Rea was inspired to write “Tell Me There’s a Heaven” after his daughter Josie saw footage of a riot in South Africa on the news, which showed “this horrible thing of throwing lighted tyres over people” (necklacing) and “one guy burning to death”. Rea recalled to Peter Doggett in 2019: “Joan’s [Rea’s wife] dad was saying he didn’t know what to say to Josie about what she’d seen, so he just said, ‘That man has gone to heaven’. And that’s how songs happen. I went up to see her and she was safely asleep, so I looked out the window and said to myself, ‘Grandad told you there’s a heaven, I’d like someone to tell me there’s a heaven, too.'”

In 1992, the song was used as the soundtrack to a PIF for the NSPCC, juxtaposed with excuses made by child abusers and descriptions of injuries from coroner reports… More here.

Such a beautiful song and so touching in the way it searches for hope from the pure evil of hurting children. It made me cry the first time I heard it and I felt sad yesterday on the news of Chris Rea’s passing.

Categories: Articles, Music