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Sir Cliff Richard's Biography

 
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Who is Sir Cliff Richard?

Cliff Richard was born Harry Rodger Webb on 14 October 1940 in Lucknow, India.

He came to England at eight and went to Riversmead School in Cheshunt.

Cliff Richard began his music career with the Dick Teague group but formed his own band, which became The Shadows.

Cliff Richard scored a hit with his first single, Move It, which was released in August 29th 1958 - it got to Number 2. The following year he went one better with and a number 1 with Living Doll.

Numerous hits followed including Bachelor Boy (1962), Congratulations (1968), Power To All Our friends (1973), Devil Woman (1976), We Don't Talk Anymore (1979), and Wired For Sound (1981). Cliff Richard is the only Briton to have had number 1 hits in every post-war decade of the 20th century. In 2004 he became the UK's best selling singles artist of all time and has had over 60 top ten entries.

Cliff Richard has also been a star on screen. At 17, he made his screen debut as a juvenile delinquent in Serious Charge, but perhaps his most famous film is Summer Holiday, which opened on January 10th 1963. Cliff Richard was the top box office star of GB in 1962/3 and 1963/4.

He is a committed Christian, hardly ever drinks, and enjoys tennis.

Cliff Richard represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1968 and 1973. He was second with Congratulations and third with Power To All Our Friends.

Cliff Richard was knighted in 1995.

In August 2008, it was announced that Sir Cliff Richard was to release a single Thank You For A Lifetime on 8 September in a bid to have chart-topping hits in six decades. He already had number ones in each decade from the 1950s to the 1990s.

In November 2008, the BBC reported that Cliff Richard and The Shadows were reuniting for a tour in 2009 to celebrate their 50th anniversary.

In 2016, the Crown Proseecution Service announced that Sir Cliff Richard would face no further action over allegations of historical sex abuse.

Sir Cliff Richard commented that he was "thrilled that the vile accusations and the resulting investigation have finally been brought to a close".

On 10 July 2016, it was revealed that Cliff Richard had instructed lawyers to make legal complaints to South Yorkshire Police and the BBC.

On 18 July 2018, Sir Cliff Richard has won his privacy case against the BBC.

In 2018, Sir Cliff gained his 45th top 10 album with Rise Up.

In September 2019, a final settlement was reached whereby Sir Cliff Richard would receive £2 million towards his costs from the BBC (as well as the £210,000 he had already won in damages).

In October 2022, the BBC announced that they had commissioned Cliff at Christmas on the BBC with Sir Cliff Richard performing a one-off show on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer.

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