FROM THE SHADOWS TO THE SPOTLIGHT
SIR CLIFF RICHARD TURNS 80 ON OCTOBER 14. MARION McMULLEN TAKES A LOOK AT THE MUSIC LEGEND’S LIFE IN PICTURES
1959
The young Cliff went to the EMI factory at Hayes in Middlesex to celebrate a million record sales of his single Living Doll. He was presented with a gold pencil by the company and was mobbed by the factory girls.
1963
Cliff had plenty to sing about when he bought a Tudor-style mansion in Essex for £30,000. The home for himself, his mother Dorothy and his sisters Jackie and Jean, who were 16 and 13, boasted six bedrooms, a garage for five cars, and was set in 11 acres of ground.
1940
Sir Cliff Richard was born Harry Webb in Lucknow in India on October 14 and moved to England with his family when he was eight. His father bought him his first guitar when he was 16 and he remembered: “like anyone else who was 16 at the time, we were besotted by the rock ‘n’ roll scene from America and all I was interested in was having a career of my own.” 1960
Umbrellas were needed for a comedy sketch for ATV’s Saturday Spectacular. He played a boy brought up in the jungle by Tarzan, with Carry On star Barbara Windsor joining in the fun. It was shot at Edgewarebury Country Club at Elstree, but the weather was far from tropical.
1964
Liza Minnelli was just 17 years old when she flew to London to guest star in an ATV spectacular with Cliff and The Shadows. She and Cliff performed duets of Wonderful Life and A Swingin’ Affair.
1996
Sir Cliff famously led the Wimbledon crowd in a singalong when rain stopped play. The impromptu gig included renditions of Living Doll, Summer Holiday and All Shook Up. 1963
1963
He launched his career with backing group The Shadows and has been a fixture of the charts ever since. Cliff is one of the most successful musicians ever, having sold more than 250 million records worldwide. He is the only singer to have a number one in the UK in five consecutive decades.
1968
Cilla Black helped him count postal votes for Britain’s song entry for the Eurovision contest. He sang Congratulations, but lost by just one point to Spanish entry La La La. He was back in 1973 with Power To All Our Friends and finished third. 1972
Cliff put on his dancing shoes for the Morecambe & Wise Show. He joined Eric and Ernie in rehearsing a nautical dance number called Fleet’s In for the comedy favourite.
1971
Top Of The Pops resident dancers Pan’s People helped Cliff celebrate when he was voted Mr Valentine. A few years later he was awarded the title of 1974 Head Of The Year by Britain’s National Hairdressers’ Federation in London. The award was given because he had demonstrated good hair grooming in all his professional appearances. Lulu presented his prize... a pair of silver-backed hairbrushes.