Happy Cliffmas!

It seems that as most of the world's wildlife goes into hibernation for the winter months, Sir Cliff clambers out from the undergrowth of his labyrinthine warren to wreak complete havoc on an extra vigilant public.

Perhaps it's his 'Never Say Die' attitude, singing 'Congratulations' round the Christmas tree, or larging it up big time with the 'Living Doll' next door - or is it that Christmas for the Cliff Face is nothing more than a chance to completely balls up another Christmas single?

Understood by many to outdate the prototype London Bus that appeared for the very first time on screen in Summer Holiday, or even the Sedan Chair it seems that somehow he has managed to inspire an ever growing fan base.

In an interview recently on the one show it was mentioned that in his lifetime he has released about 78 albums, some of which contrary to belief actually contains something resembling music. With that number alone being about twenty times the number of chords Status Quo have managed to find in last 50 years and them still doing well it's not difficult to see how or why he is still being appreciated by a long suffering audience.

Long outliving Orpheus Cliff has always managed to keep ahead of the times and in his Baroque collection released in 1789 this was definitely a landmark of its generation. In fact it was embalmed and lies deep in one of the crypts of Highgate Cemetery but an original promotional copy found its way recently into the museum of Egyptology in Cairo.

To some he was the genesis of the pop revolution which is not difficult to believe for someone who began life with his sell out show, playing for Emperor Titus at the official opening of the Coliseum in Rome, around AD 80.

For his die hard fans, Cliff at the ripe old age of 92 continues to disappoint by releasing yet another single. Having heard it I can safely say that he now has a stage appearance not dissimilar to that of Meatloaf. However he still manages to bounce around the stage with more energy than Russell Mael but has he lost it as a performer – we think so.

Out of the aforementioned 78 albums over half of those are Christmas compilations and remixes of Mistletoe and Wine. Perhaps the Status Quo formula really does work…. It has for Cliff over the past decade – or maybe he should stick to playing tennis as he's probably England's best hope….

For other gems like this. And some great photography.
Please visit a good friend of mine. Dave Cable over on MySpace

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Merry Christmas