performed on the Band Aid II single "Do They Know It's Christmas?" In 1991, Auberge repeated its predecessor's success, reaching No. 1 in the UK albums chart, and was another hit across Europe. The single of the same title made the UK Top 20. Even at the peak of his success, Rea refused to mount an American tour or perform on MTV Unplugged, although he was a guest on Late Night with David Letterman, and also performed on the show. Rea said his neglect of the US market was one of his biggest mistakes because "every time I see a car that's too much money, I definitely regret it, just for five minutes". After Auberge, Rea released God's Great Banana Skin (1992) which reached No. 4 in the UK, while the single Nothing to Fear gave him another Top 20 hit. A year later the album Espresso Logic made the Top 10 and Julia, written about his second daughter, gave him his sixth and last Top 20 single. The album was partly promoted by Rea's taking part in the non-Championship "TOCA Shootout" round of the 1993 British Touring Car Championship, although he was eliminated in the first round. In 1994 another compilation album, The Best of Chris Rea, was released which peaked at No. 3 in UK. That July, Rea performed with Peter Gabriel and others at Sonoria festival in Milan. 1995–2005: Recovery from illness, return to blues roots and Blue Guitars In 1994 Rea had developed stomach ulcers The following year, he "got peritonitis and nearly died. Facing the prospect of never singing, touring or performing in public again, he characteristically embarked on a radical career shift and went into movies." 1996 saw the release of the soundtrack album for La Passione, which Rea also wrote and produced. Two years later in 1998 The Blue Cafe, his fourteenth studio album, followed. It reached the UK Top Ten and received extremely positive reviews and a tour named The Blue Cafe Tour followed to promote the album. In 1999, ten years after The Road to Hell, the dance and electronica infused The Road to Hell: Part 2 failed to reach the UK Top 40. Rea rebounded in 2000, when King of the Beach made it to the UK Top 30. Rea was first "diagnosed with pancreatic cancer at the age of just 33". In 2000, he underwent a Whipple procedure, which