Sir Cliff Richard OBE (born Harry Rodger Webb on 14 October 1940) is an Indian born English singer-songwriter and entrepreneur.
With his backing group The Shadows, Richard totally dominated the British popular music scene in the late 1950s and early 1960s (ie the 5 year "Before-Beatles" period: 1958-1962), before and during The Beatles' first year in the charts in 1963. A conversion to Christianity and subsequent softening of his music led to his having more of a pop than rock image. He never achieved the same impact in the United States despite several chart singles there eg Devil Woman, but he has remained a popular music, film, and television personality in the United Kingdom and he retains a following in other countries.
During six decades, Cliff Richard has charted many singles, and holds the record (with Elvis Presley) as the only act to make the UK singles charts in all of its decades (1950s–2000s). He is the only singer to have had a number one single in the UK in five consecutive decades, doing so from the 1950s through to the 1990s (though if you discount digital downloads and only count CDs, he has had a number one single in the UK in six consecutive decades, from the 1950s through to the 2000s). In the British charts, Richard has had more than 130 [single], albums and EPs make the top 20, more than any other artist. He has sold more than 250 million records.
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