Cliff Richard

Cliff Richard was born Harry Rodger Webb on the 14th October 1940 in what was then British India. The family returned to the UK eight years later after Indian independence. Upon leaving school he was employed as a filing clerk all the while becoming interested in skiffle; forming group, the Quintones in 1957.

In 1958 he became lead singer of Cliff Richard and the Drifters (which was when he adopted his stage name). His first recording session saw him record the song Schoolboy Crush with his own song Move It as the intended B-Side. By its release the single was flipped with Richard’s track as the A-Side a decision that paid dividends as it charted at number two.

His early rock based fame saw him marketed in much the same way as Elvis was in the U.S. Further success followed and in 1959 Living Doll as he introduced a less rocky sound and topped the charts. It was also around this time that The Drifters changed their name to The Shadows as their name clashed with that of the US harmony group.

Far from simply being Richard’s backing group The Shadows were a group in their own right with hits such as Apache and five number one singles. Despite his continued success in the UK following the rise of The Beatles, Cliff Richard made little impact in the States. His success in the UK afforded him the opportunity to feature in a number of films including The Young Ones for which the title track provided him with his biggest hit to date.

Of course the anarchic eighties British sitcom also borrowed the name constantly referencing the singer and eventually releasing a duet with the cast and Richard singing Living Doll.

Cliff Richard famously became active as a Christian in 1964 and initially considered quitting the music business before being advised to continue which he did recording some Christian material. In 1968 Richard entered the Eurovision Song Contest with his track, Congratulations being beaten to the first prize by the Spanish entry; however in 2008 it was widely reported that the vote had been fixed by Spanish dictator, Francisco Franco. This was also the year that saw the singer split from The Shadows, although the two entities had often recorded separately.

In the early seventies he presented a number of shows and became known as a TV personality all the while continuing to perform and coming third in the 1973 Eurovision Song Contest. In 1976, Richard returned to his rock roots (albeit alongside other gospel albums) with the album I’m Nearly Famous the move was a popular one and even led to his first US hit, Devil Woman.

The end of the decade saw him record his biggest single to date, We Don’t Talk Anymore. The years that followed saw him release consistently well received albums both at home and in America finding success with the tracks such as Mistletoe and Wine and duetting with Olivia Newton-John.

In 1995 he was rewarded for his work by being the first British rock star to receive a knighthood. He famously entertained the crowds during a wet Wimbledon Championship in 1996 by singing some of his hits.

His last song to reach number one topped the charts for three weeks from Christmas 1999, Millennium Prayer. His most recent album is Reunited – Cliff Richard and The Shadows which as the name suggests saw the singer reunited with his prolific backing group.