Intresting article

[wstagner]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/12687950

He's right...better late than never!

[UlrichS]

I didn't know that Cliff won the 1967 European Song Contest. I always thought he came second with 'Congratulations' after Massiel's 'La La La'.

Ulrich

[Iain Purdon]

Yes!

Did I hear that there was massive jury bribery to achieve the Spnaish victory, otherwise it really would have been congratulations to Cliff?

[Tim]

Puppet on a String won in 1967. Congratulations (2nd) was 1968. Not that it really matters.

[abstamaria]

The article reminds me of a book I am now midway through - "Life" by Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones. I have just finished the chapter when he describes their first tour to the U.S. in I think '64 or '65. It is a very interesting book, particularly from the music perspective. He mentions Cliff occasionally, but never the Shadows.

Andres
Manila

[dave robinson]

I think that Cliff ought to be very grateful for what he's got, let's face it in the big scheme of things he's pretty lightweight compared to some of the stuff the Yanks have produced as well as some of his British and European contemporaries.
I liked Cliff in the early days and again when Bruce ressurrected his career in the mid seventies, but at the risk of getting pilloried here, in my opinion when compared he doesn't have a catalologue of credible radio material in depth like Elvis, The Everleys, Johnny Cash, The Eagles, Roy Orbison, The Beatles, Queen, Abba etc etc, which was apparent to me when I saw the reunion concert in 2009. Yes I enjoyed the show and it was nice to see them together again but the McCartney concert in the same venue a few years before was light years superior in every way and value for money, wheras the reunion by comparison wasn't. Sure it had bells and whistles with the big screen and lighting, but on reflection it was the musical content that made it what it was. McCartney actually had to cancel and reschedule his concert in May 2003 because of a throat infection which only let him down on the soundcheck - no safety vocals on hard drive here, it was all live. He came back and did the gig a few weeks later and was awesome and I use the word in it's true sense.

Before anyone has a go at me I can tell you that I'm not alone in my thoughts, I gig on a regular basis and I make it my business to get a lot of feedback from punters about this very subject and although The Shadows are liked, it is clear that Cliff isn't liked as much and I often get folks asking why I bother with his songs. Others enjoy them but I can see a disturbing pattern that seems widespread, Cliff has a core of people who love him, but there is a bigger percentage who don't.
I still enjoy a lot of his music and I often get into arguments in his defence, but my findings are that he is clearly not the cup of tea of the majority.
Cest la vie.

[ecca]

You naughty naughty boy Robbo.
I agree,
Yes, McCartney is the man.
Still full of imagination.

[LindaW]

'Cliff has a core of people who love him, but there is a bigger percentage who don't'.

Strange then that he is most successful artist bar none in the British singles charts and that he is still massively successful with his concerts, dvds, books and calendars!!

As a Cliff (and Shadows) fan I can't believe you can say that he doesn't have many credible hits! In your opinion or taste may be but just thinking of the following examples off the top of my head, I don't see how you can say that: 'Move It', 'Please Don't Tease', 'The Next Time'. 'Don't Talk to Him', 'Blue Turns to Grey', 'The Day I met Marie', 'Silvery Rain', 'The Joy of Living', 'Devil Woman', 'Miss You Nights', 'Carrie', 'We Don't Talk Any more', 'I Just Don't Have the Heart', 'Some People', 'What Car'....just too many different types of songs to mention.

I suppose as a huge Shadows fan you are very into the musical and technical side of things. Granted Cliff hasn't written many of his own hits. But he can write. Have you ever heard 'La Gonave'. A song he wrote about an island off Haiti where the people are destitute? It's really quite good.

Anyway I find it strange that quite a lot of Shadows fans can be do disparaging of Cliff. I know it's not true now but certainly in the first few years of their time together Cliff and the Shadows really needed each other and it worked. They helped each other form the basis of their future careers. How else could that brilliant reunion tour in 09/10 have been so extraordinarily successful?

[JimN]

'Cliff has a core of people who love him, but there is a bigger percentage who don't'.

Strange then that he is most successful artist bar none in the British singles charts and that he is still massively successful with his concerts, dvds, books and calendars!!

Not really. There isn't a musical artiste in history of whom one could not say "... has a core of people who love him, but there is a bigger percentage who don't...".

Music is a minority interest and any artiste can only hope to have a minority of that minority as a fanbase. Even Elvis Presley. Even The Beatles (though the Fab Four must come the nearest to being an exception to the rule).

Anyway I find it strange that quite a lot of Shadows fans can be do disparaging of Cliff.

It's always been that way and isn't hard to understand. Whilst this isn't a hard and fast rule and there were plenty of exceptions, the basic split was always between female fans of Cliff Richard and male fans of The Shadows. So it was fifty+ years ago and so it is today. Actually, it was part of what made them (collectively) such a formidable commercial force.

I've always collected Cliff Richard records and have all the early stuff (singles and albums) on CD. But once The Shadows drop out of the picture (1969), Cliff's stuff holds little interest for me. Even so, I do have some of it...

JN

[dave robinson]

Sadly, some folks don't read and understand before making inaccurate statements about what I said.