Concert Review: Cliff Richard fills the Big Dome with well-loved hits

Cliff Richard fills the Araneta Coliseum with well-loved hits

Written By Jamie Ortega || Photos by Kevin Pableo

 72 year-old British pop singer Cliff Richard rocked the night away last February 28, 2013 at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum for his one night show entitled “Cliff Richard: Still Reelin’ and A-Rockin’ – Live in Manila.”Looking and acting a lot younger than his 72 years of age, Cliff entertained the audience with a lively mix of pop ballads, classic rock and roll tunes, and heart-wrenching love songs from the ‘60s all the way to the ‘80s.

Cliff immediately got the audience in a lively mood, clapping and cheering to his first medley,including songsPoetry In Motion and Sealed with a Kiss. With the energy that he showed onstage it was hard not to get carried away, especially when the British pop star would displayhis talent in dancing, his moves ranging from foxtrot to cha-cha and everything in between! In similar fashion, whenever he would take it down a notch and perform slower songs, he would bring the audience with him, never losing his connection to the crowd.

Unlike other artists who would keep their adlibs to a minimum, Britain’s all-time greatest hit maker, with a record 123 single hits to his name, displayed a charmingly humble demeanor as he regaled the audience with funny anecdotes. Some of them were about dealing with fame, like when he was approached by a woman in a restaurant in Paris. When she asked him who he was, Cliff refused to reveal his identity. When the British pop singer finally gave his name, the woman exclaimed, “You can’t be, you’re dead!” On the other hand, some of Cliff’s other jokes were of a more personal matter, like his age. After announcing that he was reuniting with his band, The Shadows, he quipped, “Please support us, it’s our 100^th anniversary.”

As expected, the British singer sang a couple of his smash hits as well, like We Don’t Talk Anymore, I Could Easily Fall In Love With You, Summer Holiday and The Next Time, his dance moves sweet and effortless, his voice cool and soothing as ever. However, out of all the popular songs that he sang, it was Ocean Deep that got the most feedback from the audience- and with good reason!  The song is still being played to this day in karaoke joints and radio stations all over the Philippines-just like Cliff;Ocean Deepnever fails to captivate the people who listen to it. 

Aside from the jokes that were shared, Cliff also revealed bits and pieces of trivia about the songs that he sang. One such tune was Suddenly, the theme song from the 1980 Olivia Newton-John film,Xanadu. Cliff revealed that Olivia started out as one of his concert back-up singers. When she hit it big in Hollywood,she approached Cliff and asked him if he could sing Suddenlywith her because her Xanaduleading man couldn’t carry a tune. Cliff said yes, and the rest, as they say, is history. After more than two hours of captivating performances, Cliff ended the concert with a bang, performing the songs Forty Days and Do You Wanna Dance before saying goodbye.

Cliff Richard performing We Don't Talk Anymore