Hello Friend (song)

"Hello Friend" is a song by British singer-songwriter Chris Rea 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.[1]

"Hello Friend"
Single by Chris Rea
from the album On the Beach
B-side	"Driving Home for Christmas"
Released	1986
Length	4:20
Label	Magnet
Songwriter(s)	Chris Rea
Producer(s)	Chris Rea Stuart Eales
Chris Rea singles chronology
"On the Beach" (1986) "Hello Friend" (1986) "Let's Dance" (1987)
Music video
"Hello Friend (2019 Remaster)" on YouTube

For its release as a single, Rea re-recorded the song and produced it alongside Stuart Eales.[2] It reached No. 79 in the UK Singles Chart and remained in the Top 100 for six weeks.[3]

The single's B-side is the first version of "Driving Home for Christmas" that Rea recorded. The song was re-recorded for New Light Through Old Windows in 1988 and released as a single in its own right.[4] A special double 7-inch edition of the single was also released, containing two live tracks recorded earlier in 1986 at Montreux.[5] 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.[6]

Critical reception

On its release, Chris Eary of the Reading Evening Post wrote: "Double record pack featuring live and studio stuff with the title being a gruff smoocher."[7] In a review of On the Beach, Glenn A. Baker of the Sydney Morning Herald commented: "Rea's atmospheric songs, particularly "Little Blonde Plaits" and "Hello Friend", sound like they should be on the soundtrack of a David Puttnam film."[8] Rob Caldwell of AllMusic retrospectively noted the album's recurring theme of "deal[ing] with remembrance and old love", and selected "Hello Friend" as one example of this.[1]

Track listing

7" single

1. "Hello Friend" (Re-record) – 4:20
2. "Driving Home for Christmas" – 4:34

7" single (UK special double pack)

1. "Hello Friend" (Re-record) – 4:20
2. "Driving Home for Christmas" – 4:34
3. "It's All Gone" (Recorded live At Montreux) – 8:12
4. "Steel River" (Recorded live At Montreux) – 7:58

12" single

1. "Hello Friend" (Full Version) – 4:46
2. "Driving Home for Christmas" – 4:34

Personnel

Production

• Chris Rea, 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 - sleeve design

Charts

Chart (1986)	Peak position
UK Singles Chart[3]	79

References

1. AllMusic Review by Rob Caldwell. "On the Beach - Chris Rea | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2020-05-25.
2. Ebborall, Bob (18 December 1986). "Surviving punk with the luck of the Irish". The Stage.
3. "CHRIS REA | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2020-05-25.
4. "The Story Of... 'Driving Home for Christmas' by Chris Rea - Smooth". Smoothradio.com. Retrieved 2020-05-25.
5. Massey, Paul (26 November 1986). "Rea-lly good music". Aberdeen Evening Express.
6. "Chris Rea / The Rea-issues". superdeluxeedition. Retrieved 2020-05-25.
7. Eary, Chris (15 November 1986). "Singles". Reading Evening Post.
8. Baker, Glenn A. (26 June 1986). "Cocker a cracker". The Sydney Morning Herald.