Cliff Richard
Cliff Richard
Cliff Richard in 2006.
Background information
Birth name
Harry Roger Webb
Born
14 October 1940 (1940-10-14)
Lucknow, United Provinces,
British India
Origin
London, England, UK
Genre(s)
Rock and roll/Pop/Gospel
Occupation(s) Singer/Songwriter, actor and
entrepreneur
Instrument(s) Vocals, Guitar
Years active
1958 – present
Label(s)
EMI, Decca, Columbia, Epic,
Rocket, Papillon
Associated
acts
The Shadows
Website
CliffRichard.org
Sir Cliff Richard OBE (born Harry Roger
Webb on 14 October 1940[1]) is an English
singer-songwriter and entrepreneur.
With his backing group The Shadows,
Richard dominated the British popular music
scene in the late 1950s and early 1960s, be-
fore and during The Beatles’ first year in the
charts. A conversion to Christianity and sub-
sequent softening of his music led to his hav-
ing more of a pop than rock image. He never
achieved the same impact in the United
States despite several chart singles there,
but he has remained a popular music, film,
and television personality in the United King-
dom and he retains a following in other
countries.
During six decades, Cliff Richard has
charted many singles, and holds the record
(with Elvis Presley) as the only act to make
the UK singles charts in all of its decades
(1950s–2000s). He is the only singer to have
had a number one single in the UK in five
consecutive decades, doing so from the
1950s through to the 1990s. On the British
charts, Richard has had more than 130
singles, albums and EPs make the top 20,
more than any other artist.[2] He has sold
more than 260 million records.[3]
Biography
1940–1958: Childhood
Cliff Richard was born to Anglo-Indian par-
ents, at the King George Hospital, Victoria
Street, in Lucknow, British India, to Rodger
Oscar, a train driver of Indian Rail, and
Dorothy Marie (born Dazely) Webb. He was
christened on 2 November, 1940 at St Tho-
mas’ Church, Dehradun, India. In 1947[?] ,
following Indian independence, the family
moved to Britain.
The Webbs moved from comparative
wealth in India whe