Cliff Richard was born Harry Rodger Webb on October 14, 1940 in Lucknow, United Provinces, British India and is a British singer, musician, performer, actor, philanthropist and all-round titan of British entertainment. Cliff Richard moved with his parents from India to Tilbury, Essex and then on to Cheshunt, Hertfordshire when Cliff’s dad got a job with Thorn Electrical Industries in 1949. Cliff Richard took a fancy to music when his dad bought him a guitar, and Cliff joined the Dick Teague Skiffle Group in 1957. Cliff Richard became the lead singer in a band called The Drifters in 1958, changing his name from the less showbiz Harry to Cliff, and The Drifters becoming The Shadows when they discovered another band using that name. Cliff Richard’s first hit Move It was originally meant to be the B-side to a song called Schoolboy Crush, and raced to Number two in 1958, and for a while Cliff was modelled as some kind of UK answer to Elvis Presley. By the time of Cliff’s first UK Official Singles Chart Number 1 Living Doll, Cliff Richard and The Shadows were the big teen sensations of the age, and The Shadows were concurrently embarking on their own career, often replacing Cliff’s songs at the top. Cliff Richard has sold over 250 million records worldwide, enjoyed 14 UK Number 1 singles such as We Don’t Talk Anymore, Mistletoe & Wine, The Young Ones and Summer Holiday and is the only singer to have had a Number 1 single in the UK in five consecutive decades. Cliff Richard, unsurprisingly, is the third biggest selling artist in UK Singles Chart history, behind The Beatles and Elvis Presley. Cliff Richard also recorded the first of the Comic Relief fundraising songs, a cover of his own Living Doll with the cast of The Young Ones, becoming the first act to reach Number 1 twice with two versions of the same song. Cliff Richard won the first Best British Male Solo Artist at the first BRIT Awards in 1977, and again in 1982 as well as the Outstanding Contribution to Music award in 1989. Cliff Richard was awarded the OBE in 1980 (around the time he finally officially changed his name by deed poll), and was knighted in 1995, becoming the first pop star Sir.
