Not long after the number one success of "Living Doll," the band faced legal action from the U. Richard was quick to capitalize on his popularity, starring in his first film, Serious Charge, in , and softening his sound slightly to appeal to a broader audience. Throughout the early '60s, the singles and albums came quickly, and so did the films.
Richard took a stab at America, touring the country in , but he never made any inroads in the U. This lack of stateside success was easy to ignore as Richard was not only the biggest recording star of the early '60s in the U. His popularity took a hit in once Beatlemania kicked in and a wave of guitar groups flooded the British charts.
Richard survived and without slipping from the Top 10, but by , placing in the Top 10 was no longer guaranteed. Richard gamely tried to follow the trends, covering Mick Jagger and Keith Richards ' "Blue Turns to Grey" in , but this period is distinguished by his public declaration in that he was a Christian.
The next pivotal year in Richard 's career was , the year when he represented the U. The singer continued his relationship with Hank Marvin , with the guitarist appearing regularly on the variety show It's Cliff Richard, which premiered in and ran until Throughout the early '70s, Richard was a show biz fixture -- in addition to It's Cliff Richard which morphed into It's Cliff and Friends in , he appeared on BBC's Pop Go the Sixties and other television shows, including hosting early rounds of Eurovision -- but the hits slowed to a trickle; only 's "Power to All Our Friends" matched any of his '60s hits in popularity, becoming his first single since "Congratulations" to be awarded Silver certification.
In , he didn't place one single in the U. Conscious of this stagnation, Richard brought Shadow Bruce Welch back into the fold for 's I'm Nearly Famous , a record that followed in the footsteps of Elton John or, arguably, the John -sponsored comeback from Neil Sedaka. I'm Nearly Famous was wildly successful thanks to "Devil Woman," a song that not only brought him back to the Top 10 in Britain but gave him his first-ever U.
Richard re-teamed with Olivia Newton-John , who he had been performing with since the early '70s, for the film Xanadu, whose soundtrack produced the hit "Suddenly.
During the '90s and into the new millennium, there was little question Cliff Richard was a British pop music institution, appearing regularly on television and at public events and occasionally popping up on the charts. In , he was honored with the appointment of a Knight Bachelor in the British Empire.
In , when EMI refused to release his single "The Millennium Prayer," Richard marshaled public support to get the song, which was independently released, to number one. Remarkably, he was able to score more Top 10 singles over the course of the s: the seasonal "Santa's List" and "21st Century Christmas" went to five and two, respectively in and , then his 50th Anniversary Album spawned the number three hit "Thank You for a Lifetime" in The following year, he had a grand celebration of his 70th birthday capped off by six concerts at Royal Albert Hall.
He returned in with Just In , Richard returned with his first collection of original material in well over a decade with the release of Rise Up. With the title referencing his two-year lawsuit against the BBC for privacy intrusion -- which he won -- the album featured a collection of uplifting and positive contemporary pop tracks written by the likes of Terry Britten and Graham Lyle.
The album also featured the return of duet partner Olivia Newton-John. Rise Up debuted at four on the U. In , Richard turned 80, and to celebrate released the album, Music The Air That I Breathe. I've had girlfriends. But people seem to think that if a bloke doesn't sleep around he must be gay. Marriage is a very special thing to me. I'm certainly not going to do it just to make other people feel satisfied.
Cliff has also spoken of his close friendship with John McElynn, an American former priest whom he met in In , Cliff said: "John and I have over time struck up a close friendship. He has also become a companion, which is great because I don't like living alone, even now. Happy 80th birthday, Sir CliffRichard!
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