Turning 50 in a special way

Did you know that Cliff Richard, the voice behind the hit songs, When The Girl In Your Arms Is The Girl In Your Heart, The Young Ones, Bachelor Boy, Summer Holiday, On The Beach and Constantly, among others, is now 66 years old and yet, his voice remains brilliant and his songs are as popular as when he first sang them five decades ago? Cliff, who was knighted by Queen Elizabeth in 1995, he was the first rock star to be honored, ahead of Paul McCartney (1997) and Elton John (1998), has no plans of retiring but instead vows to sing more.

"I would like to celebrate my 50th year in a special way. Not many people become 50 years old in a career and so I would like to celebrate it with people. I’ve always said to myself that age is unimportant. It’s how you feel. Do you feel 60? If you feel 60, you act 60. If you feel 18, then you act 18. I feel 20," he says.

Sir Cliff Richard is a singing phenomenon who has outlasted every musical trend of the past five decades with sincerity and commitment that is unparalleled in the industry as British pop’s most celebrated survivor. He is also coming to town for a pre-Valentine concert on Feb. 13 billed Here And Now Tour 2007: Cliff Richard Live In Manila! at the Araneta Coliseum. It will be Sir Cliff Richard’s third appearance in the country after more than 20 years (the last time was in 1984 at the Folk Arts Theater). Sir Cliff Richard will fly in from Singapore for the sixth stop in his eight-country Middle East and Asian tour. At the Araneta concert, Sir Cliff Richard will sing his greatest hits and new songs to reach out to several generations of music fans. He promises a night to remember with an act entirely different from any concert he has staged before. He is also expected to perform such hits as I Could Easily Fall In Love With You, In The Country, Congratulations, We Don’t Talk Anymore, Dreamin’, Ocean Deep, Miss You Nights, I Just Don’t Have The Heart, From A Distance, The Millennium Prayer, Somewhere Over The Rainbow and What A Wonderful World. He will likewise perform songs from his latest album, Two’s Company, where he duets with guests Brian May of Queen, Dionne Warwick, Anne Murray, Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees, Elton John and Olivia Newton-John.

"I’ve never done duets before in my concerts so that’s new in itself," he says. "The song that I do that’s probably the most startling thing is Move It. I re-recorded it with Brian May and Brian Bennett of The Shadows. It’s really a different version. You can always do something that makes things different but in the end the public recognizes them. And I’d like to think that a lot of my shows will have music that they will recognize," Sir Cliff Richard adds.

Born in India but raised in England, Sir Cliff Richard began his musical career in 1958 when he became the lead singer of the rock ’n roll band The Drifters (not to be confused with the American group of the same name), which ultimately became The Shadows after a change in its line-up. He made an auspicious recording debut with EMI in 1958 when his initial single, Move It, climbed to No. 2 in the charts and was hailed by music critics as "the first genuine British great rock classic." It was on Livin’ Lovin’ Doll that The Drifters began to back Sir Cliff Richard on record until the group changed its name to The Shadows. Living Doll was followed by other hits like Travellin’ Light, I Love You and Theme For A Dream and cemented his status as a mainstream pop entertainer.

In the early ‘60s, Cliff Richard and The Shadows were virtually inseparable as the biggest concert draw in Britain, although the singer also sometimes recorded without the band mainly to cater to other styles, producing from 1962 onward such hits as It’s All In The Game, Constantly, The Minute You’re Gone and Wind Me Up. Richard and The Shadows’ appearances in a number of films, notably The Young Ones, Summer Holiday, Wonderful Life and Finders Keepers, inspired the creation of their own genre known as the Cliff Richard musical and resulted in the selection of the rock star as No. 1 cinema box-office attraction in Britain for 1962 and 1963.

After a temporary hiatus in his career, he made a successful comeback with the 1976 album, I’m Nearly Famous, which featured the classic rock guitar-driven track Devil Woman and the ballad Miss You Nights.

During the next years and throughout the ‘80s, Sir Cliff Richard remained one of the hottest musical acts working, in a space of a few years, with Elton John, Mark Knopfler, George Harrison, Julian Lennon, Freddie Mercury, Stevie Wonder, Phil Everly, Janet Jackson and Van Morrison. He also performed in more projects with Olivia Newton-John with whom he filled the Wembley Stadium for a few nights with a spectacular show titled The Event in 1989.

In 2004, it was disclosed that Sir Cliff Richard had sold more singles in England than any other artist, ahead of The Beatles and Elvis Presley. He has sold over 250 million records and broken into the Top 10 of the English music charts in each of the last six decades.

Tickets to the concert are available at Ticketnet outlets at all SM Department stores and at the Araneta Coliseum ticket office. Ticket prices are P8,500, P7,500, P6,500, P4,000, P2,000 and P500. For details, call Ticketnet at 911-5555.