On the 14th of October 1940 in Lucknow India Rodger Oscar Webb and his his wife, Dorothy Marie, had a son, Harry Rodger Webb. Following India’s Independence in 1948, the family returned to England and settled in Carshalton, an area I know well.
Many years ago a friend of mine was playing in a skiffle band, which young Harry joined. He was a darn nuisance, my friend told me. “He wanted to play rock ‘n’ roll and we were definitely not interested in that, so we asked him to leave”. My friend’s skiffle band went where most such bands went – nowhere. Harry changed his name to Cliff Richards – and the rest, as they say, is history.
Boadicea's Chariot 
There has been a lot in the press leading up to today, Cliff at 70 etc. Way back in the 60’s I joined his fan club, like you do, along with a few others that girls, in the age of swooning, did.
I like very little of his songs I’m afraid, some being almost embarrassing, especially when viewing his rendition of ‘power to the world’…..If you haven’t seen it, don’t watch it, you’ll cringe. As for his film, Summer holiday, oh dear, yuk. He should have retired after ‘Move it’, possibly his best. Having said all that, he’s bloody good for his age, and if truthful, probably a nice guy.
Sorry, I meant ‘Power to all our friends’ Get ready to cringe, I hope this clip works.
I picked up the story from the Telegraph:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/8061961/The-night-Cliff-Richard-tipped-me-over-the-edge.html
And I thought that it would be a bit different from my usual “On This Day” posts!
It is Boa, and a good one to choose because, whatever one may think of Cliff as a singer and performer, you can’t help but like and admire him, in a sort of odd way. He was brave to perform that bloody awful song for Eurovision, but even braver to perform those cringe making moves. I recall the Shadows speaking later “Oh my god, I can’t watch it”
Happy Birthday Cliff.
I’m having trouble listening to it – but that’s probably this end not yours! And having heard the first verse, I think I’ll take your original advice and give it a miss!
I can’t say I was ever overly enthusiastic, but I do admire any of those who can stick it out for this long, especially those who seem to have steered clear of the drug scene.
Excellent Bearsy, I love it.
Corrigendum – he’s a singular singer this Richard!
Val, those movies were not cringe-making at the time! O tempora, o mores, gal! 🙂
I quite liked Mr Richard, but I really liked the Shadows (nee Drifters). Quite a few later guitar stars admitted that Hank Marvin was their first influence. If only I could have afforded a Strat in those far off days! Now I can, but my fingers are too mangled from years of Rugby to play it very well.
One of a number of Anglo-Indian singers, which include Freddie Mercury, Norah Jones, and Englebert Humperdinck, whose mother, Olive Dorsey, was a secretary in our London office.
Cliff Richard for some reason best known to him, used to go to great lengths to deny his Angl-Indian heritage, claiming to have been born in India, “as my parents happened to be there at the time”, but apparently he is less reticent in recent times.
I always presumed he was a raving poofter that kept it well under wraps.
All those singers in the sixties used to look so greasy and unappealing.
Always much better heard than seen! And much improved after a sufficiency of mind numbing alcohol.
Never understood all those women screaming.
70 today!
Congratulations Sir Cliff 😉
(Okay, somebody had to say it :))
Great story Boa about the band that turned down Sir Cliff – and as for Bearsy’s Hank Marvin…well LOL!!!!
I thought he was just ok, a bit mainstream and bland, I thought, until I went to a very small concert he gave at Gorsley Baptist Church on the Glos Hereford border. He was friends with the minister, the Rev Pat Goodland and the gig was to raise funds for the church and the Tear Fund.
My opinion of him changed completely. He sat there with his acoustic guitar – and he was brilliant. Relaxed, under-stated and absolutely spot-on musically. He stayed for tea and biscuits with the crowd afterwards and signed anything anyone wanted to give him. A true professional and very generous guy.
Still not to my taste but you have to credit true musicianship and canny marketing over a lifetime!
And none of you recorded that today was also the birthday of Baroness Thatcher, the greatest Prime Minister we have had snce Churchill.
So there!
OZ