Cliff Richard and the Shadows - the first 10 years 1958-68

 Cliff Richard and the Shadows - the first 10 years 1958-68

Cliff Richard and the Shadows in 1960

In 1958, Cliff Richard embarked on a pop career that still continues nearly 70 years later.

Of the many groups and individuals entering the new Pop Music world in the late 1950's, very few survived in the business longer than the next few years into the 1960's.

Cliff Richard was different, he also had a backing band the Shadows who performed in their own right and this combined unit kept them popular and selling records long after many of their fellow performers had fallen off the charts.

Although a number of the performers of the time continued in the business, they never really in most cases recaptured their original success, although they have found new audiences in the revival scene. 

The Beatles were kept out of the British Music scene for some years, 1959-62 at least because Cliff and the Shadows had their popularity assured, charting top ten records, making films and performing live. 

Their key asset was acceptability, smartly dressed, able to move on stage and present themselves - things they had seen on their 1960 American tour, gave them a head start in Britain.

Liked by young and old, their music was good too.

The acceptability kept them in the music scene long after many of their contemporaries had waned. Even the Beatles could not consign them to the musical hinterland.

Cliff Richard and the Shadows in 1968

By 1968 though, musical tastes had changed and their star started to fade, later in that year, they called it a day but were by no means finished. With a return through chart music in the early 1970s and reunion concerts, they found a new audience and retained their old one too.

The success of their new tours and new recordings was strong, they continued as time allowed to perform together for years after.