Just saw that Alan Hawkshaw - touring member of Cliff´s band, member of the Shadows, musician in Marvin, Welch & Farrar, composer of film/TV music and all around good egg Alan Hawkshaw died yesterday. He also co-wrote Cliff´s 1973 Eurovision entry in spe, "The Days Of Love". Neither Alan´s nor Cliff´s finest moment, IMO. But by all accounts, Alan was a great guy, a very good musician and a great composer. R.I.P. Alan Hawkshaw - Wikipedia
Thanks for posting again. A really good write up. I might disagree with some of the songs he has chosen, but what he says about Cliff is so true. I do really think that at some stage Cliff is going to be "cool" in everyone's eyes. Now off to get my "Rock n' Roll Juvenile" jacket ready for a concert I'm just happening to go to tomorrow night!
Just saw another live clip of "Lost In A Lonely World" from the Blackpool concert on Facebook. Sound quality was bad, but to my ears Cliff definately sung it life!
Looking at Youtubes from Bournemouth filmed from the back of the venue and Cliff barely visible the sound is far superior to any of the other filmed songs form earlier venues. Check out if you are interested. No need to post on here
Thanks to all for you for gathering these "historical documents" - alludes to the hilarious "Galaxy Quest" - for us! Great to see Cliff doing so great at his time of life. It´s not a given that a pop star of 81 can still pull it off. Yet he does.
In a jet from Blackpool to Bournemouth, gone are the days of being stuck in the back of a van with the Shads.
Hi All, Just getting some videos sorted. Interesting one of "Marmaduke" which will comment on. However, can't work out how to post my YouTube videos to here, even though I've done it before. Brain slower these days! Could someone kindly send me a message on how please. Thanks, Tim
Tim just copy/paste the link at the top on each Youtube video here when you post So this is one of yours
Another video I took from last night. Not sure what happens at the beginning. There seems to have an "echo" at the beginning then Cliff seems late coming in. Shows it's all live.
Thanks for all the videoclips you've uoloaded to YouTube. I think Cliff started too early singing his lines during Move It, the guitair player on left plays his licks at the same time when Cliff sings, that's not the way it's supposed to be. Cliff later realizes this as he repeats "it's called rock 'n' roll" 3 times and from then on the song goes allright.
This was posted today by Pat Murphy on the Move It mailing list. Enjoy the read. Cliff is the subject of a new article of mine in the October issue of the UK magazine The Beat. For those who might be interested, I'm attaching a copy of the text. Pat Murphy Cliff: The In Between Years When Norrie Paramor relinquished his role as Cliff Richard’s producer in 1972, he had an estimable record to look back on. Over the 14 years since 1958, there’d been no fewer than 47 Top 20 singles, 39 of which had made the Top 10. Purists may note that three of these hits were actually recorded in Nashville under the shared tutelage of Bob Morgan and Billy Sherrill. But even so, Paramor was on hand to keep a watchful eye on his most prized artiste. Paramor’s replacement was David Mackay, a classically trained Australian who was then best known for his work with the New Seekers. Fresh blood with a contemporary commercial knack seemed like a good idea. A Brand New Song The first session took place at Abbey Road on October 11, 1972, and one of the three items recorded – A Brand New Song – was chosen as the A-side of Cliff’s yearend single. It was co- written by the American singer-songwriter Paul Williams, who also wrote or co-wrote the likes of We’ve Only Just Begun, An Old Fashioned Love Song and Rainy Days and Mondays. A promising pedigree surely! And Cliff professed to think it would be a hit. It wasn’t. Far from it. In fact, it was a complete flop – the first single in his career that failed entirely. It didn’t even dent the Top 50. Eurovision Cliff’s return appearance as the UK’s Eurovision representative meant there were six candidate songs to be recorded. So it was back to Abbey Road on December 27/28. Mackay wasn’t at all enthusiastic about the one ultimately chosen as the UK entry, believing that Power to All Our Friends was a retrograde career move for Cliff. But it provided a major European hit. In addition to UK success, it cracked the Top 10 in West Germany, Holland, Belgium, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Ireland and Yugoslavia. It was easily the most commercially successful venture of Mackay’s tenure. Take Me High In 1973, Kenneth Harper – the man behind Cliff’s early 60s film smashes – sought to rekindle the cinema magic with Take Me High. No such luck. As Harper later put it: “The fellow who wrote the music was absolutely marvellous, but unfortunately we blew it. It wasn’t a successful film. It didn’t make its money back.” Not everyone shared Harper’s enthusiasm for the music guy – Tony Cole – but his score for Take Me High is actually quite good. In addition to the catchy title song, there are a couple of excellent ballads – Midnight Blue and The Game – plus a clever duet between Cliff and Anthony Andrews. Mackay’s production gives the thing an occasional urban country tinge, Cliff is in fine form and it’s an enjoyable listen overall. Unfortunately, the film’s failure to resonate at the box office washed over onto the chart performance of the single and album, both of which were only minor hits. Help It Along In addition to his regular pop shows, Cliff had taken to doing separate gospel concert tours where he’d sing a different repertoire and proceeds would go to charity. The material for these forays was an interesting blend. There’d be traditional songs, like Amazing Grace and Higher Ground, mixed in with contemporary pieces deemed to impart a “message.” Mr. Business Man is an example of the latter. For whatever reason, it was decided to capture this on record by performing the gospel act before a studio audience. And over several nights in September 1973, what became the Help It Along album took shape. While the nature of the material circumscribed the album’s commercial prospects, it’s a worthwhile listen, even for those of us who aren’t religiously inclined. The versions of Amazing Grace and Higher Ground are first-rate, there’s a nice reading of Fire and Rain and a couple of Cliff’s own compositions hold their own. All in all, it generates an intimate vibe and a rare insight into a part of Cliff’s musical and personal life. One curiosity, though. Streets of London was included in the recording but not on the album. The omission likely isn’t down to a performance problem because Cliff had earlier done an effective job on the song during his 1972 TV series. The 31 st of February Street This probably came closest to where Mackay wanted to take Cliff. Apart from a couple of songs done at the initial October 1972 session, it consists of recordings laid down in February 1974. It’s quite different from anything Cliff did before or since. There’s an almost introspective feel to it. Or maybe mellow and yearning would be a more apt description. And Cliff actually wrote several of the songs and apparently played acoustic guitar. That wasn’t typical. Decades later, Cliff described it this way: “I thought it was a sweet, sensitive album, and after getting immersed in writing and recording it, I felt closer to it than I had to any album in years. That didn’t mean that my fans felt the same.” Indeed not. And for a guy whose career was focused on making hits, this was – however reluctantly – the kiss of death. Still, it remains a highly listenable album today. Both performance and production are first class throughout. Oddly, there was no related single to do promotional duty. One of Cliff’s own compositions – Nothing to Remind Me – was prepared for release but never issued. However, a fine single did emerge from the sessions. The country flavoured You Keep Me Hangin’ On was a Top 20 hit that would surely have done the album’s prospects no harm. So two years from initiation, the Mackay era was over. It was on to Bruce Welch and the likes of Miss You Nights, Devil Woman and We Don’t Talk Anymore. The charts beckoned again. Summing Up In the period immediately preceding Mackay’s arrival, Cliff had apparently lost some of his passion for recording. His studio proficiency worked to facilitate this. Reputedly, he’d breeze in to a session, knock off the scheduled songs in less than the allotted time and head out to an early dinner. Mackay may not have produced the anticipated commercial results. But it’s probably fair to say that he got Cliff fully engaged again. A native of Ireland, Pat Murphy now lives in Toronto, Canada.
Interesting to see those in-between years covered. Like I have stated so many times, I think the ,usic from those years... Well, while not underrated, the songs are often forgotten. Many interenationl Cliff compilations easily make the jump from "Congratulations" to "Miss You Nights". Hitwise, that is - almost - justified, buta lot of good material was released during those years. The "Take Me High" amd "The 31st Of February Street" are both top notch Cliff albums in my book, and some of the singles were excellent. Thanks for posting this, Pico.
"I must have been blind, must have been, must been bliiind," to quote the title song of my avatar. Or perhaps deaf would be more pertinent. I have a few annoying habits. Humming songs to myself is one of them, but I usually try to enjoy that when there´s nobody around. I aim to please... Anyway, my point is that it´s often Cliff songs that I hum. Today I suddenly realised something. I was humming the reworked 1978 version of "Please Don´t Tease", and suddenlyI veered off into "My Kinda Life". And suddenly I realised where they got the inspiration for the remake of "Please Don´t Tease"! You all have probably known this forever, but it just dawned on me today. I tried switching between the two songs while staying on the same beat, and... It would have made a perfect medley! You would barely notice one song being shifted in and out.
Another favourable review with nice pictures of the light show: REVIEW: Sir Cliff Richard brings the ‘Great 80’ tour to the BIC
I agree, those 2 songs would fit well together in a medley. But would prefer to hear them both in full length.
Oh yes! I happen to love both of them. "My Kinda Life" is the etter song, IMO, but there is something great about taking the candyfloss that is "Please Don\t Tease" and turn it into an earthier version. I like it a lot, and definitely want to hear the whole songs!
"Peace in our Time" which I filmed from Brighton last night. I've just watched it through, and what maybe I didn't appreciate at the time, (you do get carried away a bit!) is the energy that Cliff puts into a live performance. This was towards the end of a 2 hour set, and this is an 81 year old singer. Pretty incredible if you ask me. Not so sure about all the camera phones though!
Toatally agree, excellent energy shown in that clip Looking back over previous pages of the thread I see that the majority of audience Youtube live performances have been removed by Aviator Management GmbH.
Cliff made an important contribution to the establishment and development of rock'n'roll and pop music in general in the UK and further afield. He recorded some iconic tracks and even more cheesy titles. There is no doubt Cliff's had a rough couple of years at the hands of the vile element of the UK Media that he has thankfully survived. It certainly has taken its toll on him which is evident from any recent interview. I was born in 1961 and as a kid growing up in the 60s & early 70's I loved Summer Holiday, Batchelor Boy, The Minute You're Gone, The Young Ones, Congratulations, Up In The Country, The Day I Met Marie, Goodbye Sam. The Cliff Richard Show, and the Cilla Black Show were never missed on a Saturday Night during their run. Later Miss You Nights Devil Woman & We Don't Talk Anymore did it for me. After that period I found him to be less relevant. I hated The 80s version of the Young One's with the Young Ones. When I see Cliff today he's become a cheesy variety act which I find rather sad. In his prime Cliff was a great British pop star, incredibly handsome and a great singer. Cliff is a true music icon and national treasure.
Of course, you have every right to think that Cliff has today become a cheesy variety act, allthough I don't agree with it at all. But what I don't understand: you write that you loved songs like "Summer Holiday" and "Goodbye Sam, hello Samantha" and his tv series "The Cliff Richard Show "(filled with Middle Of The Road songs) and you really think they were not cheesy variety!?
