Cliff
Cliff Richard
Cliff Richards is one of the longest-running and most famous British artists around today, and still filling major venues with an audience consisting of both his 'older fans' and their children and even grandchildren.
Cliff was born Harry Roger Webb on the 14th October 1940. His father bought Webb a guitar when he was 16, and it took only two years for success to come his way. Before a gig in 1958, Webb and his backing band changed their name to “Cliff Richard and the Drifters”, which would later become – after some legal wrangling with US band The Drifters – “Cliff Richard and the Shadows”. The Shadows, in fact, had a whole independent career of their own. They would frequently perform as the support act for Cliff Richard, and then go on to be his backing band later in the show.
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Richard’s success was almost instant. His debut single release was “Move It” – originally intended to be the B-Side on a cover of Bobby Helm’s “Schoolboy Crush” – which reached number 2 in the UK charts and received glowing references from critics. Richard’s first few records were rock ‘n’ roll, but, in part influenced by his decision to embrace his Christian faith over his previous rocker credentials, much of his later work became fluffy, inoffensive pop. No matter what the genre, Cliff Richard’s releases have usually performed well in Britain, but the same is not true in the US, where he was, and is, largely unknown, despite having three US top ten singles in the latter half of the 1970s and several low-level chart hits throughout his career.
Cliff has had a great deal of success in the UK, with hits including: 'The Young Ones', 'Its All in the Game', 'Summer Holiday', 'Congratulations', and 'Mistletoe and Wine'. and has sold over 260 million records, placing him in the top 10 best selling artists of all time. He has reached the top 20 in the UK charts with over 130 different releases over the course of five decades, winning three Brit awards in the process.
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