The Blue Cafe

The Blue Cafe
The Blue Cafe
Studio album by Chris Rea
Released	19 January 1998
Studio	Studio Miraval (Provence, France);
Genre	Album-oriented rock
Length	53:39; 67:38 including Japanese Bonus Tracks
Label	East West
Producer	Chris Rea
Chris Rea chronology
Music video
	"The Blue Cafe (Official Music Video)" on YouTube

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	link

The Blue Cafe is the fourteenth studio album by British singer-songwriter Chris Rea, released in 1998. The singles released for the album were "The Blue Cafe", "Thinking of You", "Sweet Summer Day" and "Square Peg, Round Hole". There was also a Japanese version with three bonus tracks, "Kyoto Blue", "Ameno Nakano Kiirono Herumetto" and "On the Beach".^[2] It was Rea's sixth successive album to reach the UK top ten, peaking at No. 10.

Critical reception

The Irish Times noted the "menacing atmosphere" evident on the album, "rooted mostly in Rea's sandpaper voice. And the twisted blues lines he plays on guitar". "Shadows of the Big Man" is "focused, multifaceted...But best of all is the title song, The Blue Cafe. An album that is bound to be a pure delight for fans of the man."^[3]

Track listing

All songs by Chris Rea.

"Square Peg, Round Hole" – 3:58
"Miss Your Kiss" – 4:05
"Shadows of the Big Man" – 4:49
"Where Do We Go from Here?" – 4:32
"Since I Found You" – 4:37
"Thinking of You" – 3:31
"As Long as I Have Your Love" – 4:44
"Anyone Quite Like You" – 4:49
"Sweet Summer Day" – 4:45
"Stick by You" – 4:05
"I'm Still Holding On" – 4:55
"The Blue Cafe" – 4:49

Japanese bonus tracks

"Kyoto Blue" – 4:44
"Ameno Nakano Kiirono Herumetto" – 4:12
"On the Beach" – 5:03

Personnel

Musicians

Chris Rea – vocals, guitars
Max Middleton – keyboards
Sylvin Marc – bass
Martin Ditcham – drums, percussion

Production

Chris Rea – producer
Frédéric Blanc-Garin – engineer
Ian Cooper – mastering at Metropolis Mastering (London, UK)
Tommy Willis – guitar and amplifier technician
John Carver – art direction
Insect – design, artwork
Brian R. Brown – photography
Terry O'Neill – cover photography
Jim Beach – management

Charts

Weekly charts

Weekly chart performance for *The Blue Cafe*
Chart (1998)	Peak position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)^[4]	20
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)^[5]	22
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)^[6]	17
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[7]	32
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)^[8]	4
French Albums (SNEP)^[9]	43
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[10]	7
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)^[11]	32
Scottish Albums (OCC)^[12]	20
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)^[13]	43
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)^[14]	28
UK Albums (OCC)^[15]	10

Year-end charts

Year-end chart performance for *The Blue Cafe*
Chart (1998)	Position
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[16]	66

Certifications

Certifications for *The Blue Cafe*
Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Belgium (BEA)^[17]	Gold	25,000^*
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)^[18]	Gold	25,065^[18]
Poland (ZPAV)^[19]	Gold	50,000^*
United Kingdom (BPI)^[20]	Silver	60,000^{^}
^* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^{^} Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

^ "BPI".
^ Chris Rea - The Blue Cafe, 25 February 1998, retrieved 12 June 2023
^ "Chris Rea: "The Blue Cafe"(Eastwest)". The Irish Times. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
^ "Austriancharts.at – Chris Rea – The Blue Cafe" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
^ "Ultratop.be – Chris Rea – The Blue Cafe" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
^ "Ultratop.be – Chris Rea – The Blue Cafe" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Chris Rea – The Blue Cafe" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
^ "Chris Rea: The Blue Cafe" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
^ "Lescharts.com – Chris Rea – The Blue Cafe". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Chris Rea – The Blue Cafe" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Chris Rea – The Blue Cafe". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
^ "Swedishcharts.com – Chris Rea – The Blue Cafe". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
^ "Swisscharts.com – Chris Rea – The Blue Cafe". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
^ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
^ "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – albums 1998". Ultratop. Hung Medien.
^ ^a ^b "Chris Rea" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
^ "Wyróżnienia – Złote płyty CD - Archiwum - Przyznane w 1998 roku" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry.
^ "British album certifications – Chris Rea – The Blue Cafe". British Phonographic Industry.

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[1] "BPI".

[2] Chris Rea - The Blue Cafe, 25 February 1998, retrieved 12 June 2023

[3] "Chris Rea: "The Blue Cafe"(Eastwest)". The Irish Times. Retrieved 18 May 2021.

[ac_Austria_Chris_Rea-4] "Austriancharts.at – Chris Rea – The Blue Cafe" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 November 2020.

[ac_Flanders_Chris_Rea-5] "Ultratop.be – Chris Rea – The Blue Cafe" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 November 2020.

[ac_Wallonia_Chris_Rea-6] "Ultratop.be – Chris Rea – The Blue Cafe" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 November 2020.

[ac_Netherlands_Chris_Rea-7] "Dutchcharts.nl – Chris Rea – The Blue Cafe" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 November 2020.

[ac_Finland_Chris_Rea-8] "Chris Rea: The Blue Cafe" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 9 November 2020.

[ac_France_Chris_Rea-9] "Lescharts.com – Chris Rea – The Blue Cafe". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 November 2020.

[ac_Germany4_Chris_Rea-10] "Offiziellecharts.de – Chris Rea – The Blue Cafe" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 9 November 2020.

[ac_Norway_Chris_Rea-11] "Norwegiancharts.com – Chris Rea – The Blue Cafe". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 November 2020.

[ac_Scotland_-12] "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 November 2020.

[ac_Sweden_Chris_Rea-13] "Swedishcharts.com – Chris Rea – The Blue Cafe". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 November 2020.

[ac_Switzerland_Chris_Rea-14] "Swisscharts.com – Chris Rea – The Blue Cafe". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 November 2020.

[ac_UK2_-15] "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 November 2020.

[16] "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 9 November 2020.

[BelgiumChris_ReaThe_Blue_CafealbumCertRef-17] "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – albums 1998". Ultratop. Hung Medien.

[FinlandChris_ReaThe_Blue_CafealbumCertRef-18] "Chris Rea" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.

[PolandChris_ReaThe_Blue_CafealbumCertRef-19] "Wyróżnienia – Złote płyty CD - Archiwum - Przyznane w 1998 roku" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry.

[United_KingdomChris_ReaThe_Blue_CafealbumCertRef-20] "British album certifications – Chris Rea – The Blue Cafe". British Phonographic Industry.

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v t e Chris Rea
Studio releases	Whatever Happened to Benny Santini? Deltics Tennis Chris Rea Water Sign Wired to the Moon Shamrock Diaries On the Beach Dancing with Strangers The Road to Hell Auberge God's Great Banana Skin Espresso Logic The Blue Cafe The Road to Hell: Part 2 King of the Beach Dancing Down the Stony Road / Stony Road Hofner Blue Notes The Blue Jukebox Blue Guitars The Return of the Fabulous Hofner Bluenotes Santo Spirito Blues Road Songs for Lovers One Fine Day
Compilation releases	New Light Through Old Windows The Best of Chris Rea The Very Best of Chris Rea Heartbeats The Ultimate Collection Still So Far to Go: The Best of Chris Rea The Journey 1978–2009
Singles	"Fool (If You Think It's Over)" "Loving You" "Every Beat of My Heart" "Let It Loose" "I Can Hear Your Heartbeat" "I Don't Know What It Is But I Love It" "Bombollini" "Ace of Hearts" "Stainsby Girls" "Josephine" "It's All Gone" "On the Beach" "Hello Friend" "Let's Dance" "Loving You Again" "Joys of Christmas" "Driving Home for Christmas" "Working on It" "The Road to Hell" "That's What They Always Say" "Tell Me There's a Heaven" "Texas" "Auberge" "Heaven" "Looking for the Summer" "Winter Song" "Nothing to Fear" "God's Great Banana Skin" "Soft Top, Hard Shoulder" "Julia" "'Disco' La Passione"
Related articles	Discography La Passione