Released 1986 Genre Pop rock, Christmas Label Magnet | Recorded 1984 Length 4:33 | |
Format 7" vinyl, 12" vinyl, cassette, CD | ||
"Driving Home for Christmas" is a popular single written by Chris Rea and released in 1986. The song peaked at #53 in the UK Single Chart in 1988, and re-entered the chart in 2007, peaking at #33. It reached a brand new peak of #26 in 2016. Although it had modest charting, the single has a brief chart appearance every year in the Top 40, and is featured among the Top 10 Christmas singles.
Contents
It was used in Christmas commercials for supermarket chain Iceland in 1997, 1998, and 2011 respectively, with the latter featuring a cover by Stacey Solomon. An alternative version of the single was released in Japan as "Snow".
Background
In a live interview on the BBC Radio 4 programme Today on 16 December 2009 Rea said he wrote "Driving Home for Christmas" many years before he first recorded it. His wife had come down to London to drive him home to Middlesbrough in her Austin Mini to save money because it was cheaper to drive than travel by train. Inspiration for the song came as she and Rea were stuck in heavy traffic heading out of London with a long drive to Middlesbrough ahead of them. Rea said "Driving Home for Christmas" is a "car version of a carol".
Music video
In 2009, twenty-one years after the song was first released, an original video was made in aid of Shelter; all proceeds were donated to the charity. The celebrities who featured in the video were Trevor Eve Mike Read, David Hamilton, Kristian Digby, Gail Porter, Lizzie Cundy, Kenny Thomas, Ewen MacIntosh, Carol Decker, Matt Di Angelo, Mark Brennan, Giles Vickers-Jones and Lionel Blair. (Andy Abraham, Alexander O'Neal and Kirsten O'Brien were scheduled to appear but did not make the final cut). Of the project, Rea stated "I wanted to do something special this Christmas and what better way than to help keep a roof over people’s heads when they need it most – at Christmas. By teaming up with Shelter we can hopefully make a difference."
Another video, shows a polar bear driving in a car on a busy road on Christmas Eve in order to get home to be with his wife and son for Christmas.
Stacey Solomon version
Singer and television presenter Stacey Solomon covered the song in 2011 and it was released on 18 December 2011 as her debut single. Originally intended to be used solely in commercials for supermarket chain Iceland and cabins, it was later released as a single due to popular demand.
Background
The single was released on 18 December 2011 on iTunes with all proceeds going to Alzheimer's Research UK and children's hospice charity Together For Short Lives. Solomon has performed the song on This Morning and Daybreak.
In an interview with the British newspaper The Sun, Solomon said that she was nervous about going head-to-head with the winner of that year's series of The X Factor, "If I got Christmas number one it would be the best feeling in the world," she said. "I'd be ecstatic. I don't know if I'd be able to look Simon Cowell in the eye! No, I don't think he'd talk to me!" She subsequently said that she was not disappointed that the single did not make it into the UK top 20.
Other versions
Other artists who have covered the song include: