An interesting extract from the 'Irish Independant' following the Dublin date last year.
SAY what you like about Cliff's sense of style, but 14 number one singles across five consecutive decades probably earns you the right to wear whatever garish pink jacket you like. Even the matching sequinned tie is forgivable with a record like that.
Whatever the man had before, he's still got it. His voice remains smooth and accurate, if not the most emotive, while each smile from his young-looking face (he is almost 69) sends parts of the audience (not a whole lot younger) into an adolescent tizzy.
Yes, the dancing is awkward and clunky -- when was it ever anything else? -- and the songs vary from standard early rock 'n' roll fare to sub-average schlock. But it's completely inoffensive stuff, and only the awkward and cheap-looking graphics in the background provide any cause for upset.
'Living Doll', 'Put On Your Dancing Shoes' and 'I'm the Lonely One' all form part of the early set, with strong vocal harmonies from The Shadows giving the material the edge it so desperately needs. It quickly becomes apparent that the real star may not be Cliff after all.
And when he walks off the stage and leaves the band to its own instrumental devices, for one segment on each side of the interval, this notion is confirmed. 'Wonderful Land' in the first half, and 'Apache' in the second, receive the biggest cheers of the night until the show's end -- and show how lucky Cliff Richard was to be blessed with these musicians 50 years ago.
Spell
Lead guitarist Hank Marvin is a particular wonder to behold, as his distinctive, reverberating and trembling strains cast the audience under a spell; one which is broken only when the grinning frontman returns to throw out a few more hits. 'Summer Holiday', for one, seems too much to bear after the moody and tinged sounds of The Shadows.
If Cliff Richard helped to shape light pop music, then his backing band helped to shape rock'n'roll. And on the evidence of this show, it's quite obvious to whom the real legendary status belongs.
- Aidan Coughlan