Cliff Richard (and the Drifters)

[Iain Purdon]

Here's a question that occupied me and my bandmate over a lunchtime session yesterday. Who decided to market the act as Cliff Richard and the Drifters/Shadows rather than just as Cliff Richard? Did that decision trigger extra interest in the backing group and hence its subsequent success in its own right? Oh, while you're at it, how long is a piece of string?

Iain

[donna plasky]

Hi, Iain. I took a glance at Cliff's autobiography, and he says something about this. It seems that at some point in 1958, the group had decided to call themselves The Drifters (Cliff does not say how they decided upon the word Drifters, as opposed to something else), but the whole group was The Drifters. Their was intentionally no frontman in the name. One day the group met a chap named Harry Greatorex who wanted to book them to perform at a ballroom in Ripley (Derbyshire). Greatorex told them he wanted them to use a frontman's name. Greatorex suggested Harry Webb and The Drifters. Cliff did not like the idea of using his real name; he didn't think it had the right sound to it. But having a frontman's name was a deal-breaker for this gig, so they got together for a brainstorming session to think of a stage name. They tried different names like Russ Clifford, Cliff Russard, Cliff Richards, and then finally Cliff Richard. So, they called themselves Cliff Richard and The Drifters.

Best wishes,
Donna

[RayL]

From Bruce's autobiography,

" . . . Ian Samwell added the finishing touch when he suggested that the name should be Richard without the 's'. He figured that people would be sure to get the name wrong at first and call him Cliff Richards. 'Cliff could then make a point of correcting them,' he said, 'Then on radio and television he'll get the name mentioned twice.' "

Ray

[Iain Purdon]

Quite right both, but not quite what we were wondering.

Elvis Presley was sold as Elvis Presley, not stressing backing musicians and singers, such as Scotty Moore and the Jordanaires.
Cliff Richard could, having had chart success with Move It, have been sold as Cliff alone. But the Drifters, later Shadows, always got a mention. Who decided that, I wonder?

[neil2726]

I think it was Cliff! He sems to have always been instrumental (no pun) in ensuring his backing group got the same exposure as he did. He sugested that Norrie Paramour gave them a recording test and as we know actually played on Apache.
It appears Cliff was happy to be part of a team and not just a Star front man!

[strongbow]

I wouldn’t go overboard on the “part of a team” bit.

If you actually revisit the materials from the time – such as old copies of the NME – you’ll find that Cliff was promoted and reported as a solo star, not as a singer in a group. For instance, the NME charts for records like Living Doll, Travellin’ Light et al simply ascribed them to “Cliff Richard.” Ditto for EMI promotional material. As for feature stories, they were about Cliff, not about a team or a group. And as Hank & Bruce have noted, for the first several years they were simply Cliff’s employees, being paid a weekly wage.

Now it is true that Cliff facilitated a degree of attention for the Drifters far in excess of what Marty Wilde did for the Wildcats or Tommy Steele did for the Steelemen. But that sponsorship only went so far. He was still the solo star.

Even after the group earned its own star status following Apache, there was still a distinction. For instance, if you look at concert posters through the 1960s you won’t find a single act called “Cliff Richard and the Shadows” being promoted. You’ll find two separate, albeit closely associated, acts.

[neil2726]

Take your point Strongbow, but whatever they were promoted as I feel Cliff was just one of the team in his own mind. Paid employees the others certainly were, and they were promoted by Managers and Agents as two seperate acts following the Shads solo hits. I dont ever recall Cliff treating the others as just his backing band.

[roninnes]

From "The Shadows by Themselves" page 44
"We (Hank and Bruce) played our first date at the Victoria Hall, Hanley. Cliff's backing group then was called "The Drifters" It included Ian Samwell, Terry Smart on drums.
Jet played bass for the Most Brothers. It wasn't long before Jet joined Cliff on stage and played with Ian Samwell as an extra bass.

So it appears that "The Drifters" already existed.

Page 46
The first public appearance of Cliff Richard and The Drifters January 1959 at the Free Trade Hall, Manchester.
It seems rather than someone coming up with the name it was already there and evolved into what we know today.

Ron

[roninnes]

So now I am in the Cliff book "Its Great to be Young"
Page 38
"There aren't many "pop" boys who feel as strongly as I do about this group business: in the beginning it nearly cost me a couple of jobs but there are certain things in life it's worth fighting forif you believe strongly enough in them. Today we are an act - it has always been Cliff Richard and his group (Drifters, Shadows, whatever they may be called) and that's how it's going to remain.

Interesting

Ron

[Didier]

From "The Shadows by Themselves" page 44
"We (Hank and Bruce) played our first date at the Victoria Hall, Hanley. Cliff's backing group then was called "The Drifters" It included Ian Samwell, Terry Smart on drums.
Jet played bass for the Most Brothers. It wasn't long before Jet joined Cliff on stage and played with Ian Samwell as an extra bass.

So it appears that "The Drifters" already existed.

That's right, and when "Move it" was recorded, Terry Smart on drums and Ian Samwell on rythm guitar were there as the Drifters, with the addition of two session musicians : Ernie Shear on lead guitar and Frank Clarke on double bass.
But these session musicians were not available for Cliff's first tour, this is why Hank and Bruce were hired to join the Drifters, Ian Samwell then taking the bass.
Soon after the end of this tour, Cliff decided to keep the Drifters as his permanent backing group, but Ian Samwell was asked to leave in favor of Jet Harris.
Not long after Terry Smart decided to leave and was replaced by Tony Meehan. They remained the Drifters, until they had to change their name as the Shadows...

Didier