
IT was just an ordinary guitar given to a 16-year-old boy, but when the two came together, the power of rock ānā roll took over and, 60 years later, Sir Cliff Richard is still rocking.
āI was really into skiffle in 1957 when my dad bought me a guitar,ā said Sir Cliff, who was born in 1940.
āIād always been into music, and rock ānā roll was also changing what we heard on the radio.
āIt was a great time and Iād already started to sing along with everything.
āOnce I had the guitar in my hands, I couldnāt put it down. With some pals, I formed the Quintones and then I joined up with the Dick Teague skiffle group.
āI had no idea where I was going, I was just enjoying playing and singing.
āIf I had known then what I know now, I would have been frightened to death.
āI donāt think that at that time, I thought about a career of any sort, let alone in music.
āI used to do odd jobs for a bit of pocket money, and for a while, I worked as a filing clerk, but I had no great plans to be a bank manager or anything high-powered like that.
āI was just doing what gave me pleasure not what was going to be a career. The world was crazy about Elvis and he was my hero, too.
āAll the boys wanted to be like him, but I never actually thought about trying to achieve what he had achieved. He was a great inspiration, though.
āWhen I was singing or playing, I never tried to copy him. People used to say there were similarities, but I never saw it myself.
āHe was brilliant and I could just sing and play a little. He got into a great Cadillac while I was getting onto the bus.ā

Amazingly, the two are still linked in the charts. The 2017 calendar charts saw Sir Cliff as the biggest seller nationally, with Elvis at No 5 ā a great win for rock ānā roll.
āI am amazed but delighted, of course, and I understand that the tour tickets are also going well, so I could not be happier,ā said Sir Cliff.
āSomeone once said a long time ago that rock ānā roll was here to stay ā they didnāt know how right they were.ā
In those exciting early days, Cliff was still Harry Webb, even when he began singing with The Drifters, a local band.
It was Harry Greatorex, a pop impresario, who changed his name.
āHe was a big fan of Little Richard and wanted me to use his name as a surname,ā added Sir Cliff.
āThen he thought Cliff sounded good, so I became Cliff Richard, and as Cliff Richard and the Drifters, we did our first gig in Ripley at the Regal Ballroom.
āOur first recording was a number called Schoolboy Crush, with a song for the B side written by Sammy Samwell, one of our guitarists.
āBefore it was released, it was decided to swap the titles over. Schoolboy Crush became the B side and the A side was Move It.
āThose early days were exciting, and one of my favourite expressions was āReally?ā I kept saying it when people told me the records were going well, that we were in the charts.
āI used it again when I was told that we were going to tour or go abroad or that we were going to make films.
āWhen I was told I could afford to buy a car, āReally?ā came into play again. It still does. Somebody tells you tickets for a concert at a huge hall have sold out and it still comes as a total surprise.
āI donāt think I have ever got used to what has happened to me since my dad bought me that first guitar.ā

If the last couple of years have had their difficulties, the next couple are set to put Cliff back on top.
His latest album ā Just . . . Fabulous Rock nā Roll has been a huge success and it takes Cliff back to his musical roots and to his 2017 concert tour, which is also a celebration of rock ānā roll.
āI never thought Iād be doing these songs in 2017 and people wanting more,ā he said.
āIt is such a thrill, hard to put into words really. I am still stunned by it. I enjoy the old songs and some real rock ānā roll and it seems everyone else does, too.
āWhen we used to tour the theatres and cinemas in those early days, we were usually part of a package that had several other pop acts on the bill.
āIf we were top of the bill, we usually closed the show with about 30 or 40 minutes of songs. Now, of course, we do the whole concert.
āIn those early days, we had trouble making ourselves heard because of the screaming. We never did get used to that.
āIt was fantastic that girls screamed over us, but sometimes it was a little scary as well, and occasionally it was a bit frustrating when you were trying to bring the pace down a little with a ballad before going for a big rock finish.
āThere you were trying to put over some beautiful words and you found yourself almost shouting above the screams. I still get screams now and then, but it is more for fun than anything else.
āI like long applause, it helps me get my breath back!ā
At 76, Cliff still looks at least 20 years younger and his voice sounds younger than that.
āI have been very fortunate, I think,ā he agreed.
āIāve learned how to use my voice better and look after it. It is my greatest asset, so Iāve always tried to take care of it.
āThere is no big secret that Iāve always tried to take care of myself with proper diet, proper rest and proper exercise.
āIāve never gone over the top on any of those things or sold myself short either.
āKeeping a good balance seems to have worked so far.ā

Not many people top the calendar charts at Cliffās age, and the 2017 summer tour promises to be nothing short of sensational.
āWeāre going to have a total celebration of rock ānā roll, paying tribute to all those great stars who gave us this fantastic music,ā he said.
āI am really looking forward to it.
āWe have some gigs in Denmark and we are also playing the brilliant Marquee Club in Cork and then touring Britain with gigs at some of the most breathtaking of places.
āWe shall be at Eastnor Castle, Stansted Park, Walcot Hall, Catton Hall, Lincoln Castle, Euston Hall, Harewood House, Scarborough Open Air Theatre and The Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich.
āI get a buzz just thinking about it.
āI still get nervous before every concert.
āI always have done. and if that were ever to change, I think it will be time to stop.
āGiving a good performance has always mattered to me and I like to give it my best shot.
āWhen you come off stage at the end of the very last number and feel totally exhausted but still buzzing and willing to go on, you know that iit has worked.
āThere is no better feeling than to know that the people who showed their love by buying tickets and travelling to see you, have gone home happy.ā
Sir Cliff is the first to admit heās had a difficult couple of years, but he is no longer under that cloud and we are seeing him back on his best form, performing.
āI love it. Every time I go on stage, itās as magical as when I first started all those years ago,ā he agreed.
āIt is a little harder these days to find the greasy spoon cafĆ©s, coffee bars and the suchlike that we loved and hung out in.
āWe donāt get to play in church halls and similar venues any more, but the music lives on.
āIt will go on living forever as generation after generation falls in love with that special something we call rock ānā roll.ā

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