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For what seems like an eternity, Cliff Richard has been the Peter Pan of pop. But, says Sir Cliff, he is a little tired of being labelled Peter Pan. "Maybe, I don’t look 71 but I certainly don’t look 18," he says. In 1958, Cliff released his debutant single Move It, which is regarded as the first British rock ’n’ roll record. And over the past 53 years he has sold over 250 million albums. Only Elvis Presley — who first inspired Cliff — can rival that!
In 1959 Cliff rode the charts with one of his greatest hits, Living Doll. Since then his name was rarely absent from the top ten hits anywhere in the world. A part of the popularity also came from his string of megahit movies like The Young Ones, Summer Holiday, and Finders Keepers. Cliff was born Harry Roger Webb in Lucknow, on October 14, 1940, where his father was a catering employee. He studied in the St Thomas Church School. The family migrated back to England in 1948 and settled in Cheshunt in Hertfordshire with his grandmother, who lived in impoverished conditions. Cliff began playing football and learning the guitar. He enrolled in the Carshalton School and was a great singer even in those days. He had to leave school in his teens and work as a clerk to support his family. It was then that Cliff began singing publicly and by 1957 had formed his own band and quit his job. Initially he called his group, The Drifters, and started singing in sleazy restaurants and clubs from where he graduated to public performances. He was to turn lucky in 1958 when he earned an audition with the EMI Records, who instantly signed him on. Cliff changed his band’s name to Cliff and the Shadows and cut a single, Breathless which had Lawdy Miss Clawdy at the backside. His parents thought it was ‘dreadful noise’. In 1959, Cliff received his first major movie offer, Serious Charge. Though it flopped but it is remembered for the song Living Doll by Cliff. Within the next few years Cliff and group gave chartbusters like Lucky Lips, Dancin’ Shoes, Bachelor Boy and Outsider. By 1961 Cliff began searching for a new meaning for his music. In his book It’s Great To Be Young, he wrote about his strong faith in God . By the late 1960s, Cliff marked the second decade with such super hits as Good Times, Big Ship, Throw Down a Line and his hit LP, Best of Cliff. In 1970, he turned out one of the bestselling singles of the year, Goodbye Sam, Hello Samantha, as well as another chart hit, I Ain’t Got The Time Anymore. In 1971, his singles’ success included Sunny Honey Girl, Silvery Rain and Flying Machine. In the late seventies, his career hit a lowspot. " This was partly because Christianity made rock ’n’ roll seem unimportant," he explains. But Christianity has strengthened Cliff and he began bringing religion into his hits. His 1989 Christmas single, Whenever God Shines His Light, was recorded by born-again Irish star Van Morrison. Cliff earned an OBE in 1988. His knighthood came in 1995. His lifetime’s earnings are estimated to be around $ 250 million. He owns a number of homes, a custombuilt Rolls Royce Silver Shadow and a Prosche924. Cliff, a confirmed bachelor, is close to his sisters and their families. After his mother’s death in 2007 he became a patron of the Alzheimer’s Research Trust in 2002 and has helped raise tens of thousands of pounds. Cliff has always been obsessed with Elvis Presley. He say: " I wanted to wake up and find I was him. But I had to make the most of what I’ve got." Today, at 71, Cliff can look back in satisfaction at the fact that he has truly made most of his gift for singing. After all how many singers can think of a career spanning 44 years and staying on top most of the time. — NF
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