He’s back from the Cliff edge
SIR CLIFF RICHARD: 60 YEARS IN PUBLIC AND IN PRIVATE
SIR Cliff Richard is one of the biggest selling artists Britain has ever produced. The wholesome heartthrob who has sold 250million records over six decades.
But in 2014, his reputation came crashing down when his home was raided by police and allegations were made of historic sexual assault. He was never arrested or charged and this year won a privacy case against the BBC, who televised the raid, but the years of uncertainty nearly broke him.
“It shook me rigid – I can’t explain how bad it felt,” he says in this revealing and intimate documentary which followed the singer over six months this year.
“I thought I was going to die. I don’t think I slept more than two hours a night.”
Sir Cliff, 78, also admits he feels vulnerable in public now and is scared to put his arms around people for photos. He avoids the walkway near the ball boys’ dressing rooms at Wimbledon.
This is quite a sad and emotional film in parts as Sir Cliff talks about his darkest days and finally winning justice.
But it also reminds us of his career, with some effusive interviews from the likes of Sir Barry Gibb, Olivia Newton-John, Hank Marvin, Jimmy Osmond, Andrew Lloyd-Webber, Brian May and Dame Joan Collins.
We see him recording his 104th album, Rise Up, embarking on his 60th anniversary tour, playing tennis – with a pretty impressive backhand – and his with legions of adoring fans who have never left his side. “I am starting again,” he says. “I haven’t been broken down.”