Associated With. He was extremely rich and had servants while growing up in India. One of Sir Cliff’s achievements includes matching the Spice Girls and the Beatles for having the most Christmas number one singles. Follow Metro across our social channels, on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. This means that he has a 'Sir' in front of his name. His name Richard comes from Little Richard. In his autobiography, Richard stressed that ‘sex is not one of the things that drives me’ but he has also opened up about past relationships. Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. In 1948, following Indian independence, the family and took a … Her brother Graham Wicks said that the singer once came to the family home in Leeds while the pair were dating, while he was appearing at the city’s Odeon Cinema. He considered leaving rock & roll behind but wound up pursuing a parallel career, performing secular material and religious work elsewhere, occasionally headlining Christian films. In November 2013, Richard released his latest album, The Fabulous Rock 'n' Roll Songbook.This is his 100th album. https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/cliff-richard-3724.php The letter resurfaced following Delia’s death in 2010 from cancer, aged 71. Cliff has spent four Christmases at number one; two as a solo act, one with his band The Shadows and one as part of Band Aid. ‘There’s always been a question that he was a bit AC/DC,” he added, referring to persistent rumours over Sir Cliff’s sexuality, “but I can assure you he wasn’t. Throughout the early '60s, the singles and albums came quickly, and so did the films. His father, Rodger Oscar, worked for a catering contractor employed by Indian Railways and the Webb family remained in India until the country gained its independence from Britain in 1948. Let us know what you think of the Last.fm website. In 1957, he formed his own band Quintones vocal group, prior to joining the Dick Teague Skiffle Group. This lack of stateside success was easy to ignore as Richard was not only the biggest recording star of the early '60s in the U.K. -- from 1960 to 1965, every one of his singles reached the Top 10, with "The Young Ones," "The Next Time," "Bachelor Boy," "Summer Holiday," and "The Minute You're Gone" all reaching number one -- he was also a huge movie star; 1961's The Young Ones confirmed his silver screen appeal, and 1963's Summer Holiday and 1964's Wonderful Life were also equally popular. Sir Cliff Richard, OBE (born Harry Rodger Webb, 14 October 1940) is a British singer, musician and actor.He is the only male solo artist to have had number one singles in the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. And They Said It Wouldn't Last: My 50 Years in Music. He had a room at The Queens Hotel. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); You have entered an incorrect email address! In a letter reported on by the Telegraph, Sir Cliff Richard wrote to his first love, Delia Wicks, telling her he had to choose music over love. He was born to parents Rodger Oscar Webb, a manager for a catering contractor, and Dorothy Marie Dazley. His single ‘Living Doll’ was a hugely popular song which topped the UK Singles Chart two times selling 2,000,000 copies worldwide. It was also released as an audiobook. Born on October 14, 1940, Cliff turned 80 this year. 2 on UK charts. Throughout the early '70s, Richard was a show biz fixture -- in addition to It's Cliff Richard (which morphed into It's Cliff and Friends in 1975), he appeared on BBC's Pop Go the Sixties and other television shows, including hosting early rounds of Eurovision -- but the hits slowed to a trickle; only 1973's "Power to All Our Friends" matched any of his '60s hits in popularity, becoming his first single since "Congratulations" to be awarded Silver certification. By then The Drifters turned into The Shadows. He remained one of the top most singers throughout the 1980s, with most of his songs peaking at no.1. Besides Delia, Sir Cliff was romantically linked to tennis champ Sue Barker for a time in the early 80s. Between late 1958 and early 1959 he came up with ‘High Class Baby’ and ‘Livin' Lovin' Doll’. On being asked about this, he said “I've had a few false alarms. In 1980, he recorded a duet, ‘Suddenly’, with Olivia Newton-John, which peaked at no. [4], From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, "Sir Cliff Richard in numbers and quotes: Everything you need to know about 73-year-old Bachelor Boy", "Sir Cliff Richard 'prays for his enemies' and says there would be fewer wars if people were more spiritual", "Sir Cliff Richard's Berkshire property searched by police", "Sir Cliff Richard interviewed by police over assault claim", https://simple.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cliff_Richard&oldid=6441029, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. He teamed with some of America’s most popular R&B and soul singers to record the album ‘Soulicious’ in 2011, which was released in October that year. 'Move It' was a classic British Rock 'n' Roll song, peaked at number two, and was followed by a long string of hits like 'Living Doll' and 'Please Don't Tease'. He also made his last film appearance in 1973 movie ‘Take Me High’. Connect your Spotify account to your Last.fm account and scrobble everything you listen to, from any Spotify app on any device or platform. "Schoolboy Crush" was planned as the A-side with "Move It" as its flip, but momentum built for the raucous B-side and, soon, the record galloped to number two on the U.K. singles chart. siblings: Donella Webb, Jacqueline Ann Webb, Joan Webb, education: St. Thomas' Church School, Howrah, Cheshunt School, awards: 1977 - Brit Awards for Best British male solo artist 1982 - Brit Awards for Best British male solo artist 1989 - Brit Awards for Lifetime achievement, 1980 - TV Times Award for Most Exciting Male Singer on TV 1987- TV Times Award for Best Male Singer 1989 - TV Times Award for Favorite Singer 1970 - The Sun Reader Polls Male Pop Personality 1971 - The Sun Reader Polls Top Male Pop Personality 1972 - The Sun Reader Polls Top Male Pop Personality 1958 - NME Reader Polls Best New Disc or TV Singer 1959 - NME Reader Polls UK Male Singer 1959 - NME Reader Polls Best Single 1960 - NME Reader Polls Best UK Single 1961 - NME Reader Polls UK Male Singer 1962 - NME Reader Polls UK Male Singer 1963 - NME Reader Polls UK Male Singer 1963 - NME Reader Polls Best World Male Singer 1964 - NME Reader Polls UK Male Singer 1964 - NME Reader Polls UK Vocal Personality 1965 - NME Reader Polls UK Male Singer 1966 - NME Reader Polls UK Male Singer 1966 - NME Reader Polls UK Vocal Personality 1967 - NME Reader Polls UK Vocal Personality 1968 - NME Reader Polls UK Vocal Personality 1969 - NME Reader Polls British Vocal Personality 1970 - NME Reader Polls UK Male Singer 1970 - NME Reader Polls UK Vocal Personality 1970 - NME Reader Polls World's Best Recording Artist of the '60s 1971 - NME Reader Polls UK Male Singer 1971 - NME Reader Polls British Vocal Personality 1972 - NME Reader Polls UK Male Singer 1972 - NME Reader Polls British Vocal Personality 1968 - Ivor Novello Awards for Most Performed Work 1970 - Ivor Novello Awards for Outstanding Services to Music 1959 - Melody Makers Best Male Singer 1960 - Melody Makers Top British Male Singer 1962 - The Emen Award for Top male singer 1962 - Melody Makers Top British Male Singer 1962 - Melody Maker Top single of the year 1963 - Melody Maker Best Male Singer 1964 - Melody Maker Best Male Singer 1965 - Melody Maker Best UK Male Singer 1967- Melody Maker Top Male Singer 1967 - Disc & Music Echo Award for Best-Dressed Male 1968 - Disc & Music Echo Award for Best-Dressed Male 1969 - Disc & Music Echo Award for Best-Dressed Male 1970 - Disc & Music Echo Award for Top British Male Singer 1970 - Disc & Music Echo Award for Best-Dressed Male 1970 - Disc & Music Echo Award for Mr. Valentine 1971 - Disc & Music Echo Award for Mr. Valentine 1964 - Bravo Magazine Award for Best Male Singer Gold 1964 - Bravo Magazine Award for Year End Singles Charts 1965 - Bravo Magazine Award for Year Best Male Singer Gold 1980 - Bravo Magazine Award for Top International Male Singer 1964 - Record Mirror Polls Award for Best-Dressed Singer in the World 1961 - Royal Variety Club Award for Show Business Personality 1961 - Weekend Magazine Award for Star of Stars 1962 - Motion Picture Herald Box’s Most Popular Male Film Actor 1963 - Motion Picture Herald Box’s Most Popular Male Film Actor 1963 - 16 US Magazine Award for Most Promising Singer 1964 - Billboard US Magazine Award for Best Recording Artist UK 1969 - Valentine Magazine Award for Mr. ValentineAward 1970 – National Viewers' and Listeners' Association Award for Outstanding Contribution to Religious Broadcasting and Light Entertainment 1971 - Record Mirror Award for UK Male Singer 1974 - Silver Clef for Outstanding Services to the Music Industry 1977 - Golden Badge Award 1979 - Music Week Special Award for 21 years as successful recording artistes 1979 - EMI Records Gold Clock and Gold Key award 1980 - Richard receives O.B.E. He leads a busy life and his sisters are only surviving family, after the deaths of his parents. Cliff Richard was born Harry Rodger Webb in Lucknow, which was then part of British India. [bold]Sir Cliff Richard reveals identity of his male companion[/bold] Legendary pop singer Sir Cliff Richard has revealed that he has shared his life with a former Roman Catholic priest for the last seven years. 80 Year Old #13. Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb, 1940-10-14, in Lucknow, India) moved as an 8-year-old to the UK, where it would be 10 more years before he and his group The Drifters emerged in the UK charts for the first time with 'Move It'. Cliff Richard was born Harry Rodger Webb in in Lucknow, which was then part of British India. It was followed by another hit number ‘The Day I Met Marie’ in 1967, which also appeared in UK music charts. The name of the band was later changed to ‘The Shadows’. Till now, he was not very received in the U.S. and his fame was limited to Britain only. He was intrigued by skiffle and was given a guitar by his father when he was a teenager. The next pivotal year in Richard's career was 1968, the year when he represented the U.K. in the Eurovision contest with the song "Congratulations," and when the Shadows disbanded. I didn't do drugs. His popularity took a hit in 1964 once Beatlemania kicked in and a wave of guitar groups flooded the British charts. He was raised with … If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. ‘After the show he came to my mum and dad’s for tea and stayed till later on at night. He performed the United Kingdom entry at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1968 and in 1973. His father, Rodger Oscar, worked for a catering contractor employed by Indian Railways and the Webb family remained in India until the country gained its … A quick succession of groups came and went -- he formed the Quintones in 1957 and joined the Dick Teague Skiffle Group before settling with a U.K. group called the Drifters, who became popular enough to attract the attention of manager Harry Greatorex. Cliff Richard was born Harry Rodger Webb in Lucknow, India on October 14, 1940; Lucknow was then part of the British Empire. This is his 100th album. Know more about Richard’s life and career in the article below. Richard gamely tried to follow the trends, covering Mick Jagger and Keith Richards' "Blue Turns to Grey" in 1966, but this period is distinguished by his public declaration in 1964 that he was a Christian. The Album’, a compilation of his old and new songs, was released on the 12th of November 2007. The most sold artist in British Pop history - with over 40 top hits. The singer continued his relationship with Hank Marvin, with the guitarist appearing regularly on the variety show It's Cliff Richard, which premiered in 1970 and ran until 1976.