Cliff Richard’s 75th Birthday UK Tour
Cliff Richard fans are no doubt thrilled with the news that the award winning pop star is planning a UK tour in September and October next year to celebrate his 75th birthday. Starting off in the Birmingham Symphony Hall on Tuesday 29 September 2015, the tour will move on to Sheffield, Liverpool, Manchester, Glasgow, Nottingham, and finishing off with five performances at London’s Royal Albert Hall. A legend in his own time, Cliff Richard released his 100th album entitled The Fabulous Rock ‘n’ Roll Songbook on 11 November 2013, featuring 15 classic rock ‘n’ roll tracks paying tribute to iconic stars such as Little Richard, Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley. Sir Cliff Richard OBE was the first pop star to receive a knighthood, which was bestowed upon him in 1995 for his dedication to charity work.
When Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb) first arrived on the music scene with his backing group the Shadows in the late 1950/early 1960s, they were classed along with Elvis Presley and Little Richard as rebellious rock ‘n’ rollers, with their 1958 hit Move It widely considered to be one of the first rock ‘n’ roll songs to be produced in the United Kingdom. The song reached #2 on the UK singles chart. The arrival of The Beatles overshadowed existing UK acts at the time, and when the so-called “British Invasion” – The Beatles, The Dave Clark Five, The Kinks, The Rolling Stones and The Who – hit the United States, Cliff Richard was not among them. Nevertheless, he continued to enjoy success in the UK, even when his commitment to the Christian faith resulted in him changing direction musically, softening his lyrics and abandoning his image which had once been described as being “too sexy for television”.
Over the 56 years of his career Cliff Richard has built up a solid following of fans around the world, and his tour will no doubt be a huge success. Members of the Cliff Richard Fan Club can reportedly book their tickets on 30 and 31 October, with tickets sales opening to the general public on 1 November.
