The Blue Cafe

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.

The Blue Cafe
Studio album by Chris Rea
Released	19 January 1998[1]
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
La Passione (1996) The Blue Cafe (1998) The Best Of Chris Rea (1998 album) (1998)
Music video
"The Blue Cafe (Official Music Video)" on YouTube

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	link

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.

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

Japanese bonus tracks

13. "Kyoto Blue" – 4:44
14. "Ameno Nakano Kiirono Herumetto" – 4:12
15. "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 Australian Albums (ARIA)[4] 178 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[5] 20 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[6] 22 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[7] 17 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[8] 32 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[9] 4 French Albums (SNEP)[10] 43 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[11] 7 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[12] 32 Scottish Albums (OCC)[13] 20 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[14] 43 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[15] 28 UK Albums (OCC)[16] 10

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for The Blue Cafe Chart (1998) Position German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[17] 66

Certifications

Certifications for The Blue Cafe

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Belgium (BRMA)[18]	Gold	25,000*
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[19]	Gold	25,065[19]
Poland (ZPAV)[20]	Gold	50,000*
United Kingdom (BPI)[21]	Silver	60,000^
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.