Following the creation of Pakistan and India, as independent states, along with his parents, he sailed back to the United Kingdom as an eight-year-old lad aboard a passenger liner named 'S.S. Ranchi.' In the early or the mid- fifties, he changed his name to 'Cliff Richard' at the behest of the entrepreneur 'Greatorex'. I was introduced to this great singer by a schoolmate, who in turn had become his fan due to his older sister's obsession with Cliff Richard's songs; she died accidentally in the first year of her marriage after being shot through her husband's rifle, when his jeep over turned while in pursuit of deer hunting expedition. The rifle went off when she was at a distance sitting with the family group in a camp, but the stray bullet chose her. So, with Cliff Richard, there are some sad memories attached, too.
Cliff Richard was part of the family. He was always there through continuous playing of his long playing 33 RPM, EMI records. While playing cricket, badminton or tennis with close friends Dominic, Daniel, Midhat and my older siblings, we would have Cliff Richard's songs playing on the Radiogram; these served as both, entertainment while we played, and also kept the emotions of competition in high spirits. After Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Tom Jones, he was the most famous singer, in spite of the onslaught of Paul McCartney's Beatles. His 50's singles, 'High Class Baby', 'Living Doll' and 'A Voice in the Wilderness' were great musical hits of that era.
Cliff Richard's voice in the earliest of songs had a solid nasal connotation. His voice quality was akin to Mukesh. Cliff had the same tragic tonality impact upon his listeners, as did Mukesh. When you listen to his, 'poor boy, I am sorry you are so sad' and then listen to Mukesh's, 'Hum Aaj Kahin Dil Kho Baithay,' you see the similarity of the velvety sadness in their voices. Being an unflinching subscriber to Ustad Amanat Ali Khan's rendition of the lyrics, 'Pyar Nahin Hai Sur Se Jisko; Who Mohrak Insaan Nahin'; I find music as a medium that enlivens human nature towards its original instincts of nobility.
William Shakespeare in 'The Merchant of Venice' voiced similar sentiments, 'The man that hath no music in himself, nor is not moved with concord of sweet sounds, is fit for treasons, stratagems and spoils; The motion of his spirit are dull as night, and his affection dark as Erebus. Let no such man be trusted.' Music gives form to our feelings.
Cliff Richard's musical group was called 'The Shadows'. It dominated the music space singly until the Beatles and Elvis Presley phenomenon hit the global music space. The Shadows broke up in the late sixties (this co-incidentally was my introduction time to Cliff Richard). His first hit, post 'Shadows' was 'The Girl In Your Arms Is The Girl In Your Heart' (1961), followed by, 'Its All In The Game' (1962) and 'Constantly' (1964); one of my favorites. John Lennon is reported to have remarked, 'Before Cliff Richard and The Shadows, there had been nothing worth listening to in British music'. This was said in recognition of Cliff's hit single of 1958, 'Move It'.
Cliff Richard's career spans over 60 years. He has amassed all the known awards and has now the singular honor of being the only singer to have had a consecutive No 1 single spanning six decades, from 1950s to 1990s. He has sold 250 million records worldwide and has had sales of 21 million singles in the UK, lagging behind only to Beatles and Elvis Presley.
Cliff also acted in a few films. In 1968, he sang for Euro Vision Contest, 'Congratulations' and what a hit it was on the charts! Again, with great artist and singer Olivia Newton John, Cliff starred in a TV show, 'Its Cliff Richard'. His last role in films was in 1973 where he acted in, 'Take Me Higher'.
The death of his father at a young age impacted heavily on Cliff Richard's life. He has been a family man all through. He broke up a serious affair at the age of 21 on the premise that his singing and family commitments would not do justice to his marriage. In his last communiqué (letter) to Australian dancer, Delia Wick's, he urged, '.....find someone who is free to love you as you deserve to be loved' and 'who is able to marry you'. He remains (ed) a family man devoted to his ailing mother and younger sisters.
The famous song, 'Bachelor Boy', Cliff sang in 1963. The lyrics proved to be true for him. The lyrics ran, 'when I was young my father said, Son I have something to say; Son, you be a Bachelor Boy until your dying day....' Since, he remains a committed bachelor till now; the gutter press has labeled him 'gay'. Cliff has refuted and rebutted it vehemently on several occasions.
Music is an integral part of my life. Music in fact is part of all of us, and it either 'ennobles or degrades our behavior.' The choice is ours. And it is with us. Cervantes had said, 'Where there is music there can be no evil'. Music sets the soul on sail towards divinity.
Living in the UK in the eighties, I was thrilled to see Cliff Richard make a great comeback with the song, 'Wired For Sound,' followed quickly by hits like, 'I'm No Hero,' 'Now You See Me, Now You Don't,' etc. In June 1995, Cliff was knighted; the first rock star ever to be knighted. At 70 years of age, in 2010, he performed at the Royal Albert Hall for a series of six concerts. In November 2013, he released the 100th album of his career.
Cliff sang many melodious songs. Of the numerous, my all-time favorites are 'Lucky Lips' (1963), 'The Young Ones' (1962), 'Theme For A Dream' (1964), 'Bachelor Boy' (1963), 'Dancing Shoes' (1968), 'Summer Holiday' (1963) and 'Congratulations' (1970).
Today, Sir Cliff Richard is a great philanthropist. In a speech he said, 'Playing a part in reliving poverty is, as I see it, the responsibility of all of us.'
Cliff, with your songs and music, you will always be my friend! And that you don't even know. The power of music bound that does not respect any limitations or boundaries. Friends we are, who never met!
(The writer is a banker and a columnist)