CLIFF RICHARD MEETS THE PRESS

Sir Cliff Richard – who’s been at the centre of rumours about his sexuality for decades – met with the press in Sandton on Thursday to discuss his current world tour.

Since the beginning of his career in 1958, a staggering 46 singles, 44 EP’s and 77 albums have achieved tremendous success for Sir Cliff Richard. His singles have spent an accumulative total of almost 2000 weeks on the British charts and sold more units in the UK than any other artist. He also scored the music to fourteen of his number one singles that have topped the charts over the last six decades.

The Here and Now tour might be seen as his farewell tour, but he’s not planning on retiring completely just yet. “The internet has changed so much about the industry, over the counter record sales are nothing like they used to be. You need to be on the radio and you need to be heard a lot to sell the number of units some artists are selling on the internet,” said Sir Cliff Richard, “I love singing and touring and I keep coming back to sing more of my 127 top songs. I can’t sing them all at once, so I’ll just keep returning to sing some more.”

“When I do shows I have to change my song-list. I adapt to suit the mood of the audience and I give them what they like to hear. As singers we are privileged to become part of people’s memories and that is important for any performer”, said Cliff Richard. Fans can expect some of his all time greatest hits like 40 Days, Lucky Lips, Summer Holiday, Living Doll and We Don’t Talk Anymore.

Having just completed a series of shows across Asia, the next stop is Iceland, proving that his success not only spans decades, but continents, cultures and generations as well! Recalling his hits comes naturally to Sir Cliff and he can easily tell you what the order of release was, what the year was and what the B-side was. The only song he is sad he missed out on went to Tina Turner and became her smash hit What’s Love Got To Do With It. Unfortunately his office turned down the track when it was pitched for Cliff.

Four shows are scheduled for South Africa starting Friday, 2 March at Carnival City and on Saturday, 3 March at the Coca-Cola Dome in Northgate. A further 2 shows are scheduled for Kirstenbosch Gardens in Cape Town on the 6th and 7th of March. An additional show has just been added on the 8th of March at the Kirstenbosch Gardens. Tickets are available at Computicket.

Tony Chilvers