Pinoys close to Cliff’s heart

The Manila concert was the 19th and last show of Cliff Richard’s 34-day Still Reelin’ And A-Rockin’ tour that began in New Zealand for three gigs, moved to Australia for 12 and shifted to Singapore for two before landing here for a Smart Araneta Coliseum engagement last Thursday.

Richard, 72, is no spring chicken and should’ve been exhausted when he faced his Filipino audience. But tired or not, Sir Cliff put on a high-energy act because he couldn’t disappoint his Filipino fans. Richard has often paid tribute to Filipino artists, particularly for their singing, and knows that Filipinos appreciate good music.

So it didn’t come as a surprise that in the climax of his tour, Richard was out to make a splash. From the moment he took center stage in a glittering black sportscoat, white shirt, loosened black string necktie, leather black pants and shiny black basketball pumps, there was no doubt the show would be a blast. Richard danced, frolicked and swayed as he went through a varied repertoire of 37 songs, the most in his tour. He introduced Evergreen Tree and The Outsider in his Manila set list, showing no mind to how long the show lasted if the audience wanted more. Richard wasn’t stingy in dishing out five songs in his encore — I Could Easily Fall In Love With You, In The Country, High Class Baby, Dynamite, Please Don’t Tease, 40 Days and Do You Wanna Dance. The crowd couldn’t ask for more from Richard although some fans had hoped he would sing Filipino favorites like Constantly, Bachelor Boy, On The Beach and Legata Ad Un Granello Di Sabbia.

Welcoming a brand-new band, Richard didn’t miss a single beat. Statuesque Suzie Furlonger, who stood out like a bronze goddess, led the backing vocalists. Tim Bonser and Stuart Ward were the other vocalists. Keith Haymand and Phil Dennis were on keyboards. Stephen Walters was on bass. Andy Jones was the lead guitarist and Peter May was on drums. 

Throughout the two-and-a-half-hour show, Richard conversed with the crowd, cracking jokes about his age, revealing plans for the future and reminiscing the past. He said one of his most-requested songs Miss You Nights took three months to crash the UK charts and went only as high as No. 15. In Australia, it didn’t even enter the Top 100. 

Richard recalled that in 1958 when he was 17, he couldn’t believe his single Move It zoomed to No. 2 in the UK and a year later, appeared in the first of his eight films Serious Charge. Richard spoke about his 2009 reunion with the Shadows for their 50th anniversary and jokingly said they’re now discussing plans for their 100th celebration. After intermission, Richard reappeared in a red sportscoat, blue jeans with red stripes down the side and blue-red sneakers. The get-up was appropriate for his covers of Elvis Presley’s Paralyzed and Little Richard’s Rip It Up. He dedicated Ocean Deep to his Filipino fans, sang Suddenly with Furlonger and got the crowd roaring with his million-seller We Don’t Talk Anymore.

Richard said he’s due to record an album of classic rock-and-roll songs in Nashville next month then he embarks on the second chapter of the Still Reeling And A-Rockin’ tour in the UK in June. Obviously, the Peter Pan of Pop isn’t close to retiring. Richard remains in top form and his voice is as vibrant as ever.

The Manila trip was Richard’s fourth here. His previous visit was also at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in 2007 but before that, it was over 20 years since he came to perform at the Folk Arts Theater. 

Richard makes it a point to put out something new in the market nearly every year. In 2002, his album Rockspel featured 18 songs including Butterfly Kisses, Summer Rain and Where Do We Go From Here. In 2004, he released the album Somethin’ Is Goin’ On that was produced in Nashville. In 2006, the album Two’s Company showcased Richard in duets with stars like Dionne Warwick, Sarah Brightman, the late Matt Monro (dubbed in the studio), Barry Gibb, Olivia Newton-John and Phil Everly. In 2007, Love…The Album was headlined by five new recordings (including When You Say Nothing At All and All Out of Love) to join all-time favorites like Constantly, The 12th of Never and True Love Ways.

In 2008, Richard celebrated his 50th year in show business with an eight-CD box set compilation of 186 songs. The box set was titled And They Said It Wouldn’t Last! and had a 52-page photo book, a 10-inch 78 rpm of his 1958 single Move It and a gold-plated commemorative coin. That same year, he released a two-CD 50th anniversary album of 50 songs including a new recording Thank You For A Lifetime. In 2009, he came out with the Shadows Reunited box-set with a CD of 22 songs including a new recording Singing The Blues, a bonus three-track CD and a 200-piece jigsaw puzzle. In 2010, he turned 70 with a box set titled Bold As Brass with jazz and swing classics in a 12-song CD, a bonus two-track CD and a 200-piece jigsaw puzzle. Last year, Richard’s album was called Soulicious where he sang 15 classics with soul icons like Percy Sledge, Billy Davis Jr. and Marilyn McCoo, Russell Thompkins and the Stylistics and Roberta Flack.

Richard, who lost his father Rodger in 1961 when he was only 21, has sold over 250 million records all over the world and is a music legend in his own time. As a collector of British ’60s pop music, I’ve stocked my library with more than 50 Cliff Richard CDs, four books and 11 videos. I’ve watched Richard perform four times, thrice in Manila and once at the Royal Albert Hall in London on his 40th anniversary tour. There isn’t a day that passes when I don’t listen to a Richard song on my iPod. Sir Cliff Richard is one of a kind and a blessing to music.