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grandad

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Just now, Bridgehouse said:

Indeed - but when you look at his total sales, some of your faith in humanity might get knocked again....

I know. It's depressing.

In all seriousness, I'm not knocking anyone's taste and all that, if they get pleasure out of Cliff then more power to them. But ... jesus wept. It's Cliff. I'd rather castrate myself with a plastic fork than listen to anything by him.

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2 hours ago, Japhet said:

I've seen Robin Trower a few times in recent years and watching this old, grey bloke come on stage and then proceed to melt your face with his guitar work is a wonderful thing to behold, especially since I'm not that far behind him in years.If people want to pay to watch you do your thing, I couldn't care less how old you are.

+1 on Robin Trower

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5 hours ago, grandad said:

Mr WHUFC BASS you are perhaps being a bit harsh. What about 'Move It' ?

Just to play the devil's advocate...

Cliff Richards was no Elvis, but for Britain he was a face saver. He was just as good as any teen idol at the time; Fabian Paul Anka... The UK market for 45's consisted of pre-teen and teen-aged girls with allowances and pocket money and with screaming hormones that were repressed and depressed. The back-room boys chomped on their cigars and knew that a crooner with a boy-next-door face, undamaged, could coax 7/6 out of their purse in a heartbeat. He was a tamed Elvis, but was Britain ready for a home-grown Elvis? (He would have been deported by the BBC...)

This video shows how The Shadows made it a hit. If Cliff was no Elvis, then the Ventures were no Shadows. And the real magic is the rhythm guitarist's power chords and the drummer's cymbal & snare sticking. A remarkable track that I still listen to for it's British almost rawness. A pre-cursor of Long Cool Woman? 

It's a mistake to compare a 1960 performance by today's 2020 standards, anyway. I was around in 1960. Those days were super repressive and extremely low key. I don't know of any other Cliff Richard song of this nature (Move It). Then he went the way of the Elvis movie. Vanilla, but more lucrative, back then. From a Vauxhall to a Jag...

 

 

Edited by StringNavigator
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IMO The Shadows were absolutely amazing and Hank Marvin was truly inspirational to a generation of guitarists, among whom Eric Clapton, Tony Iommi, Andy Summers, Syd Barrett, George Harrison, David Gilmour, Brian May, Mark Knopfler, Peter Frampton, Steve Howe, Roy Wood,Pete Townshend, Ritchie Blackmore and Jeff Beck all cite him as an influence. Now I don't know about you, but I reckon if someone can influence a list of influential guitarists like that, they must be doing something right.

It never ceases to amaze me the amount of guitarists who try to emulate Hank Marvin's sound too.

Oh, and his name is also a phrase used to tell everyone how hungry you are. Now if that isn't a legacy to live up to, then nothing is!

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31 minutes ago, WHUFC BASS said:

IMO The Shadows were absolutely amazing and Hank Marvin was truly inspirational to a generation of guitarists, among whom Eric Clapton, Tony Iommi, Andy Summers, Syd Barrett, George Harrison, David Gilmour, Brian May, Mark Knopfler, Peter Frampton, Steve Howe, Roy Wood,Pete Townshend, Ritchie Blackmore and Jeff Beck all cite him as an influence. Now I don't know about you, but I reckon if someone can influence a list of influential guitarists like that, they must be doing something right.

It never ceases to amaze me the amount of guitarists who try to emulate Hank Marvin's sound too.

Oh, and his name is also a phrase used to tell everyone how hungry you are. Now if that isn't a legacy to live up to, then nothing is!

+1

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he's the same age (and was born in the same place) as my Dad.  He's looking a lot better for his 78 years than my old man does.

Weirdly I get occasional e-mails about Cliff merch - it's run by the same company that does Jethro Tull and I must have got on a mailing list at some point...he's clearly selling to a very different market...

But much as i have never had any interest in his music, if he's doing it for the love of the crowd, good luck to him.  That thing about finding a job you like and you'll never do a day's work in your life...and I guess you could say the same about Lemmy, who was on tour until his death, albeit that they made quite different lifestyle choices

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Sometimes... I have a thought that I'm not particularly fond of. But it seems to arise "out of the blue" as a natural response to some item of interest. Back in 1970, I was privileged to see and hear the great Peggy Lee at an outdoor concert with The Chicago Transit Authority. Chicago was in top form, but they're much more majestic on record than an outdoor concert in a football stadium. I could only imagine how they'd sound in a small venue.

However, Miss Peggy Lee, as professional and talented and strikingly beautiful as she was, appeared and sounded far different from her recordings and glossy photos. Yes... Time marches on! And it stomps on us all as it does. I was content to finally see her perform, live on stage, taffy-pulling through an abridged medley of hits while the muses ascended and the crowd rose to their feet in deafening applause to a Fever finale. But the mental image that remains with me is Peggy Lee on a stage, post war at the height of the Big Band Era, interpreting a torch song in an emotional pantomime.

I hate to be the one to say it aloud, but are we not all shallow in this respect? We hold up this romantic image of a star in their prime. Glowing, youthful faces with vibrant voices, trim and fit or shapely, striving with all their might to "hit" that finale note as the camera pulls back and the image fades out to black. Giants of talent all walk that lonesome path to Paloockaville... Sinatra, Tom Jones, Peggy Lee, Petula Clark, Julie Andrews, Cliff Richards, Elvis... Why, as we all age, others find us boring, bland and forgettable. Our voices waver and become hoarse. Some of us carve our faces with surgery to remain beautiful and youthful looking. Oh, but it only looks good in the dim light! A fool's fool we are...   

What is the cause for this phenomenon? Is it truly what the showbiz boys of yore once called "sex appeal"? This is perverse. We lose interest in talented entertainers as they wrinkle and grey, not because they have lost their talents, but because they are no longer fertile or capable of reproduction? Are we mesmerised by genius or simply transfixed on sexuality? Staring through a fleeting window of fecundity?

Edited by StringNavigator
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How long can you go on being good at what you do best? Sports-people have this the hardest imho. How many cricketers / footballers / <your favourite sport> have you seen retire at their peak, or go on "too long" - or carry on playing in lower leagues because that is what they know and love? 

I saw Albert Lee when he was 68 and he was awesome. Two years later, on his 70th birthday tour, he was still superb in his best moments, but I was shocked at how frail he was, and how much more of the initiative and drive of the gig was down to the other band members. He's still touring, but I won't go to see him again. 

I saw John Mayall open for B B King a while back. JM was awesome, but B B was so far past his best that I actually wish i hadn't seen him. Last year I saw JM headlining, and again wished I hadn't. It was just sad. 

Both of these are nothing about number of years, it's just the sorrow of seeing someone you respected as a fine musician performing so far below the standard you respected them for. 

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39 minutes ago, josie said:

How long can you go on being good at what you do best? Sports-people have this the hardest imho. How many cricketers / footballers / <your favourite sport> have you seen retire at their peak, or go on "too long" - or carry on playing in lower leagues because that is what they know and love? 

I saw Albert Lee when he was 68 and he was awesome. Two years later, on his 70th birthday tour, he was still superb in his best moments, but I was shocked at how frail he was, and how much more of the initiative and drive of the gig was down to the other band members. He's still touring, but I won't go to see him again. 

I saw John Mayall open for B B King a while back. JM was awesome, but B B was so far past his best that I actually wish i hadn't seen him. Last year I saw JM headlining, and again wished I hadn't. It was just sad. 

Both of these are nothing about number of years, it's just the sorrow of seeing someone you respected as a fine musician performing so far below the standard you respected them for. 

I agree, seeing your idols ( and in my case sometimes my peers...) starting to lose it with advancing years is indeed very sad. ( Anyone see Rod Stewart on Strictly?)

One of the few who haven't gone this way for me is Sir Tom Jones. I reckon he's still spot on despite his 78 years.

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1 hour ago, josie said:

How long can you go on being good at what you do best?

You are so right, Josie. We can't be our best forever. And it's best we should realise that early, to motivate the fire within while we can. Every protagonist unwittingly treads the parabolic path...

Introduction-Struggle & Grief-Peaking-Decline-Cessation.

Even Our Lord did so. He never stopped until they stopped Him. But I pray that we all get the chance to dance the pizzicato until the day we feel that tap on the shoulder...

On ‎23‎/‎11‎/‎2018 at 04:15, grandad said:

I watched Cliff Richard on the Oneshow last night. 78 and still performing! There must be a name for the compulsion to keep on performing and not gracefully retire... They just can't stop... And I'm not saying it's a bad thing... Performing, I much prefer to stand/sit at the back and I enjoy that supporting role.

And you, sir, are 70! I hope you bop till you drop! Congratulations.

I'm just behind you and I've just joined a bar band. How can you possibly get it out of your system? I think my last day will be when I pluck the E string and it doesn't make a sound...

Edited by StringNavigator
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34 minutes ago, StringNavigator said:

You are so right, Josie. We can't be our best forever. And it's best we should realise that early, to motivate the fire within while we can. Every protagonist unwittingly treads the parabolic path...

Introduction-Struggle & Grief-Peaking-Decline-Cessation.

The best at different things can come at different times in our lives. My best as a university lecturer was about 15 years ago, and I recognised that and gave it up 10 years ago. I will almost certainly never be as good a bass player as I was a lecturer, but my best as a bass player is yet to come. With care and practice and a following wind I won't live to "cessation". I don't want to. 

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On 23/11/2018 at 12:05, leftybassman392 said:

Another perspective: a good friend and fellow BassChatter was Alvin Stardust's bass player for a number of years. I don't doubt that Alvin enjoyed what he did, but the primary motivation was apparently financial. He didn't write his own songs so didn't benefit from royalties. I believe there were other factors at work too but all the same...

Not sure how many of his songs Cliff writes, but could be a factor.


I'm sure Cliff really enjoys recording/performing and that is what keeps him doing it, so good luck to him!

However, there is bound to be a financial implication. Not only did he not write any of his famous material (so never ever benefited from performing rights monies) but the monies from sound recordings runs out after 50 years so his most legendary late 50's thru 60s hits will no longer garner him a performers' sound recording royalty either.

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On ‎25‎/‎11‎/‎2018 at 18:26, WHUFC BASS said:

I know. It's depressing.

In all seriousness, I'm not knocking anyone's taste and all that, if they get pleasure out of Cliff then more power to them. But ... jesus wept. It's Cliff. I'd rather castrate myself with a plastic fork than listen to anything by him.

Not even Devil Woman? Cracking record!

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14 hours ago, josie said:

How long can you go on being good at what you do best? Sports-people have this the hardest imho. How many cricketers / footballers / <your favourite sport> have you seen retire at their peak, or go on "too long" - or carry on playing in lower leagues because that is what they know and love? 

I saw Albert Lee when he was 68 and he was awesome. Two years later, on his 70th birthday tour, he was still superb in his best moments, but I was shocked at how frail he was, and how much more of the initiative and drive of the gig was down to the other band members. He's still touring, but I won't go to see him again. 

I saw John Mayall open for B B King a while back. JM was awesome, but B B was so far past his best that I actually wish i hadn't seen him. Last year I saw JM headlining, and again wished I hadn't. It was just sad. 

Both of these are nothing about number of years, it's just the sorrow of seeing someone you respected as a fine musician performing so far below the standard you respected them for. 

Saw James Brown, at a festival in 1999.  The crowd were in awe, the band were basically set up to play  a very "look, it's James f'kin Brown!!" show...but the voice wasn't there, and my abiding memory is an old man shambling around the stage.  I'm sure he was very well paid, but I'm not sure he was doing it for the love of performing.  Maybe it was a bad day - he kept playing live for a good few years after that

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