How Cliff Richard inspired Scottish rockers

How Cliff Richard inspired Scottish rockers on a drunken night out

Biffy Clyro are coy - or fed up - when it comes to explaining their band’s teasingly odd name.
Though no-one at Sheffield Arena on Saturday night will care about that, it still needs to be outlined to the rest of the world.
The Scots rockers joke about their origins but the best explanation concerns a pen...
One of the members supposedly owned a Cliff Richard pen - a “Cliffy Biro” - which was accidentally spoonerised on a drunken night out. Cliffy Biro becomes Biffy Clyro when you transpose the first letters of each word.
Simon Neil appeared to confirm this as the real reason in a 2010 interview with Eve Jackson on France 24, and said that it was “a stupid name” that was often “awkward” to explain its origins when the band started and when not many had heard their music. But that aside Biffy Clyro are fresh from a triumphant return to live appearances and are on their their biggest arena tour to date in the wake of their eagerly anticipated new double-album ‘Opposites’. Again produced by Garth Richardson in Los Angeles, ‘Opposites’ signals the band’s growing ambition with twenty-two tracks spread across two discs: ‘The Sand at the Core of Our Bones’ and ‘The Land at the End of Our Toes’.
Biffy Clyro’s tour in support of ‘Only Revolutions’ – which earned a Mercury Prize nomination and sold in excess of 600,000 copies – saw them elevated to arena and festival headlining status as they played three sold-out UK tours which included a landmark show at Wembley Arena. Their status as one of Britain’s most exciting bands was reflected with Best Live Band awards from both NME and Q in 2011.
Their ferocious set is lit by jets of blue flame, burning red teardrops falling from the rigging and, most importantly, three new tracks.

 

What do Cliff Richard have in common?

What do Cliff Richard, a Goon and a Soviet Spy have in common? 

BEST OF BRITISH
1. Which English county can boast 13 of the 40 place-names in the United Kingdom that begin with the letter Z?
2. Which Scottish town at the foot of Ben Nevis was rebuilt as a garrison in 1690 and named after the reigning monarch?
3. Which charity and pressure group was founded in Didsbury in 1889 by a Mrs Robert Williamson, as a circle of ladies pledging themselves not to wear feathers in their hats?

Missing link: George Orwell, Spike Milligan, Vivien Leigh, Kim Philby, Joanna Lumley, William Makepeace Thackeray and Cliff Richard. In which country were they all born?

4. Which is the only pub on the Monopoly board?
5. Which British supermarket chain has the highest market share, with more than 30 per cent?
6. Which Welsh county is an amalgamation of the three former counties: Breconshire, Radnorshire and Montgomeryshire?
7. In which British city would you find a cathedral at each end of Hope Street and football clubs on opposite sides of Stanley Park?
8. Which college has an ‘e’ at Cambridge but not at Oxford?
9. Traditionally, the flat racing season begins in March and ends in November. At which racecourse?
10. Bristol, Bodmin, Horwich, Liverpool South, Warwick, Port Talbot, Southampton Airport and Tiverton. What’s the connection?
SCREEN IDOLS
1. Ashley, aged 17, and Pudsey, then aged six. What did they win in May last year?
2. Who is the only member of the Simpsons family who is not named after a close relative of the series creator Matt Groening?
3. Max Zorin, Dr Kananga, Emilio Largo, Karl Stromberg, General Orlov and, in the new one, Raoul Silva. Who are they?
4. Which TV drama series, first shown in 2006, had the working title ‘Ford Cortina’?
5. Four of the men were dancers, one was a gymnast, one was a former professional baseball player and only one was an actor. All seven women were dancers. In which 1954 film?
6. Between 1993 and 2004, who most famously broadcast on KACL 780 AM?

. The American broadcasting company HBO, makers of the television series The Sopranos, Sex And The City (starring Sarah Jessica Parker, right), The Wire and many others. What do the letters HBO stand for?8. The Sherman brothers, Richard and Robert, won Oscar for Best Song in 1964 for one of their many songs in Mary Poppins. Which one?
9. In 2010, Doctor Who sent the Doctor and Amy to Arles to meet Vincent Van Gogh. The episode was written by which British screenwriter and director, whose films have grossed more than $1 billion?
10. Until it was overtaken a couple of years ago by the Super Bowl, the highest rated individual programme in American TV history was the last episode of a long-running and much-loved comedy series, which in 1983 was watched by nearly 106 million viewers. Which series?

AROUND THE WORLD

1. George Orwell, Spike Milligan, Vivien Leigh, Kim Philby, Joanna Lumley, William Makepeace Thackeray and Cliff Richard. In which country were they all born?
2. It started life as an insurance office. After the revolution it became a jail and later the offices of the KGB. What is this building in central Moscow called?
3. In which major Commonwealth city are there areas called Paddington, Kensington, Dulwich Hill, Woolwich, Greenwich and Balmoral?
4. Two EU member states give their heads of government the title of Chancellor. Germany is one; what is the other?
5. Which island lies approximately 56 miles due south of Sicily?
6. What did Cape Canaveral become in 1963, before becoming Cape Canaveral again in 1973?
7. What is the most visited amusement or theme park outside the US? It hosted 13.65 million people in 2009.
8. Which Englishman is believed to have been the first person to set foot on all six inhabited continents (i.e. not including Antarctica)?
9. In which South American country would you find the source of the river Amazon?
10. What relatively unusual occurrence was recorded in the Sahara Desert on February 18, 1979?

Reflections of a Rock AND Roll Tour

Reflections of a Rock and Roll Tour roars into Potters Bar

NIGHTS in White Satin, He Ain’t Heavy (He’s My Brother), Carrie and Do Wah Diddy – just some of the classic singles that can be heard in Potters Bar next weekend.

The Moody Blues musician Gordy Marshall is debuting a new show featuring the songs at the Wyllyotts Theatre.

Marshall, who has been touring as the drummer for The Moody Blues for the past 23 years, has put together a fabulous production celebrating the music of the very best of British classic rock and pop.

He has assembled a crack team of top professional musicians and singers, all of whom are directly associated with the artists being celebrated in the show.

Reflections of a Rock & Roll Tour offers the hits of Cliff Richard, The Hollies, The Moody Blues, The Manfreds and Jeff Wayne’s The War of the Worlds, faithfully recreated at the Wyllyotts on Friday, September 21, in what will be the very first outing for the show.

Marshall told the Welwyn Hatfield Times: “The music of these particular artists interested me, not only because it’s great music, from what is very quickly becoming considered a renaissance period in contemporary music, but also because some of my closest friends have worked with them… and in most cases still do.

“My best friend, our keyboard player Paul Bliss, toured with me for nearly 20 years in The Moody Blues, a great friend of mine, the guitarist Huw Davies, played with me on Jeff Wayne’s arena tour of The War of the Worlds, our bass player Marcus Cliffe plays bass and sings with The Manfreds and my cherry on the top is Peter Howarth – we’ve been the best of friends since our early teens – who just happens to be the current lead singer with The Hollies.

“Peter has also been recording and touring with Cliff Richard for 25 years, and both Huw and I have worked with Cliff on occasions.

“With such a world-class band sitting in my address book, I asked them all to become part of this great new show called Reflections of a Rock & Roll Tour. All in all, it’s one hell of a band.”

Marshall has had a very busy year. His first book, Postcards from a Rock & Roll Tour, was published by Splendid Books earlier this month.

A witty and wry take on life on the road touring with The Moody Blues, it is described as “part memoir, part travelogue” and “a candid, unexpected and often hilarious account of just what it’s like to travel around the world playing to sell-out audiences, living out of a suitcase and spending days and days on a tour bus, with the legendary rock band The Moody Blues”.

Cliff Richard fan steals thousands from pensioner

A Cliff Richard fan has admitted swindling tens of thousands of pounds out of an elderly woman – to spend on bills and the superstar’s merchandise.
Suzanne Hubbard has pleaded guilty to five counts of fraud and theft, taking almost £70,000 from the same elderly lady between March 2006 and June 2011.
The charges include various transactions such as a payment of £60 to the DVLA, £246 to Virgin Media and £396 to buy goods from The Cliff Richard – the Summer Holiday singer’s official website.
The 40-year-old pleaded guilty to fraudulently using the pensioner’s Lloyds TSB debit card and spending £5,396 between March 21, 2006, and February 1, 2011.
She also pleaded guilty to using the Lloyds TSB debit card at an ATM between September 19, 2009, and June 9, 2011 withdrawing a total of £13,297 in that timeframe.
Hubbard has admitted stealing cheques to the total value of £15,232 between April 12, 2007 and September 9, 2010.
She also stole a further £35,460 between September 26, 2007, and March 28, 2011.
The defendant also admitted a further charge of fraudulently carrying out financial transactions on the elderly victim’s HSBC current account between March 23, 2010, and April 20, 2010.
Although Hubbard, of Haden Way, Willingham, has pleaded guilty to the five counts that total £69,971, she denies that she stole and fraudulently took the amounts that the Crown has stated in the charges.
A sentencing hearing has been provisionally set for September 24 at the Crown court.
The Cliff Richard merchandise ranged from mugs, key rings, T-shirts and silky cushion covers displaying the singer’s image to the star’s very own wine, calendars, CDs, concert DVDs.
This case comes to light following a number of cases where people have taken advantage of elderly people including Mahletchimi Ramudu, 53, and her two daughters, Angela Davis and Jessica Mahatevan who stole £274,000 of life savings from an 83-year-old war hero as they posed as friendly helpers.
Ramudu, of Stanley Road, Abbey, was jailed for five years, Davis, 27, of Mortlock Avenue, East Chesterton, for three, and Mahatevan, 18, who lived with her mother, was sentenced to 18 months in a young offenders’ institution.

 

Cliff Richard show is debut performance

The Young Musical Theatre Company for young performers has been set up by Simon and Emma Boddy with their first show being Cliff Richard's musical vehicle Summer Holiday in Street.

The classic story sees four young bus mechanics take a London double-decker bus on a holiday-of-a-lifetime, journeying around Europe, picking up three lovely ladies in France and an unlikely stowaway en route.
Like the film, the stage show is filled with the same memorable Cliff Richard hits under the musical direction of Luke Holman.
The cast of talented 13 to 25 year olds will also perform a Saturday matinee at the theatre in Street where the audience can dress up and sing along.
Children aged 6 to 12 can also go to a pre-matinee workshop to learn a song and dance routine and perform it with the cast.
The production team, led by Peter Fernandez, is working on a voluntary basis with the profits from the show being donated to the Strode Theatre.
The 1960s musical is being updated, modernised and revamped to provide a modern flavour but with a taste of great British nostalgia – with the cast even singing and dancing their way in and out of a classic full-size red double-decker bus.
Tickets for the 7.30pm performances on Thursday, August 30, Friday 31 and Saturday, September 1 are now available at £12 each (£11 concessions).
Tickets are also available for the 2.30pm matinee performance for the Saturday at £10 each.
To book go to the www.strode theatre.co.uk website or phone 01458 442846.
Tickets for the Saturday workshop are available at £25 each which includes a ticket for the show.
Contact Emma Boddy on 07890 083995 for further details.

 

Walking The Shadows walk in Swindon

Walking The Shadows walk in Swindon

 

LOVE The Shadows? Then you’ll love an act coming to the Arts Centre on Saturday. The unmistakable 1960s hits from Hank Marvin, Bruce Welch and John Farrarr – includng their famous collaborations with Cliff Richard – will ring out at the Devizes Road venue from 7.30pm, when The Undercover Shadows take to the stage.
The Undercover Shadows perform Apache, Wonderful LIfe and Atlantis as well as instrumental covers of The Young Ones, On The Beach, Move It, Summer Holiday, Don’t Cry For Me Argentina and Mark Knopfler’s Going Home in the iconic Shadows show.
Lee Grant the bass guitarist with The Undercover Shadows said: “It is an absolute pleasure to be playing these tunes on stage. I first learned to play Apache 38 years ago when I was just six, so this is almost a childhood dream for me and the same goes for the rest of the guys.’’ Clutching their red Fender electric guitars the guys strut The Shadows dance and take their audience back to the heady days of the 1960s.
Joining Lee in the band are Adam Knight on lead guitar, Russell Neal on rhythm guitar, Dave Garner on keyboards and Mark Winter on drums.
“We all have a deep down respect and admiration for The Shadows,’’ said Lee.

 

Sir Cliff Richard

Sir Cliff Richard: 'I want to duet with Rihanna and Lady Gaga'

Cliff Richard has revealed that he would like to duet with Rihanna and Lady Gaga.
According to the Press Association, Richard - best known for his hits such as 'Summer Holiday' and 'Devil Woman' – is eager to work with either of the pop stars on a collaboration, as long as the song is to his liking.
Richard, who has previously released two duets albums in 2006's 'Two's Company' and 2011's 'Soulicious', said: "Somebody asked me if I'd like to sing with Rihanna and I thought, 'Who wouldn't?' She looks fantastic, she's got a great voice, but in the case of duets, if it's feasible, it's always a matter of what the song is.
"If we both like the song, that's the best way to do a duet. I couldn't just say, 'Yes, I'll come' and then sing some dance thing I don't like."
When asked about the possibility of working with 'Born This Way' star Lady Gaga, meanwhile, he replied: Well, Gaga's got a great voice. These people are great singers. It would be dependent on whether they wanted to sing with someone like me.

The singer, who also said he liked "tangling tonsils with other artists" on duets, added: "I have nothing to offer them in America, yet, but in the rest of the world I'm known, so I guess it's feasible to do duets with people like that but it's not just my choice, it has to be their choice as well.

Earlier this week, Lady Gaga was named on the longlist for the 2012 Academy Award for Best Song. She has been recognised for her 'Hello Hello' duet with Elton John, which featured in the film Gnomeo and Juliet.

Meanwhile, Dutch magazine editor Eva Hoeke resigned earlier this week following complaints over a piece in the fashion publication Jackie which referred to Rihanna as a "n---- bitch" (December 21). Rihanna took to Twitter to address Hoeke, telling her that she found her "disrespectful and rather desperate".