Cliff and Olivia perform in Newcastle
By Chad Watson, Staff Reporter
SIR Cliff Richard told Novocastrians during his weekend visit that the hopes to be alive when Prince William eventually takes the throne.
No, the British pop musicer does not want another gong. He wants to remind the would-be King of England of This first “royal command performance”.
Richard hooked up with Prince William and brother Prince Harry two years ago while they were on a European sking holiday with their mother, Diana, the late Princess of Wales.
Staying at the same Austrian hotel, Princess Diana politely asked the Peter Pan of pop to play play a few songs for her sons on his ever-present guitar.
As their mother had bought them an album of 1950s rock and roll greats, Prince Harry requested Great Balls of Fire.
Richard obliged could he refuse?-with Prince William content to jive casually while Prince Harry jumped about to The Jerry Lee Lewis classic.
“They made me do it three times,” said Sir Cliff, sharing many such anecdotes with the capacity crowd at Newcastle Entertainment Centre on Saturday.
Sir Cliff, who performed with Olivia Newton-John at the venue again last night, received rapturous applause when he urged fans to ignore the crass’ media reports surrounding Princess Diana’s divorce and death.
She was a gentle, fragile, beautiful woman, Richard said before launching into All That Matters, his contribution to the Princess Diana tribute album.
Celebrating four decades in showbusiness, Richard was showered with gifts during his two city appearances, receiving everything from bottles of wine to red roses and tennis balls. He returned service with a display of effervescent singing, energetic dancing and endless bowing that belied his 57 years.
The set of covered and original material followed a timeline through the 1940s (Cole Porter’s Ev’rytime We Say Goodbye), ’50s (Daddy’s Home by Shep and The Limelights), ’60s (Carol King’s Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?, made popular by the Shirelles), ’70s (Devil Woman), ’80s (Wired For Sound) and ’90s (Bob Carlisle’s Butterfly Kisses) to tracks from a yet-to-be-released album.
His playing partners were former Novocastrian Newton-John, duets with whom included All I Ask Of You from The Phantom Of The Opera, his regular band, three male back-up singers, a brass section and the Australian Philharmonic Orchestra.
Sir Cliff disappointed only when he declined a ‘kiss on the cheek’ from a female fan and ignored pleas for signature hits Summer Holiday and Livin Doll.
Newton-John, who started her first of three stage appearances with Physical (complete with star jumps), told the audience she was glad to be back in the city.
‘I remember riding horses along Nobbys Beach and making a general nuisance of myself,’ said ‘Our Livvy’, who impressed with a reworked version of her 1974 hit I Honestly Love You.