My Life: Cliff Richard

Love him or loathe him (and there are plenty on either side of the fence) he is the most successful pop singer Britain has ever produced, selling more than 250 million records in a 55-year career. That figure is still rising and will no doubt be boosted a little further following his Still Reelin’ and A-Rockin’ tour of open-air concerts, which arrives at Harewood House, near Leeds next month.

For Cliff, the live performances are a chance to take audiences on a musical journey down memory lane back to when it all began.

“Just before my career kicked off in the late 1950s rock ‘n’ roll was in its infancy,” he says. “The influences of the American rock ’n’ roll culture were beginning to cross the pond to Britain and beyond and began to affect fashions and even lifestyles.

“It was a fantastic and exhilarating time when music began breaking boundaries, crossing social divides and expressed real emotions which people were so reserved about back then. Hearing Elvis for the first time blaring out from a car speaker gave me a feeling of liberation and excitement that I remember to this day.”

Given his extensive back catalogue it also means that audiences never seen the same show twice and while he might not be as quick on his feet as he once was, the voice is unmistakably Cliff.

“It’s nigh well impossible to cover, musically, all 55 years of my career, but hopefully the set list will stir many nostalgic memories for myself as well as for the fans.

“I never tire of performing my old songs and in my book We Don’t Talk Anymore and Devil Woman are two of the best pop/rock songs ever written. Songs such as Miss You Nights and Ocean Deep are wonderfully dramatic and I still get a kick out of the really ‘Golden Oldies’ such as Living Doll, Bachelor Boy, Summer Holiday and The Young Ones.”

When it comes to music, Cliff has been there, done it, and bought the T-shirt a hundred times over, but he still remembers the words of advice he was given early on in his career.

“When we were in danger of being carried away by all the initial madness, my Dad quite sensibly said, ‘If you don’t make it, there’s still a life to be lived’. That was such timely, sound, feet on the ground advice. Just a little later came his other timeless wisdom. ‘If you really want this,’ he said soon after our success with Move It, ‘then give it your all’. I’ve been doing that ever since.

“No doubt about it. Hard work and commitment are what’s sustained my career. Neither are necessary if you’re content to be a flash in the pan. But if it’s longevity you’re after then there’s no other recipe – just plain, old-fashioned hard work.”

It’s that commitment which earned him the knighthood, but it’s not the only personal highlight he’s notched up in more than half a century in the music business.

“Of course, receiving a knighthood from the Queen was a magnificent accolade, and yet in a way, performing to packed audiences and to hear the same ecstatic reaction night after night is right up there with it.”

Cliff Richard Still Reelin’ and A-Rockin’, Harewood House, Leeds, June 1, 8.30pm, from £45. 0113 218 1000, www.harewood.org.

Cliff Richard: A life in Music

Cliff Richard was born Harry Webb in Lucknow, India. His father, Roger, was a manager of a catering contractor for Indian Railways. The family moved to Surrey following Indian independence in 1948.

He formed a skiffle group in 1957 before becoming the lead singer of rock ’n’ roll group The Drifters. Their first single, Move It, reached No2 in 1958.

He has had 14 UK No.1 singles, eight No.1 albums and the hit films The Young Ones and Summer Holiday.