"Hello Friend" is a song by British singer-songwriter

Chris Rea Christopher Anton Rea ( ; born 4 March 1951) is an English rock and blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, fie ...

that was released in 1986 as the third single from his eighth studio album '' On the Beach''. The song was written by Rea, and produced by Rea and David Richards. For its release as a single, Rea re-recorded the song and produced it alongside Stuart Eales. It reached No. 79 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

and remained in the Top 100 for six weeks. The single's B-side is the first version of "

Driving Home for Christmas "Driving Home for Christmas" is a Christmas song written and composed by British singer-songwriter Chris Rea. The first version was originally released as the B-side to his single "Hello Friend" in 1986. In October 1988, a re-recorded version ...

" that Rea recorded. The song was re-recorded for ''

New Light Through Old Windows ''New Light Through Old Windows'' is the first compilation album by British singer-songwriter Chris Rea, released in 1988. The album consists primarily of re-recordings of songs from Rea's earlier albums, as well as the new track "Working on It" ...

'' in 1988 and released as a single in its own right. A special double 7-inch edition of the single was also released, containing two live tracks recorded earlier in 1986 at Montreux. The re-recorded version of "Hello Friend" was later included on the two-disc deluxe and remastered edition of ''On the Beach'', released by Magnet in 2019.

Critical reception

On its release, Chris Eary of the ''

Reading Evening Post The ''Reading Post'' (until 2009, the ''Reading Evening Post'') was an English local newspaper covering Reading, Berkshire and surrounding areas. The title page of the paper featured the Maiwand Lion, a famous local landmark at Forbury Gardens. Th ...

'' wrote: "Double record pack featuring live and studio stuff with the title being a gruff smoocher." In a review of ''On the Beach'', Glenn A. Baker of ''

the Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

'' commented: "Rea's atmospheric songs, particularly "Little Blonde Plaits" and "Hello Friend", sound like they should be on the soundtrack of a

David Puttnam David Terence Puttnam, Baron Puttnam, CBE, HonFRSA, HonFRPS, MRIA (born 25 February 1941) is a British film producer, educator, environmentalist and former member of the House of Lords. His productions include ''Chariots of Fire'', which wo ...

film." Rob Caldwell of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

retrospectively noted the album's recurring theme of "deal ngwith remembrance and old love", and selected "Hello Friend" as one example of this.

Track listing

;7" single # "Hello Friend" (Re-record) – 4:20 # "

" – 4:34 ;7" single (UK special double pack) # "Hello Friend" (Re-record) – 4:20 # "Driving Home for Christmas" – 4:34 # "

It's All Gone "It's All Gone" is a song by British singer-songwriter Chris Rea that was released in 1986 as the lead single from his eighth studio album '' On the Beach''. It was written by Rea, and produced by Rea and David Richards. "It's All Gone" reached No ...

" (Recorded live At Montreux) – 8:12 # "Steel River" (Recorded live At Montreux) – 7:58 ;12" single # "Hello Friend" (Full Version) – 4:46 # "Driving Home for Christmas" – 4:34

Personnel

Production *

, Stuart Eales - producers of "Hello Friend" and "Driving Home for Christmas" * Dave Richards - engineer on Montreux live tracks Other * Lo Cole - cover painting *

Mark Farrow Mark Farrow was named Designer of the Year in the Creative Review Peer Poll in 2004, voting him ‘the most important graphic designer working today’. His career began in the early 1980s designing experimental sleeves and posters for Factory Recor ...

- sleeve design

Charts

References

{{authority control 1986 songs 1986 singles Magnet Records singles Chris Rea songs Songs written by Chris Rea