In 1963, the entire UK Music scene was
turned upside down by the appearance of The Beatles, and Stones, and a whole wealth of British Groups, especially from England's'
North. The future would never be the same again, and the scribes of all the Rock'n'Roll
papers and journals summed it up as they always would from now on, by saying the "future
starts here". Those in the know, including the Beatles themselves knew different.
Much-maligned now in 2012, Cliff Richard from Chesthunt Herts, had already
conquered the Rock'n'Roll world outside America since 1958, AND HE WAS GOOD. After Rock first hit the UK in 1956, British kids had little with which to compete except a little thing called, "skiffle". This was home-made rock for
post-war kids who had nothing. A broom-handle bass, and washboard, plus guitar and kazoo made
for a frantic sound led by the great Lonnie Donnegan. But Teddyboys & Rockers were more into
the hard stuff, and by 1958 there was still nothing to go round...
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Cut to Soho in London, and a bar called the "Two-I's".
This was a small coffee-bar which became the ORIGINAL Cavern Club of the UK.
Between 1957-59, this was the place which became an absolute haven for budding new Rock'n'Roll
talent....including a young Cliff Richard. Standing at 6 feet, Cliff already had a following of his
own by the time he was 17 by 1958. Hanging out with him then were his friends, Norman Mitham, Ian
Samwell and Terry Smart. Together, they scored with a song of Samwell's named "MOVE IT!" that
fall.
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Cliff had been
signed to EMI from an option, and been placed under the secure care of producer
Norrie Paramor -
then thought to be the BEST in Britain. "MOVE IT!" soared to No.2 and not only
began Cliff's career, but also became the first (and still in 2012 one of the best) Rock songs in
England. But with success as big as this came the need for a road band...and
Cliff's Drifters were just not up to it. For Cliff....a man who was quite obviously set for a lengthy stay at the top - only the very best would do.
Cliff's first manager was daytime plumber, John Foster and it was he who then
recruited Hank B. Marvin on Lead Guitar, Bruce Welch on Rhythm Guitar, Jet Harris on Bass Guitar, and Tony
Meehan on Drums...soon to become known the world over as The Shadows. From hereonin, they went onto regard
themselves just as ONE five-piece band, with Cliff - by his own admission - no
bigger or smaller than anyone else.
As 1958 then became '59, Cliff and his
new band then spent practically every week either on the road or in the Studio. The Shads all dressed in identical suits, adopted a soul-type
cross-over step routine and Cliff bought for Hank his first Fender Stratocaster from America. Things were moving.
Yet it wasn't until they recorded
the single "LIVING DOLL" in July 1959, that they equalled the success of "MOVE
IT!", the previous year.
"LIVING DOLL" then went onto make No.1 in the UK Charts alone for 7 consecutive
weeks...remaining on the Charts for eight months into 1960. The crucial turning
point was that "LIVING DOLL" was NOT strictly Rock'n'Roll but Rock-as-country.
Sadly this was when many began to say that Cliff was selling out Rock, but such
was not the case.
In fact, what Cliff and the lads HAD done was to realise that to move forward,
sometimes you have to open it up a bit, and in so doing they achieved a huge
crossover audience in the process. The same scribes never questioned The Beatles
years later when they did "YESTERDAY", or the Stones with "LADY JANE"
.
1960 soon appeared, and by then Cliff was ready to make his first big film and
scored a worthy sequel to "LIVING DOLL" in "TRAVELLIN' LIGHT". The year
kicked-off in fine style with Cliff scoring a huge double-whammy from his new
film, titled "Expresso Bongo" (in which Cliff played a budding Rock star)
- with
an accompanying E.P. as well as a No.2 Single, entitled "A VOICE IN THE
WILDERNESS".
In fact, in 1960 Cliff could do no wrong with following singles,
"WILLIE AND THE HAND-JIVE", "PLEASE DON'T TEASE", and "NINE TIMES OUT OF TEN"
all achieving similar status. In fact, any "threat" at all was to come from his
erstwhile Shadows, when they finally scored with their FIRST Chart single in
"APACHE".
The Shadows finally scoring with "APACHE" that Summer in 1960, was the final
part for the Cliff/Shadows story finally coming into place - but it was to be
much more than that. When "APACHE" scored it became the spark which ignited the
biggest guitar-buying epidemic EVER to hit the UK. All of a sudden, every
mother's son wanted to be in a Rock'n'Roll group - and The Shadows were the
originals!
As 1960 became 1961, Cliff - now
accompanied by his increasingly-popular Shadows seemed invincible. Always at the
top of the Charts, and playing to crowds which frequently needed ambulances to
wheel away besotted girls. If the boys weren't at No.1, then they were seldom
far from it. Later that year, they made "THE YOUNG ONES" movie, and The Shadows
scored No.1 with "KON-TIKI" Single, as well as their first Album and EP's. In
fact, there is no doubt that in 1961, Shads sales easily outstripped Cliff
sales. That year in 1961, serious Rock such as "TOUGH ENOUGH", the excellent
Welch/Marvin composition "SHAME ON YOU", "WHAT'D I SAY" and 'UNCHAINED MELODY"
were instantly dismissed by producer Norrie Paramor in place of softer songs
such as "THEME FOR A DREAM" & "A GIRL LIKE YOU", in his mission to wean Cliff
away from his beloved Rock'n'Roll. Whereas few would complain that for
longevity, Cliff did need to broaden his singles output, he WAS and always
should have been a Rock Star first, and Paramor (who was busy making lotsa money
off his share of Cliff's sales) should have known this. The Shadows meanwhile
had no such problems, and moody Rockers such as "F.B.I.", "THE FRIGHTENED CITY"
& "THE SAVAGE" had no trouble making the Top Ten throughout the year. Later that
year in September they went onto dominate ALL THREE UK Charts at once, by
becoming No.1 in the Singles Charts with "KON-TIKI", No.1 in the EP Charts with
"THE SHADOWS TO THE FORE", and No.1 in the LP Charts with "THE SHADOWS"
(1st.Album), ALL simultaneously. The latter went onto becoming a major turning
point in the bedrooms of many a young budding guitarists life that year, as well
as the one and only LP to feature the line-up of Hank, Bruce, Jet & Tony. It
included a variety of tracks from their beautiful version of "SLEEPWALK", to
originals like "SHADOOGIE", "NIVRAM" & "SEE YOU IN MY DRUMS" - the latter two
featuring messrs Harris & Meehan to their fullest degree and showing just why
they were so popular within the band!
1962 arrived, and it was a year which
turned out to be one of many changes, and for some...the year that The Shads in
particular lost their soul. It began with drummer Brian Bennett replacing Tony
Meehan as "THE YOUNG ONES" continued to do the rounds in Cinemas and the single
stayed 5 weeks at the top in Britain alone. Not one for the limelight, Bennett's
style was less frantic and more flowery that Meehan's yet he did go onto be a
valuable asset. Losing Bassist, Jet Harris would prove a far bigger obstacle for
The Shadows to get over.
That Spring they scored 9 weeks at No.1
with the quite revolutionary "WONDERFUL LAND" single, only for Jet to leave just
as they played the NME Poll Winner's Gig that year. Harris in particular had
many fans and there were many who in some ways felt he was irreplaceable.
Perhaps they were right. Anyway, in came Bennett's friend, Brian "Licorice"
Locking on Bass. No disrespect to Locking - his playing was always good - but he
failed to have any kind of Rock'n'Roll credentials like Harris (whom for
instance always bleached his hair) - and to many seemed more like a face to fill
a void. But again, in 1962 The travelling Shadows and Cliff could do now wrong,
as Cliff then took driving lessons for a London Bus....
By the New Year of 1963, England was caught well and truly in the grip of the
coldest most devastating Winter since 1939!
That January - as The Beatles entered the Charts with "PLEASE PLEASE ME"
heralding the UK Beat Boom (and the ensuing British Invasion of North America) -
The Shadows headed at No.1 with "DANCE ON!" and Cliff starred in "SUMMER
HOLIDAY" - indeed his biggest film.
As Hank Marvin was to say later, he always felt that the bubble would burst at
some point, yet that year in 1963 Cliff was actually the biggest selling artiste
in the whole world, with Elvis second and The Shads third!
Yet 1963 was a frantic year, and this
was just the beginning. By the end of it, Rock was on a new track (Mod), and The
Shadows had lost Locking for their third and most adept Bassist, John Rostill.
That Xmas, Cliff (for the second time that year. The FIRST being just three
months prior, when The Beatles were at No.1 with "SHE LOVES YOU", and Cliff was
at 2 with "IT'S ALL IN THE GAME"); chased The Beatles up to No.1,
himself occupying the No.2 spot, this time with "DON'T TALK TO HIM". Yet four
months on the Charts could not push 'I WANT TO HOLD YOUR HAND" from the Top
Spot.
From 1964, Cliff & The Shads had to get
used to a new order of them being THIRD on the block to The Beatles and Stones
(not counting the rest) - yet none of them were phased. Cliff went on record
taking it all in his stride. The media tried hard to play it up as tho Cliff and
the lads were finished - IGNORING (if they ever knew) the fact that it was well
known in the business that both the Cliff camp and The Beatles camp were on good terms. A third big money film, "WONDERFUL LIFE" made it out in 1964, but
its' success was nothing like before and a release which OPENLY competed against
"A HARD DAY'S NIGHT" did it no favours. Yet Cliff retained his following,
especially abroad. The Shadows too remained popular. Now kitted out with British
Burns guitars, they're biggest hit in 1964 was the funky "THE RISE AND FALL OF
FLINGEL BUNT", which scored to No.5 that Summer. But the best was left to the end - in this case, that
Christmas.
Since 1960, both Cliff & The Shadows had been managed by Peter Gormley, more
importantly - they had been under the care of the Grade Organisation, whose Leslie Grade became their
Agent and was responsible for much of their best engagements in the 60's. The
fabled London Palladium was also under the care of the Grade Organisation and in
1964 the two came together when Cliff was booked to play Aladdin in the
Christmas show of the same name, WITH THE SHADOWS WRITING ALL THE MUSIC. This
was indeed a big coup for the group, at a time when they needed to do something
special to show they HADN'T lost it!
"I COULD EASILY (FALL IN LOVE WITH
YOU)" was taken from the soundtrack, as was The Shads hit, "GENIE WITH THE LIGHT
BROWN LAMP" and both saw substantial Chart action that Christmas as The Beatles
hit Top Spot with "I FEEL FINE".
1965 arrived, and as The Beatles made the "HELP" movie, and the Stones charted
with "SATISFACTION"; Cliff & The Shadows engaged in their final year proper of
tours from the old days. Impressive that in '65 they were STILL wowing hordes of
screaming chicks and dashing through canteens to make desperate escapes into
waiting door-mobiles parked nearby outside. Yet as Cliff made a trip to
Nashville Tennessee to record his popular singles that year, "THE MINUTE YOU'RE GONE" & "WIND ME UP (LET ME GO)";
The Shadows took time to begin releasing VOCAL singles as opposed to strictly
instrumentals. Jerry Lordan's "MARY-ANNE" was followed by the Top Ten smash,
"DON'T MAKE MY BABY BLUE" that Summer. Yet the sheer degree of popularity to the
latter, took the band completely by surprise, and they failed to take advantage
by releasing more songs as 45's, as the audience seemed to want after that. Their Christmas offering remained instrumental, in the
shape of "THE WARLORD". Years later in 2012, Marvin confessed to a
conversation he'd had with Beatle George Harrison in 1965, where the Beatle
observed that perhaps they'd do well to consider doing more songs as singles -
something that never actually got off the ground at the time, and that in
retrospect, Marvin admitted it was a lost opportunity (although they DID open up
with more songs on LP's from this point).
As 1966 appeared, The Shadows in
particular were entrenched at the London Palladium writing further West End
scores, and being regarded (albeit with reverence) by their peers as the
Godfathers of the UK Scene. Cliff on the other hand had his future assured.
Despite moving almost entirely away from Rock and into MOR (middle of the road)
in 1965, he proved that he had lost NONE of his fans. Then that Summer in 1966,
disaster struck, as Cliff confessed PUBLICLY before a packed Billy Graham
stadium in Earls Court that he was now a converted Christian. Soon, he was to
want OUT of the business altogether!
That same year, Cliff & The Shadows made
their final movies together ("FINDERS KEEPERS" and a brief appearance in the
puppet film, "THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO!"), before also making their final West End
show, in "Cinderella". As 1967 began, "IN THE COUNTRY" soon became their final
big hit together. An era of British Rock'n'Roll bliss was now unbeknownst to
them, coming to an end.
That year of 1967, saw the Hippie Revolution of America go on to make the road
map for the next few years. But whilst The Beatles went on satellite TV and
released "SGT PEPPER", Cliff moved ever more and more into MOR. He was unsure
how to proceed in Rock as a committed Christian, and wanted to quit.
But quitting was not so easy. His solution? STAY in the buisness but have little
to do with the things around him. Meanwhile, around him, all his friends and
colleagues remained mystified. And none more so than The Shads. Cliff's
temporary announcement earlier in the year that he was quitting the buisness had
led them to taking on a larger workload than usual. But in a world of Acid and
the new sound of Jimi Hendrix, it seemed (to some)
as if even THEY might be becoming MOR. In fact, nothing could
have been further from the truth, but the band were now caught in a trap, where
just a couple of years before the style had still been sharp neatness, now it
was bells, and paisley shirts....and thanks to James Marshall Hendrix an
entirely new guitar style had been unleashed which was to completely change the
music world like never before. In short, time AND POP had caught up with them.
Yet no one who played their albums that year ("JIGSAW" & "FROM HANK, BRUCE,
BRIAN AND JOHN") could have missed such standout Rockers like "TENNESSEE WALTZ"
and "A BETTER MAN THAN I". Or such riotous covers as their versions of "FRIDAY
ON MY MIND" and "LAST TRAIN TO CLARKSVILLE".
Sadly it was all to no avail, as
their contribution to the Summer Of Love that year, the single "TOMORROW'S
CANCELLED" went onto prove in September, when it became the first Shads 45 to
bomb completely. This was indeed a blow, as it was certainly a cut ABOVE much of
their more recent fayre such as "MAROC-7". Yet the public had had their say and
no more Shads 45's were to enter the charts from then until their eventual split
over a year later. For Cliff of course it was still buisness as usual, and
he managed to put THREE more Top Tenners in the Charts that year including,
"IT'S ALL OVER" By Don Everly, "ALL MY LOVE" by Peter Callander, and Hank
Marvin's own "THE DAY I MET MARIE".
1968 arrived. With Cliff representing
Britain in Eurovision (and losing by a single point to Spain) with
"CONGRATULATIONS". To many this seemed the rock bottom of his singing "decline".
To everyone else it was no worse than others at that time. Certainly, Cliff was
always the more trendy of solo singers. Whilst "CONGRATULATIONS" climbed to No.1
all over the world, The Shadows came clean and announced they were to split over
Christmas - as soon as the Ten Year Celebrations with Cliff were over. Personal
problems had rocked the band for some time by now, and they no longer felt like
they had anywhere left to go. Perhaps drummer Brian Bennett's new track "POEM"
summed it all up best - poignant yet pointless, since it was never even
considered for a single. The Shads had simply lost interest. That Summer, they recorded their final LP with
Cliff, "ESTABLISHED 1958", and had their final hit together in "DON'T FORGET TO
CATCH ME". As finales go, it was a fairly muted note to end their time together
upon.
So 1969 - the year of Woodstock - found The
Shadows going their separate ways with Hank Marvin the only member still
performing in public, even scoring a Number One single in Australia in the
excellent "SACHA". Cliff meanwhile divided his time between going totally MOR,
and putting his Christian beliefs FIRST. To do this, he joined a mass of
right-wing religious groups such as the "Festival of Light", and hanging out
with folkie-cum-Christian Cindy Kent. The worst part of it was that he himself
was NOT really that way inclined, he just had this need to feel like he
belonged. In 1970, he got his ratings-winning Saturday night TV show for the
BBC, scoring his first Top Five single since "CONGRATULATIONS" that Summer with
"GOODBYE SAM, HELLO SAMANTHA"; and this is the way it stayed until 1975.
In 1971, Hank Marvin formed the folk
group, Marvin, Welch & Farrar with Bruce and Australian John John Farrar, and
that same year Bruce Welch began producing his girlfriend, Olivia Newton-John as
a bonafide act in her own right. In 1972, she and Bruce split up - as did
Marvin, Welch & Farrar when Bruce had a nervous breakdown; and the following
year in 1973 Cliff was back in Eurovision with "POWER TO ALL OUR FRIENDS". By
this time, the world around them had changed. The Peace Movement had largely
blown itself out, and Britain was in the grip of mass unemployment for the first
time and Cliff's career too was largely in the toilet. Sadly however, he failed
to recognise this point - preferring instead to hide himself away in a shell of
religious fervour, losing more and more of what was left of his audience all the
time.
The infamous Christmas of 1973
came around. A time when the lights in Britain went off as PM Edward Heath
initiated a state of emergency over the current energy crisis. The Shadows and
Cliff too suffered disappointment. As Cliff's final film, "TAKE ME HIGH" bombed
at the box office, and The Shadows said goodbye to their ex-Bassist, John Rostill who had died recently
in an at-home accident when his Amplifier backfired on him.
A planned Shads reunion album named "ROCKIN' WITH CURLY LEADS" was then put off
until April 1974. 1975 arrived, and this time it was The Shadows who represented Britain in
Eurovision with "LET ME BE THE ONE". The song came second on the night, and
Charted to No.12 in the UK Charts. But there were no long-term plans and they
played just a few UK gigs and some French ones before calling it a day.
Australian John Farrar was by now playing second lead guitar in the band, and
took the time then kick off for America, where Olivia had now become big thanks
largely to three of John Rostill's songs, released AFTER his death in 1973 ("LET
ME BE THERE", "IF YOU LOVE ME LET ME KNOW", and "PLEASE MISTER PLEASE"). Under
Farrar's guiding hand she was soon to become a 70's megastar.
Yet the main question in 1975 was how to get Cliff back on track. That year it
was true that in Britain at least, he was largely written OFF. Bruce Welch in
particular was NOT gonna accept this and set about ways of getting Cliff back to
the top. His first attempt was "HONKY TONK ANGEL" single in 1975 but Cliff
refused to play, when he found out what such a girl actually WAS (an American
term for a chick who hangs around bars looking for fun). Then came
1976, and "MISS YOU NIGHTS" followed by "DEVIL WOMAN". This time they struck
gold, although it could have been different had Cliff realised what "DEVIL
WOMAN" was actually about and NOT thought it was about Witches!
From these sessions came the "I'M NEARLY
FAMOUS" album, and it's sequel, "EVERY FACE TELLS A STORY" in 1977. Cliff was
finally back at the top.
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But never one to miss out on an opportunity, he also attempted to take this new
style into his Gospel Concerts. You almost had to admire the man - DESPITE A
COMPLETE LACK OF INTEREST on the part of the UK public. Many's the time tickets
were bought and then given BACK once the audience realised they were for a
GOSPEL concert. Undeterred he even released an album, named "SMALL CORNERS" in
1978. Sure enough, it BOMBED!
1978 arrived and the suggestion was made -
in a Britain all set for the Winter of Discontent - that The Shadows and Cliff
should reform for two weeks of concerts at the Palladium. By this time, and in
the atmosphere of Britain as it was THEN, this was perhaps treading on thin ice
indeed; but the guys accepted and the result was a highly successful time later
recorded by EMI and remembered as the "THANK YOU VERY MUCH" Concerts.
Cliff's real album for that year was "GREEN LIGHT" - again produced by Welch,
but this time no takers. Despite some good tracks it was released DURING the
Winter of Discontent and soon found it's way into bargain bins all over Britain.
Cliff felt that a change of tack was called for.
Meanwhile The Shads themselves had REFORMED, thanks largely to "THE SHADOWS
TWENTY GOLDEN GREATS" LP going Gold and Platinum. That Winter in 1978, their
live version of "DON'T CRY FOR ME ARGENTINA" made the UK Top Five, leaving no
one was more surprised than Hank himself!!
1979 arrived and as The Shads wracked up more hits in their new lease of life,
Cliff formulated NEW plans to get himself back at the top. Unbeknownst to all
except Bruce himself, HE had been secretly and most assuredly SACKED! That
Spring, Cliff went behind Bruce's back and recorded the energetic LP "ROCK'N'ROLL JUVENILE". He even had the guile to ask Bruce for use of a new
recording they had made called "WE DON'T TALK ANYMORE" to finish the album OFF.
Cliff produced the whole thing himself with friend and band mate, Terry Britten.
The only one who didn't know was Bruce himself, and this led to a falling out
between the two which lasted for years and which Welch has never forgotten.
The 1980's soon appeared - a time where
Cliff was soon to fall into a now-recognisable pattern of not having to struggle
OR having consistent hits.
The success of "WE DON'T TALK ANYMORE" in 1979 became a major piece in his
continued existence. In fact it could be said that that one single along with
"DEVIL WOMAN" became THE TWO, which lifted him from early 70's has-been, to late
70's contempary. Cliff then made it a complete trio with the release of the
mind-bending "WIRED FOR SOUND" in 1981. But he was never to live down the continuing questions about
his private life, Or the disdain which he had thrown up over his Christianity.
Indeed, if HE had not wished it so, WHY was it that he never worked with The
Shadows more than he did AFTER 1968? They had always considered themselves a
five-piece, and this has never changed.
Yet in the minds of The Shadows at least, HE was always the boss. Indeed there
ARE many questions about Cliff which are perhaps going to be left UN-answered.
However, it cannot be denied that he had most of his greatest success, WITH The
Shads than without them. The fact that they were still largely together
throughout the Sixties was one major factor which probably sustained them as it
did. TOGETHER they were and always will be MAGIC.
But history was now what it was - HISTORY.
And it was obvious that for WHATEVER reasons, Cliff and The Shads TOGETHER were
just that. The image of the five boys who first made it possible ANYWHERE on the
planet, and who gave the idea to so many Stars of the future (and many thousands
more who never made it), was over. As George Martin said of The Beatles,
everything has it's time. So perhaps we should be grateful they they had theirs.
That image is NOT over, and perhaps never will be....
".....you know The Shadows are caught in a time
warp. I really think that if we played anything but three Red Strats half the audience would walk out!" - Bruce Welch, 2009
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