“'Course, 'Santini' bombed in England, y'know. It came out at the heigh...” — Chris Rea Quote

'Course, 'Santini' bombed in England, y'know. It came out at the height of the New Wave, which couldn't have been a worse time for a solo singer trying to sell rock melodies.

I didn't have any aspirations to be famous at all.

I have found out who are my real friends, thanks to the illness and hospitals.

That's why I've never made a live album - I can't bear listening to myself!

I'm never happy with anything I've done! If you sat me down and played everything I've ever recorded, I'd just sit there going, 'No... that could be better.'

I hate talking about my height, because I don't feel like a tall person... When I see a tall woman, I'm always slightly like, 'Whoa.' It looks weird, but that could be because of my complex about it, my worry over whether it's womanly to be that tall.

I had the brain for football, but I didn't have the height. So I started using my brain to overcome those weaknesses and discovered football isn't just about size or power: it's about what's up there. That was the making of me.

Before 'Tall Girl,' no one would even take meetings with me because of my height. It was a real struggle.

Fighting in England, for me, is the height of my career. It really is.