In the mood for Cliff Richard

If you had no idea as to what raging hormones were while growing up during the ’60s, then you were probably listening to the music of Cliff Richard. Elvis Presley swiveled his hips to let all the rage and whatever was boiling inside him out. Pat Boone washed them clean to an antiseptic glow to the delight of worried parents. But Cliff Richard wove them into romantic fantasies, the kind which brought sighs, sent knees buckling and hearts a pounding.

Of course, like most young stars of the time, Richard, the first pop star knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his contribution to music, also rocked. The frenetic Move It was the first Cliff Richard song I ever heard. Baby boomers though, most especially the females doubtless remember how they swooned over Richard singing When the Girl in Your Arms is the Girl in Your Heart in the teen musical The Young Ones and how they continued to do so during the coming years.

Now, all that started ages ago. They also enjoyed watching his other films like Summer Holiday, Wonderful Life and Finders Keepers and other hits like On the Beach, The Next Time, I Love You, Don’t Talk to Him, Please Don’t Tease and many others. But I am sure that their reaction will be no different when the famous singing idol breezes into town for a one-night-only performance at the Araneta Coliseum on Feb. 13. Come to think of it, their behavior could be worse considering that they would be watching, armed with years and years of memories.

But back to this great piece of news. That’s right, Richard, who, next to Elvis and the Beatles, must be the most desired foreign act out of the past among local concert-goers, will be at the Big Dome for the Valentine Season. Entitled Here and Now Tour 2007 Cliff Richard Live in Manila, the show is part of the British singer’s world tour which kicked off in London last November and marks the second time he will visit the Philippines. Tickets are priced at P8,500, P7,500, P6,500, P4,000, P2,000 and P500. They are available at Ticketnet Outlets in SM Department Stores and at the Araneta Coliseum box-office.

Take note though, that Richard’s popularity is not limited to baby boomers. Sure, they were the first to grow up and fall in love with the sound of the early hits like The Young Ones, Bachelor Boy, Livin’ Doll, Theme for a Dream, It’s All in the Game, A Matter of Moments and many others. Subsequent generations though, were also given their own share of songs by Cliff Richard for their personal soundtracks. That was not really hard to do. After all, this guy has recorded hundreds of songs and has already sold over 250 million records in the course of his nearly 40-year career.

Think Devil Woman, Miss You Nights and We Don’t Talk Anymore for the ’70s; Suddenly with Olivia Newton John, My Pretty One, Best of Me and Ocean Deep during the ’80s; All I Ask of You with Sarah Brightman, Little Town and Millennium Prayer for the ’90s; and From a Distance, I Cannot Give You My Love with Barry Gibb and Santa’s List for the new century.

There will be many others hit-loving Pinoys will expect Cliff Richard to perform during his show. They love this guy so much, you can still hear Constantly and Legato Ad Un Granello di Sabbia playing in out-of-the-way places in the provinces. The concert will make for a truly enjoyable evening.

To get into the Cliff Richard mood, you might want to check out two of his albums which are now locally available. One is Two’s Company, a duet collection with six brand new recordings and eight classics he performs with other big names. Move It with Brian May and Brian Bennett; Anyone Who Had a Heart with Dionne Warwick; Miss You Nights with G4; Yesterday Once More with Daniel O’Donnell; She Means Nothing to Me with Phil Everly; All I Ask of You with Sarah Brightman; Let There Be Love with Matt Monroe; Throw Down a Line with Hank Marvin; Fields of Gold with Barry Gibb; Up Where We Belong with Anne Murray; Slow Rivers with Elton John; Suddenly with Olivia Newton John; Danny Boy with Helmut Lotti; and Reunited with Lulu.

The other one is a big treat for all of his fans and nostalgia trippers among us. The title is Complete Hits and it has 55 Cliff Richard recordings in its two discs. Well, it does not include Ocean Deep so you cannot really call it complete but then I do not think anybody will say no to owning a copy of such an impressive collection.