Personalities | Cliff Richard | Fifties | Rock

(Vocals, b. 1940)

Born Harry Webb in India, Cliff Richard is the ultimate British pop star, with over 100 UK hit singles to his credit since 1958, when ‘Move It’, widely regarded as the first credible British rock’n’roll record, reached the UK Top 3. More than a dozen UK No. 1s include 1959’s ‘Living Doll’ and ‘Travellin’ Light’, ‘The Young Ones’ (1962) and ‘Summer Holiday’ (1963), both title songs of movies in which Richard starred with The Shadows, his backing group until 1968. Circa 1966, he publicly proclaimed that he was a Christian, and has since released both religious and secular records. After a number of his singles failed to chart during the 1970s, he returned in 1979 with his 11th UK No. 1, ‘We Don’t Talk Anymore’. More recent chart-toppers include the Christmas singles: 1988’s ‘Mistletoe And Wine’ and 1999’s ‘The Millennium Prayer’. Cliff Richard, initially the British answer to Elvis Presley, remains Britain’s foremost domestic pop star, but remains largely unknown in the US.

Styles & Forms | Fifties | Rock
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Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley

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