Cliff Richard: Midsummer Nights, Still Reelin’ and A-Rockin’

The audience that gathered to see and hear the Peter Pan of Pop was, to say the least, silver-haired. At 57 I was in the youngest sector of the crowd as we sat through an underwhelming set from the Military Wives Choir who, if they were not, did a very poor job of disguising that they were not miming to a backing track. But we were not there for them, it was Sir Cliff we wanted and we were not to be disappointed.

Backed by a superb band the 72 year old took to the stage with the vigour of the boy who first took the pop world by storm in 1958 with his hit ‘Move It’. He delivered an immaculate set of his hits, and there are so many from each era of his career, that delighted the crowd.

Balancing ballads like ‘Miss You Nights’ and ‘The Twelfth Of Never’ with rockers like ‘Devil Woman’ and ‘Wired For Sound’ and a fine smattering of rock and roll classics from his forthcoming album, he gave pretty much all that we hoped to hear and what is most remarkable is that he did it well. The voice is as strong as ever, the range as full and the tone remains the same. Keeping fit has obviously paid off for Sir Cliff – and for his fans. His dance moves are still there too, but at one point I worried that if he didn’t spin equally clockwise and anti-clockwise he would screw himself into the stage. It was a freezing evening outdoor at the cricket ground but the audience was determined not to miss a beat and at the end the grey-haired fans mobbed the stage, in an orderly fashion, to pay homage to the legend that is Cliff, the eternal bachelor boy.

Sussex County Cricket Ground, 15 June 2013

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