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International Update!

July 21, 2010

I honestly don’t know where the time goes!   It only seems a short while since I last wrote to you all, and I was astonished to see it was over four months ago.  

Those intervening months have been full – though not necessarily with work!   My last blog came as The Shadows and I ended our tour of Australia and New Zealand, and we were about to leave for South Africa.    We only had five shows there but had a fantastic reception.   The Shads and I all remembered the welcome we had when we toured there in the ‘60s – and I reckon half the audience did too!   South Africa is a fabulous country.    After the final show in Johannesburg, I stayed on for a few days with friends near Cape Town, which was the perfect way to wind down after a long tour.

From there it was straight to Barbados, where I stayed almost continuously until the beginning of June.   The ‘almost continuously’ bit you already know about – I was honoured to be invited to sing Congratulations at the 70th birthday celebration of Queen Margrethe of Denmark.   It was a long haul – Barbados to London to Denmark and back – for one song, but I loved being part of such a special and magnificent occasion.  

En route back to Barbados, I had an overnight stop-over in the UK and woke up in the morning to news of Eyjafjallajökull.   No, I’d never heard of it either!   But this volcano in Iceland was apparently disrupting flights right, left and centre, and there was a big question-mark as to whether my flight would be able to take off.   However, after consultation, I decided to risk going to the airport, and the gamble paid off – my flight was the very last one out of Gatwick for several days!  

At the end of April I did the photographic shoot for the 2011 calendar.   (How crazy is that – to be talking about 2011 when we’re only just into 2010!)    I’m delighted with the pictures though and think you’ll like them too.   

I said au revoir to Barbados early in June and headed to Ireland for a few days.   After that, I joined some friends for a week’s cruise in the Mediterranean on their rather fabulous ship.   That was followed by a few days with friends in France, and then back to England for the wedding of my niece, Rachael.   We had a fantastic day – good weather, lovely service, beautiful bride, family and friends – terrific!

I only had time to be at the second week of Wimbledon but it was, as always, hugely enjoyable.   As a member of the All England Lawn Tennis Club, I’m able to buy tickets for guests and it’s a great pleasure to me to take friends to lunch before play gets under way.   I fit in quite a bit during the evenings as well, so it’s a packed week for me, but I loved it!

So… here I am, now in Portugal, enjoying my Quinta once again, along with cloudless blue skies, hot sun, friends, great food and great wine (Vida Nova of course!).   There’s a handful of work commitments too – pre-recording one or two media interviews to tie in with the London concerts, and I’m also learning my songs for the concerts at the Royal Albert Hall – there’s a whole bunch of new lyrics to familiarise myself with, plus new arrangements to some old songs.

I was sad to hear recently of the sudden death of William Hooper, who ran my Gloucester & Oxford Fan Club so well for so many years.   ‘The man in the white jacket’ was a mine of information about my recordings and I know his website was a reference point for many of you.   My sincerest sympathy goes to his wife and family.   The death last year of Harry de Louw of the ICRM was also a great shock, for his family first of course, but also for you, who had supported the ICRM and the D/i magazine for decades.

Some of you will remember my former manager, David Bryce.   I was sorry to hear at the end of June that he’d had a nasty fall at his home, and had broken his femur.   He’ll be in hospital for some time, but is gradually on the mend, and hopefully will be as agile as ever before too long!   I was able to pop in and visit him before I left for Portugal in early July, and he was bright and cheerful – and reminiscing over our shared years of course!

I think that brings you up-to-date with what I’ve been up to over the last few months.   I shall start rehearsals towards the end of September for the Royal Albert Hall shows and will look forward to seeing many of you there!   It’s my big chance to introduce you to my new CD Bold As Brass.   I’ll be performing in front of an 18-piece band, plus three singers.    Already I’m getting excited at the prospect of performing the songs for you! 

See you soon. 

Luv Cliff!

 G’Day from Down Under!

March 2nd, 2010

There isn’t a lot of time to sit down and write while on tour, so this is a fairly quick update!

Picking up from where I left off in December, we had a fabulous evening for The Tennis Foundation at Hampton Court Palace.   I was blown away by the brilliance of Dame Evelyn Glennie, the percussionist, and the London Community Gospel Choir were terrific to close the evening.   Brian Conley took time off from pantomime rehearsals to entertain us with his amazing versatility – he’s astonishingly gifted in so many areas, and it was great to join him in a song.

Immediately afterwards I headed to New York, where I spent Christmas with friends, and then in early January I headed off on a cruise that began in Fort Lauderdale and ended in Los Angeles, via the Panama Canal.   Great relaxation with good friends – and it was a bonus to spend some time with John and Pat Farrar in LA at the end of it.

I flew from LA to London for just one night then on to Singapore for a few days to allow the body to adjust to yet another time zone.   The Shads and the rest of the tour party linked up with me at the end of January in Singapore and we flew into Perth together, for a few days’ top-up rehearsal before the first show.

Australia, as always, was fantastic!   There wasn’t a great deal of spare time as free days were usually taken up by travel – it’s such a vast country – but I’ve loved meeting up with old friends and colleagues.   My tennis playing has been curtailed by an Achilles tendon injury, which is rather frustrating, but I’m trying to obey the advice that I mustn’t play for a few months.

However, the injury didn’t stop me climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge one evening.   What an experience!   It was pretty strenuous and we all had to wear safety harnesses, but it was worth the effort for the magnificent view.

The concerts have had the most amazing reception throughout – just like the UK and Europe.   The Shads and I have been overwhelmed by the enthusiasm and excitement of the fans.   Now we’re in New Zealand and the fans there have, true to form, given us the most amazing welcome.

South Africa beckons next week, and I’m looking forward to meeting up with some friends there, as well as enjoying the last concerts with Hank, Bruce and Brian.  

What a fantastic six months we’ve had!   And now there are the Royal Albert Hall concerts to think about – though I think I’ll take a bit of a break before I get stuck into that planning!

Thanks again for all your support and enthusiasm.

Love ya!

 

December 7th, 2009

I know it’s been four months since my last blog, at the end of July, but I think you’ll have a clue as to why that might be!

After a relaxed break in Portugal through August, I travelled to Killarney in southern Ireland to start rehearsals with The Shadows.   It was great to be back with the lads again, and to rehearse in such a fabulous setting was terrific.   We seemed to do a huge number of radio and television interviews during that rehearsal period – which is always a bit of a worry for me, but the vocal cords survived!  

The UK tour was fantastic – sell-out crowds everywhere and a truly amazing audience reaction.   It was interesting too to see a different mix of people to my usual concerts;  I even spotted a few men in the front rows – Hank’s influence no doubt!!   It was a busy time of travel and of course a tour never just involves the concerts – there are always a few charity things to slot in along the way, plus media commitments here and there, and multitudes of other little ‘bits and pieces’ that somehow creep into the schedule.  

My office will tell you that at every show there are more requests for personal meetings than can possibly be accommodated in the limited time available, so these days I tend to limit them to folk who have bid at charity auctions for tickets and a ‘meet and greet’.   I’m sorry I can’t meet personally all of you who write to ask for a meeting, but hope you’ll understand the problem of supply and demand!

I guess your enthusiasm for the concerts has been reflected in the wonderful sales of the DVD from the show – which was No 1 in the DVD chart for two weeks after release.   The Shads and I are delighted that a group of ‘sexy-genarians’ can still top the charts!!

Speaking of sexy-genarians, thank you for all the birthday greetings you sent me!   I was in Sheffield on the day itself, but had a belated birthday dinner with friends at home a few days later.   Then, after the Wembley shows, I spent a week or so in Portugal before heading to Paris to stay with friends for a few days before the European tour started there.

That tour was great fun too.   Well, apart from the airline strike in Finland, which meant we had to charter a plane to get us to our next show in Sweden – nightmare time for the tour manager!    We’ve all said that this touring period has been one of the happiest any of us have known – which is good because it means we’ll all be looking forward to the 2010 shows with great anticipation!   Australia… New Zealand… South Africa…   Look out – here we come!

Thanks to those of you who queued for hours in torrential rain for our signing session at the HMV store in central London at the end of November.    Although we signed around 600 items, I reckon we had the easy bit – at least we were dry!   And some of you, I know, then dashed across town to get to The Paul O’Grady Show later that afternoon.   We’re all genuinely touched by your loyalty.

So, after a few UK commitments – mainly personal, although of course there is the annual Hampton Court gala event for The Tennis Foundation – I’m off across the Atlantic for a few weeks to get my breath back before we start on the 2010 leg of the tour.

I’ll see you somewhere in 2010, I’m sure!   Meanwhile, I wish each one of you the happiest of Christmasses, and a peaceful and fulfilling New Year!

Love

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July 21st, 2009

When my office told me that my last blog was in February, nearly six months ago, I thought they were joking. How time flies when you’re enjoying yourself!!

Well, as you know, I spent the first few months of 2009 in Barbados. It was a busy time but in a relaxed sort of way – lots of house guests, lots of social activity, with work commitments thrown in to keep me on my toes. Things like the 2010 calendar shoot, the tv interview with Piers Morgan, a book-signing session and then, in March, flying into Florida to record my vocals for the new album with The Shadows at Barry Gibb’s studio. Singing with The Shadows again was extremely uplifting. The album sounds like the ‘old’ Cliff and The Shadows… only better!

I’m excited about the album and do hope you’ll all like it too. It consists mainly of new versions of our original Cliff & The Shads material, but there are three tracks on there which we’ve not recorded before. There will be a single too – Singing The Blues – with bonus tracks which don’t appear on the album. I do hope that some of you will – unlike me! – learn how to download, so that perhaps, all these years later, The Shads and I can have another hit single! Dare we hope for a No 1…

While in Barbados, I also recorded the audio-book version of My Life, My Way, which is now available, along with the paperback version of the book – which includes an additional chapter giving some of my thoughts about my 50th anniversary tour and celebrations last year. I’m so thrilled that the book has been received so positively.

At the beginning of May I flew into Nashville to record tracks for the Big Band album of American classics. This was produced by Michael Omartian; I love working with him, and we’re both excited about the tracks. You’ll have to wait a while for the finished article though!

Later in May I returned to the UK for a few days – hectic ones! I managed to get to Wimbledon to see the official opening – or should that be closing – of the new Centre Court roof, but otherwise it was all go: meetings with The Shads about the tour, a couple of important charity events, some interviews and bits of filming. I then shot off to the South of France to stay with friends, and to attend the Formula One Grand Prix in Monaco – as exhilarating and deafening as ever!

A week later I was back again, although it wasn’t a good time for me. I had promised to take part in a special tribute evening for my friend, Dora Bryan, at a London theatre, but developed a wretched sore throat that made it impossible for me to sing. I croaked through a few songs but it’s very embarrassing for me and for the audience alike. Thank heavens the crowd knew the lyrics and helped to cover up a very rough-sounding voice! I was sorry that I couldn’t give Dora the kind of performance she deserved – but there were dozens of other artists there who could, and I understand that she absolutely loved the evening, frail though she now is.

And then it was time to watch Wimbledon! Wasn’t it fantastic this year? The weather was kind, there were some absolutely amazing matches, and, although of course I was sorry that Britain’s Andy Murray didn’t make it beyond the semi-finals, the Men’s Final between Federer and Roddick was a classic. And we thought last year’s Final could never be bettered! I thought Roddick played his best tennis ever; sometimes it’s a shame that someone has to lose. That said, it was great to witness the setting of a new record – Federer’s 15 Grand Slams – what a champ!

I flew out to Portugal immediately after Wimbledon and am here until I start rehearsals with The Shads in early September. It’s not all holiday – there are a few work-related things to do, and I’ll have house guests too – but I love it here, as you all know, and it’s utterly relaxing. I’ve started learning the songs for the tour, and was surprised to find so many ‘oldies’ that I don’t know too well. But I’m getting there, and have every confidence that we’re going to have a great time!

I see that my last three blogs have all started with an apology. This one’s different – it’s going to end with one! I’m sorry it’s been so long; I’m not great at writing – letters, articles, and definitely not blogs – but I hope you’ll forgive me for the delay.

As I’ve said, the upcoming tour with The Shadows is going to be great fun for all of us – that includes you too of course. Four sexagenarians out on the road again – or, as Cilla would say, ‘four sexy-genarians’! We’re looking forward to it hugely. We’ll be having a great time – we hope you do too! See you there!

February 25th, 2009

It’s been a long time since I last blogged but, as they say, the best things in life are worth waiting for!! Sorry for the wait but the last few months of 2008 were just a tad busy!

You’d be surprised at just how time-consuming a concert tour can be. Not just the actual tour, but also the planning and preparation. The venues for the Time Machine tour were booked about two years ahead, and planning for the show started well over a year in advance. Stage sets have to be designed, music has to be selected, technicians and equipment have to be booked, hotels have to be reserved, the brochure has to be put together – the list is endless.

Initially I wasn’t too bothered about celebrating my 50th anniversary – to me it was ‘just another year’. But then the tour planning started; Headline, the publishing company, suggested a book; EMI came up with the idea of an impressive box set to mark the occasion – and suddenly I was hooked!

To me, it’s important that my audience should leave a concert feeling that they know a bit more about me than they did before and, with the help of my band, singers, dancers, technicians and my office, I hope I achieved that by sharing my 50 years of music in a special way. I loved every minute of the tour – well, except the days when I had a throat infection and wasn’t sure how my voice would hold up – and I’m so grateful to all of you who came along and supported me with such enthusiasm. In the end, it really was a tremendous celebration of 50 years!

My book, My Life, My Way, was also a real thrill. Ok, the first stages - sitting down and talking for hours about my life - were a bit tedious at times, but I couldn’t have had a better interviewer than Penny Junor. She was patient, persistent, and probing, but sensitive too. There were several drafts of the manuscript before we took a deep breath, and sent the final version to the publishers. And the end result was fantastic – again I hope it’s helped you to learn a bit more about ‘the real me’. Having a No 1 book made up – almost! – for not having a No 1 single with Thank You For A Lifetime!

Speaking of singles, I guess I’ve got to drag myself into the 21st century and get to grips with downloads – if there’s any future for singles, it seems that it will only be via downloading. There are probably some of you out there who are also as clueless as I am on all this technology! Whether there’ll be time now for me to get that elusive No 1 in this decade, I don’t know – it would be great, but I mustn’t be greedy!

By now you probably all have your tickets for my tour with The Shadows later this year. We’re all really excited about it; it’s 20 years since we last worked together in concert and, although we’ve kept in touch, we’ve seldom all met up in the intervening years. At about the time you read this blog, we’ll have announced a European tour as well, and I’m delighted that we can take the show to our longstanding fans across the Channel as well.

There will be an album too though none of us will actually be in the same studio at the same time: the miracles of modern technology mean that we’ll all be recording in different parts of the world.

I flew out of the UK about a week after my tour finished – having done the Royal Variety Show and also the Hampton Court tennis gala evening in that week - and have been in America and Barbados since then. I get back to Britain for a couple of days in May for a charity event for the RNIB, the Royal National Institute for the Blind. A good friend here in Barbados has supported them for years and asked me to perform, and of course I was happy to say yes. I’ll then be back again for Wimbledon.

At the moment I’m relaxing in the warmth of Barbados, trying to keep the garden in order, looking after house guests, and enjoying a busy social life. I’m also doing vocal exercises and getting ready to record the ‘Cliff & The Shads’ CD.

I hope this finds all of you well and, in the UK at least, surviving a pretty extreme winter!

See you in September. I can’t wait!

Love

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August 29th, 2008

Sorry this blog has been a long time coming - but here’s a run-down of what I’ve been up to since May!

I couldn’t believe it when, earlier in the year, I received an invitation to Sid Tepper’s 90th birthday party in Florida.   Sid and his co-writer, Roy C Bennett, penned The Young Ones, Travelling Light, ‘D’ In Love, and When The Girl In Your Arms… for me.   Of course I went and I felt honoured to be there as it was mostly a gathering of family and friends.   I had met Roy Bennett before, when he came to one of my Tennis Classic events in Birmingham, so it was terrific to complete the set, so to speak!

We talked a lot, ate a lot, and even sang together.   How could Sid possibly remember the lyrics to The Young Ones and Travelling Light?  Well, he not only knew the words but sang in tune too!   At the end of the party he gave me a CD of songs sung by Elvis, and written by the mighty duo!   It was a happy experience and a thrill to meet someone who had played such a major role in my recording career.   Thank you, Sid - don’t forget to invite me to your 100th!

Suddenly it was Wimbledon - and a final to end all finals.   Apparently the best one ever, according to the members I sit with and they should know - after all, they’ve seen most of them.   I was disappointed in the result because I thought Federer deserved to break Bjorn Borg’s record but, having said that, I was happy that the new champion, Nadal, is such a great sportsman and, like Roger, a wonderful role model.

Nadal should rightly be proud of his achievement but Federer should feel no shame, as he made a player five years younger fight to the death.   I still wonder what would have happened had the last set been played in daylight!

As I write this, the US Open is in full swing, and I wish both players luck.   Who knows it might be another epic final!

I travelled straight to Portugal after Wimbledon and settled into an easy routine.   For years I’ve learned my song ’sets’ for forthcoming tours while on holiday, and this year is no different.   There are so many songs for the Time Machine tour - some of course I know well but many I haven’t sung for years, and some are brand new.   I may be sun-tanned, but my brain is addled!

During the second week of Wimbledon, I’d recorded my new single Thank You For A Lifetime and I listened to mixes on the computer in Portugal.   Chris Neil, the producer, gave me the chance to put in my ‘two-penn’orth’ and I really like the end result.   The song was written by Charlie Grant and Pete Woodroffe, and I love the way they made the song autobiographical and gave me the chance to sing my thank-yours to you all.   My fingers are tightly crossed for the song’s success and I really appreciate all your support as release date approaches!

I also recorded with the Olsen Brothers from Denmark for a duet CD they are releasing.   I loved the song - Look Up, Look Down - when I first heard it and enjoyed singing it with them.   To top it all, they are really nice guys.  

During my Portugal stay, I’ve also done some bottle-signing - no different to signing books or CDs really!   I was surprised at the large crowds that turned up at the supermarket - I thought most folk would be on the beach at 11 am - but people came, I signed, they drank.   I did a second session and still they came!   I signed nearly 3,000 bottles, and now of course it’s hard to find a bottle of Vida Nova that isn’t signed!

One thing I’m glad of is that I had enough time left for tennis.   On three days a week I play with a coach at 2 pm, when the sun is at its hottest.   (I know, mad dogs and Englishmen…)   I love it though;  I chase that little yellow ball, I sweat a lot, I get my heart pumping, and I always feel it’s building up my stamina for what’s ahead of me.

But I also spend time watching the grapes grow and in the last week or two I’ve seen them being picked.   My wine-makers tell me it’s been a great year and that the wine will be very good.   We’ve had hot days and cool nights - just how the grapes like it.   And I’ve also bought some new chickens and a rooster;  I wake to his crowing and the chickens supply me with my breakfast.   Is this paradise or what?

Anyway, all good things come to an end and soon I’ll be back in England, where I hear you have not had ‘good grape weather’.   I hope some of you have escaped to some sun though and that you’re now set up for the British winter!

My real work starts the moment I get home.   September 3 sees the official launch of my book My Life, My Way and I have four days of book signings around the UK.   My single will be released on September 8, and I’ll be plugging that on radio and television, and also promoting the new box set And They Said It Wouldn’t Last.   And I might just talk a little bit about my tour!

So the build-up begins and, even as I write, I feel excited about the prospect of touring and saying hi to all of you from the stage.   I hope you’ll enjoy what we have planned for the Time Machine tour.   See you soon!

Love

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(taken from Cliff's official site)

 

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