Cliff Richard - stepping back into the shadows

Dec 15 2008 By Kate Whiting

Cliff Richard is reuniting with The Shadows for the 80th anniversary of the Royal Variety Performance, which screens on BBC One on Wednesday December 17. The music legend talks about reforming with his band and the secrets of his 50-year showbiz career.

In fact, he's been there for the last 50 years - the only UK act to chart in five consecutive decades since his 1958 debut Move It shot to No 2.

Cliff's just about to reunite with his former backing band, The Shadows, for the 80th anniversary of the Royal Variety Performance, which will be on BBC One on December 17, before they tour next year.

He's also celebrating his 50 years in showbiz with the launch of his Time Machine Tour DVD.

He's such a living legend that I'm unusually nervous about meeting him.

There's almost too much to talk about and I'm just wondering where to start when I'm ushered in to see him in a private room of a Christmas-decorated London club.

The years have been very kind to Cliff, now 68, and he still looks every bit the popstar. As we shake hands, I feel like I'm in the presence of pop royalty - and suddenly there's my opener.

"You'll always be the king of the Christmas No 1 to me," I say, gushing ever so slightly.

"I'm not really," he replies, in those soft, instantly recognisable tones. "I've only ever had two Christmas songs at No 1 and in 50 years only four times was I No 1 in the Christmas period, so it's not like I have a monopoly on it."

But surely he'd like to be up there again?

"X Factor has kind of collared that market," admits Cliff, after a moment's reflection.

"It's almost impossible to get to No 1 now unless you win the competition. But if I found a song like Mistletoe And Wine again, the same kind of feeling, something that would grab everybody, I would happily compete with the X Factor and I would do everything to stop them from getting to No 1.

"It may not be possible though because it's a very difficult thing to fight against people who are on TV every week. It's tough."

Cliff will be on TV soon enough, when he joins the like of Take That, the Pussycat Dolls, Leona Lewis and Britain's Got Talent winner George Sampson for the annual Royal Variety Performance.

Like Sir Cliff, the show has become something of a British institution over the last 80 years and he has appeared on it a fair few times, starting in 1960 at just 20 years old, when it was still known as the Royal Command Performance.

"I still call it the Royal Command - I like the idea of a Royal Command, with The Queen saying 'you will be there'," says a chuckling Cliff.

"They're always special those shows, because you know that you've been chosen to be amongst these other artists that you've admired and you respect.

"And I'm a great fan of royals anyway. I know they've had a tough time recently, but I like the idea of having a royal family."

Sir Cliff certainly seems to be a favourite with the royals too, having met Her Royal Highness on numerous occasions over the years, including, of course, the time she made him a knight at Buckingham Palace.

"I have even met her privately, I got invited once to have lunch at the palace and there were only 12 people," he says.

"She's far more up-to-date about things than people think. The fact she doesn't walk through Tesco doesn't mean she doesn't know what's happening. She really does know and she talks about the drug situation and what's happening in Zimbabwe. She's very enlightened."

As for Cliff and The Shadows' royal reunion, Cliff admits they haven't actually rehearsed yet, but he's sure the old magic will still be there.

"We were always very easy-going," he says.

"Bruce Welch is very funny, I always think he's the king of the one-liners and we laugh a lot."

The idea for their reunion came about as part of Cliff's 50 years in showbiz anniversary celebrations.

"It was obvious that if The Shadows and I could get together, that would be the icing on the cake because we started together 50 years ago. The other three all live in different areas and do different things, but we finally got together and we can do it," he says.

"We're actually on tour together next September, so the Royal Variety Performance will be a fantastic opportunity to say to everybody 'look, here we are together again. Maybe for the last time, so if you want to see us, get out there!'"

Cliff Richard was actually born Harry Rodger Webb in India. His parents moved to Britain when he was seven.

In his late teens he became the Elvis-styled lead singer of a rock and roll group called The Drifters, which would later become Cliff Richard and The Shadows.

For the next 10 years, the group enjoyed huge chart success, with hits like Living Doll and Bachelor Boy. They also starred in films like Summer Holiday and The Young Ones.

In 1968, Cliff and The Shadows went their separate ways, the same year that Cliff narrowly missed out on winning the Eurovision Song Contest with Congratulations.

Over the years, Cliff has remained a committed Christian and confirmed bachelor, sparking media speculation over his sexuality.

He recently said he likes the fact that he's still "an enigma" to the press.

His knighthood in 1995 marked the first time a pop artist had been given such an honour and he admits it's still the highlight of his career to date.

"I never thought I would be in the running for that," he says.

"I'm a pop singer. Knighthoods went to politicians and actors and suddenly I became the first pop singer to get a knighthood and it was a complete shock, so out of the blue, but I love it."

It's almost strange to think Sir Cliff and The Shadows are on the same line-up as the likes of overnight talent show successes Leona Lewis and George Sampson at the Royal Variety Performance, but then as he says, talent shows are not new.

"We used to have Opportunity Knocks, so it's not a new thing, it's just that this has become so big now. You know, by creating a six months show, the person that wins that competition is a household name before they've even recorded.

"Leona Lewis was known by everybody before she ever made her first record. And that's good because who'd have thought that she was wandering around Britain somewhere able to sing like that. Only time will tell whether she has the desire or the ability to stick around."

The past 50 years have no doubt given Cliff a chance to think about what drives him and how he has managed to achieve such showbiz longevity.

"You have to work at it," he says. "You can't just assume you're going to make a record and will all happen by itself, it doesn't. But most importantly, you have to love what you're doing. Then of course, even the tough parts are bearable because you're doing what you want to do.

"I've done all I want to do, but like any art form, you never get to be perfect, but you try," he continues.

"So it never stops, it never stops, you always want to try and get that little bit better and improve all the time."

SIR CLIFF RICHARD - EXTRA TIME

Sir Cliff has had 14 No 1 singles in the UK, including three Christmas No 1s - Mistletoe And Wine, Saviour's Day and The Millenium Prayer.

In 1986 he teamed up with The Young Ones, played by Rik Mayall and co, to re-record his hit Living Doll for Comic Relief.

Ten years later, he turned his hand to the West End stage, playing the eponymous character in Heathcliff the musical.

By the summer, he was entertaining the drenched spectators on Wimbledon's Centre Court with an impromptu singalong.

Besides music and tennis, Cliff also has a long-standing love affair with Portugal and he owns a vineyard near Albufeira. He memorably drank his own wine in a blind tasting on Gordon Ramsay's The F-Word and was not too impressed.