Thank you BELFAST, DERRY & SUNDERLAND! Three unforgettable nights!
The Chris Rea Experience – starring Paul Casey and his renowned ‘Rea-magined’ band – are earning standing ovations and rave reviews at every turn.
The show sees Chris Rea’s longtime friend and collaborator present an unforgettable, specially curated concert. With The Chris Rea Experience, Paul Casey brings the legendary musician’s greatest hits to the stage in Rea’s unmistakable style.
IN A LEAGUE OF HIS OWN
With a back catalogue of timeless songs and over 40 million albums sold, Chris Rea remains in a league of his own. A seminal figure in modern guitar history, Rea’s music is approached with precision and respect, offering fans a fresh way to engage with his remarkable body of work.
The Chris Rea Experierence: Paul Casey on tsage with Rea-magined
Chris Rea in concert in 2010.
CHRIS & PAUL
Paul Casey’s connection to Rea began in 1990, when a teenage Casey slipped backstage at a soundcheck and asked the maestro how to play slide guitar. Years later, Rea was stunned by the demo tape he received from his young Irish protégé: “His first demos were absolutely amazing… It was an eerie feeling for me because it was as if I’d played it. It was so accurate”, he said in a recent interview. Their friendship endures to this day.
And so it is only Paul Casey – on guitar, vocals and curation – who could deliver a concert celebrating Chris Rea that’s so rich in spine-tingling moments and virtuoso musicianship.
MEET THE BAND
The ‘Rea-magined’ band is a who’s who of Europe’s finest players. Their world-class calibre shines through every note as they honour Rea’s legacy with deep respect for his singular sound.
Paul on stage with Chris during The Road To Hell And Back tour in 2006, at Symphony Hall Birmingham.
WHEN PAUL CASEY MET CHRIS REA...
Chris & Paul at King's Hall, Belfast
Belfast, 1990
Chris Rea is in town for a show. After soundcheck, a Derry teenager finds his way backstage. He introduces himself to his musical hero as Paul Casey, a slide-guitar player, then using a plumber’s copper pipe as a bottleneck (!)
Rea takes the time to talk; he suggests getting a compressor pedal for sustain and a tube screamer for overdrive. The next day, Casey buys the gear, second-hand in a Belfast market.
Paul at Chris' studio in London.
One week later
Paul’s mother calls the store in a panic; Chris Rea’s office had called the house. They’ll try again tomorrow.
When the phone rings the next night, Paul is about to hang up, convinced it’s just friends playing a prank.
Then the gravelly voice of Chris Rea comes on the line. He loves the demo, and invites Paul to his studio in London.
They worked in studio together, Paul joined Chris' band, and was special guest in sold-out arenas across Europe.
The demo Chris listened to in 1995.
London, 1995
For the next five years, buoyed by Rea’s words, Casey practices diligently, always with compressor and tube screamer to hand.
In 1995, after a show in London, Paul gets a demo tape to Chris, the result of the last five years’ work
He returns to Derry, and his job at the local record store.
On tour
An enduring friendship
All the time, Paul watched, and learned from the master; the craft of songwriting, the art of vocal delivery, the mastery of slide guitar, the rules of life.
Chris Rea has left nothing behind. Neither has his trusted protégé. Still armed with the same compressor he bought, on Chris Rea’s sound advice, in the Belfast market over 30 years ago, Paul Casey is writing the next live chapter in the rock icon’s songbook.
Experience the next instalment in the story, with this remarkably curated live show.
