Happy 80th Birthday Sir Cliff Richard!
If you are not British you probably have no idea of who we are talking about . This elfin like man single-handedly dominated the UK Pop Charts in a career spanning over 60 years
More than 130 of his singles, albums and eps have reached the UK Top 20, and he has had 67 UK top ten singles, the second highest total for an artist behind Elvis. Richard holds the record (with Elvis) as the only act to make the UK singles charts in all of its first six decades (1950s–2000s).
Yet all his attempts to break into the US market failed miserably, so he has been one of our best kept secrets for all these years. Just Richard’s sexuality when in the early part of his life the ever-so-polite Brits called him a ‘confirmed bachelor’.
Most of us living in the LGBTQ community in London in the 80’s and 90’s knew different. but said nothing and left it to the tabloid press to spread idle gossip. It was an era when so many people in the public eye would neither deny or confirm,
That badly backfired fior Richard when in 2014 his house was raided by the Police following up an accusation of sexual misconduct. The Police investigations and the aggressive media coverage last four years, and even though Richard was never charged, the case did considerable harm to his once perfect reputation.
He then immigrated to the US where he can be more anonymous and lives with John McElynn, a Catholic Priest whom he met in 2001. He relinquished his British nationality too.
Labels: 2020, Birthday, Sir Cliff Richard
