything else he had released before. In 2007 he embarked on a tour with a new blues album that consisted of three CDs and continued writing songs, recording and playing shows worldwide.

Palace Ukraine (103 Chervonoarmiyska, 247-2599). Feb. 8 at 7 p.m. Tickets Hr 250 to Hr 2,500.