Olivia was in one big, happy, tearful state when I sprang my surprise
There was only one customer in the shop - Cliff Richard the pop world’s eligible bachelor. If he was looking slightly embarrassed it was no wonder.
He was buying a wedding dress of all things. The lucky girl who was to get the beautiful dress was 24-year-old singer, Olivia Newton-John. “But before you jump to conclusions let me say the gown was for Olivia to wear on stage and not in church,” chuckles Cliff.
He has just returned from a 24,000 mile Far East tour of Indonesia, Hong Kong and Japan when I spoke to him, writes Rex King. It was on this tour that Cliff bought the wedding gown, in a Tokyo shop. Olivia was also in the 12 strong group on the tour.
“One morning she and I decided to do a bit of sightseeing and window shopping in Tokyo,” Cliff said. “We were just passing one shop when Olivia suddenly stopped. “In the window was a magnificent Japanese wedding gown in white satin and beautifully embroidered in gold. I suppose it was enough to make any girl stop and stare. There was no price tag, just a notice to say the gown was second-hand.”
“When we walked away from that window I had already made up my mind I was going to buy that gown for Olivia’s 24th birthday on September 26th. I didn’t tell her of course.”
Later that day Cliff told the rest of the group about the gown but swore them to secrecy. The big problem was to stop Olivia going to the shop and asking about the gown for she had been greatly taken by it and kept talking about it. Without rousing her suspicions someone in the group always made a point of going with her when she went shopping, being careful to steer her clear of that particular dress shop.
“Another secret we kept from her was the large birthday cake I had arranged to be taken aboard the plane along with four bottles of champagne,” said Cliff. “Luckily there were not too many passengers on the flight and all twelve of us were able to sit together.”
So high in the sky, Olivia got the surprise of her life when the captain made a special “Happy Birthday” announcement over the speaker system.
The before she could recover along came the air hostess with the birthday cake and candle. “Poor Olivia! She was in one big happy, tearful state when I sprung my special surprise - the wedding gown. She was too thrilled to even speak, for a while,” he said. “Finally she collected herself, thanked us and we toasted her with champagne and each had a slice of birthday cake.”
The wedding dress was the centre of attraction again, when Olivia was going through Customs at Heathrow. When she was asked the value of the gown she got quite flustered. “I don’t know. It was a birthday present,” she said. “Luckily I was right behind her in the queue,” said Cliff. “I took the Customs Officer aside and told him the value of the gown. He was very understanding and didn’t breathe a word.”
How much did Cliff pay for the gown, I wondered? His brown eyes twinkled. “That’s a secret known only to two other people - the woman in the Tokyo shop and the Customs officer.”
Audiences at Cliff’s present concert tour in Britain will get the chance to see the wonderful wedding gown, for Olivia reckons to wear it when singing duets with Cliff. “Olivia is a great girl, a great singer and a close friend of mine. And we are both in the same family as it were - both managed by Peter Gormley.”
Did I detect a romantic interest in Olivia? Cliff stroked his chin. “I seem to spend all my time denying rumours. I’ve come to expect it because, so I’m told, I am an eligible bachelor.”
“On this Far East tour I was getting the same questions all the time. We are just good friends,” he said, changing the subject to his fans.
“I find audiences in the Far East react better now. In Japan, for example, when I first performed there, I was greeted by silence. I gave them all my good popular songs like Living Doll and still they remained quiet. At the end I was politely clapped.”
“This trip it was different. The oriental reserve had gone and they were more like a British audience - clapping and cheering every number. I think as more British and American artists appear over there the reserve will disappear.”
One thing for sure the fans were good to Cliff and the group. “They were wonderful. They loaded gifts on us. I was very touched when one fan gave me a beautiful string of pearls for my mother. I thought that a very nice gesture.”