Sir Cliff Richard performing his 58-18=60 Tour at The Royal Concert Hall Nottingham on Tuesday 9th October 2018

Images and Review by Kevin Cooper

Sir Cliff Richard has been a main stay of British culture for the last 60 years and whether you like him or not, he has successfully traversed the decades, and whilst pop stars have come and gone he still has staying power.

Last night before a sold out crowd at the Royal Concert Hall his 60^th anniversary tour focused upon songs that have covered the length of his career and with more than 130 singles, albums and EP’s having reached the UK top 20, he delivered a mixture of hits and covers from each era.

Walking out on to the stage to rapturous applause, his smile from his young looking face (he will be 78 next week) sent the audience into an adolescent frenzy. Accompanied by a snappy seven man band he began with Elvis Presley’s Heartbreak Hotel, and the journey had begun.

The hits came as Move It and Living Doll flowed seamlessly into Summer Holiday and The Young Ones. There was a mass sing along to his Eurovision track, Congratulations which might have sounded a little twee, but the song is part of his career and it pleased the fans.

With a voice that has defied the test of time; he put it to effective use unloading endless payloads of pop perkiness. Devil Woman saw him move about the stage like a man half his age whilst Miss You Nights slowed everything down.

The second half saw a costume change and a dip into the 80s with The Best Of Me whilst Christmas songs, Mistletoe And Wine, The Millennium Prayer and new song The Miracle Of Love could have sounded out of place on a warm October night, but hit the spot with this crowd.

Current single Rise Up brought the night right up to date before he delivered a rousing We Don’t Talk Anymore to end what was undoubtedly a celebration of Sir Cliff’s life.

Sir Cliff Richard with special guests Collabro, performing his Just…Fabulous Rock N’ Roll Tour at Lincoln Castle Lincolnshire on Saturday 24th June 2017.

Images and review by Kevin Cooper

In the stunning setting of Lincoln Castle, and with the sun high in the sky, Sir Cliff Richard entertained a sold out crowd last night with some of his favourite covers, a collection of raucous rock n’ roll, and some of his well known classics. But first to take to the stage were the winners of 2014’s Britain’s Got Talent TV competition, Collabro.

Touring to promote their latest album Home, they appeared on stage looking very polished in suits and ties as they opened with a breathtaking version of This Is The Moment from the musical Jekyll & Hyde, and their set just got better.

A stunning Bring Him Home saw their wonderful harmonies gelling together before Les Miserables’ I Dreamed A Dream had the hairs on the back of your neck standing up. Frank Sinatra’s That’s Life gave way to one of their original muses, Lighthouse whilst Stars earned them a standing ovation. Finishing the night with December 1963 (Oh What A Night), Collabro had made many new fans last night.

With the sun dipping behind Lincoln’s Court House, their set had no doubt made a lasting impression, and with them touring in their own right later this year, that can only be a good thing.

There can be few surreal sights in pop than that of an apparently seventy six year old in gold leather trousers, tearing through his classic hits surrounded by equally hip wiggling ladies of a certain age, but Sir Cliff Richard managed not just to pull it off, but last night made it look easy.

Not including his live albums, soundtracks, musical theatre releases and those recorded with The Shadows, Sir Cliff has released 42 studio albums and is now touring to promote his 43^rd, Just…Fabulous Rock n’ Roll; an album of rock n’ roll standards recorded in Tennessee. So the biggest and most welcome problem for him must have been what to include on his set list.

Opener (It’s Gonna Be) Okay saw him running across the stage like a man half of his age whilst Stronger Than That was very well received. Travellin’ Light saw him pick up the guitar whilst Chuck Berry’s Roll Over Beethoven saw the crowd on their feet in appreciation. A beautiful Miss You Nights silenced the crowd who were in awe of a man who has been consistently singing that love song since 1975, whilst 1961’s The Young Ones and 1963’s Summer Holidays had the crowd singing the words at full belt.

Reminding the crowd why he is still the Peter Pan of Pop, there were hits from all of his musical decades such as the glorious Wired For Sound, We Don’t Talk Any More and Devil Woman which are each as well preserved as their performer. There was a brief reference to the events of the past two years of his life before he delivered the awesome and beautifully poignant Don’t Cry Alone that had some of his fans in tears.

Livening things up with Chuck Berry’s Sweet Little Sixteen and Guy Mitchell’s Singing The Blues, Sir Cliff showed that age is just a number. With his very talented band the evening had passed all too quickly and as a reprise of (It’s Gonna Be) Okay rang out around the Castle walls, Sir Cliff had showed the crowd that he is still the commiserate performer who can still sing it and move it.

Sir Cliff Richard performing his 75^th Birthday Tour at The Royal Centre Nottingham on Friday 9^th October 2015.

Images and Review by Kevin Cooper

Nottingham was truly wired for sound last night as Sir Cliff Richard came to the Royal Concert Hall to show just why his place in music history is so very well deserved.

This Knight of The Realm’s career spans some 57 years and sees him celebrate his 75^th birthday next week. But when he appeared on stage dressed in a blue jacket and sparkly shirt, and bopping around to old rock and pop classics, you would want to check his birth certificate.

If he was worried that the trials and tribulations of his past year had distanced his fans, the reception given to his arrival on stage would have put to bed any fears that they would be less than devoted.

He strode onto the stage to a standing ovation and that was before he had even sung a note. With a mountain of cards and letters of personal encouragement left at the Stage Door, his fans loyalty was rewarded by his new song Golden, a particularly moving tribute to their steadfastness in times of trouble.

From then on he quickly accelerated into the up tempo numbers from his back catalogue where he really got into his swing. In the first half there were such delights as A Little In Love, The Next Time and It’s Better To Dream, before he was joined by his two dapper backing singers/guitarists for a box step routine for Living Doll. The Young Ones was cheekily dedicated to all of his fans under the age of 75, whilst his duet partner, former X Factor contestant Suzie Furlonger joined him for a sublime Reunited.

He was quickly caught up in the energy of Chuck Berry’s classic, Memphis Tennessee, before he transported us back onto that open top bus with the mass sing along, Summer Holiday. Even Miss You Nights, with the clever use of glitter balls was completely stunning.

For the second half, he reappeared energised sporting tight black trousers and a red leather waistcoat and opened with Guy Mitchell’s best known song, Singing The Blues. This was quickly followed by his 1958 hit Move It, from his ‘British Elvis’ days. On the home straight with such classics as the mighty Devil Woman, We Don’t Talk Anymore and the glorious Wired For Sound, each song was as well preserved as their performer.

With stories to tell and a huge back catalogue of quality songs to sing, this two hour plus set simply flew by. With a voice that has hardly shed an iota of quality in over 50 years, and backed by an incredibly talented band, it was easy to see why Cliff Richard has stood the test of time. With an encore of Congratulations, many would say the same to him. To have endured in the music industry for as long as he has and to still play to sell-out crowds, there must be something very special about the man, and last night he showed Nottingham exactly what it is.