document_title: Vasco da Gama

question_text: who reached the west coast of india at calicut port

text: Vasco da Gama

text: Early life

text: Vasco da Gama was born in 1460 or 1469[4] in the town of Sines, one of the few seaports on the Alentejo coast, southwest  Portugal, probably in a house near the church of Nossa Senhora das Salas.

text: Vasco da Gama's father was Estêvão da Gama, who had served in the 1460s as a knight of the household of Infante Ferdinand, Duke of Viseu.[5] He rose in the ranks of the military Order of Santiago. Estêvão da Gama was appointed alcaide-mór (civil governor) of Sines in the 1460s, a post he held until 1478; after that he continued as a receiver of taxes and holder of the Order's commendas in the region.

text: Estêvão da Gama married Isabel Sodré, a daughter of João Sodré (also known as João de Resende), scion of a well-connected family of English origin.[6]  Her father and her brothers, Vicente Sodré and Brás Sodré, had links to the household of Infante Diogo, Duke of Viseu, and were prominent figures in the military Order of Christ. Vasco da Gama was the third of five sons of Estêvão da Gama and Isabel Sodré – in (probable) order of age: Paulo da Gama, João Sodré, Vasco da Gama, Pedro da Gama and Aires da Gama. Vasco also had one known sister, Teresa da Gama (who married Lopo Mendes de Vasconcelos).[7]

text: Little is known of da Gama's early life. The Portuguese historian Teixeira de Aragão suggests that he studied at the inland town of Évora, which is where he may have learned mathematics and navigation. It has been claimed that he studied under Abraham Zacuto, an astrologer and astronomer, but da Gama's biographer Subrahmanyam thinks this dubious.[8]

text: Around 1480, da Gama followed his father (rather than the Sodrés) and joined the Order of Santiago.[9] The master of Santiago was Prince John, who ascended to the throne in 1481 as King John II of Portugal. John II doted on the Order, and the da Gamas' prospects rose accordingly.

text: In 1492, John II dispatched da Gama on a mission to the port of Setúbal and to the Algarve to seize French ships in retaliation for peacetime depredations against Portuguese shipping – a task that da Gama rapidly and effectively performed.[10]

text: Exploration before da Gama

text: This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

text: From the earlier part of the 15th century, Portuguese expeditions organized by Prince Henry the Navigator had been reaching down the African coastline, principally in search of west African riches (notably, gold).  They had greatly extended Portuguese maritime knowledge, but had little profit to show for the effort.  After Henry's death in 1460, the Portuguese Crown showed little interest in continuing this effort and, in 1469, sold off the neglected African enterprise to a private Lisbon merchant consortium led by Fernão Gomes. Within a few years, Gomes' captains expanded Portuguese knowledge across the Gulf of Guinea, doing business in gold dust, Melegueta pepper, ivory and sub-Saharan slaves.  When Gomes' charter came up for renewal in 1474, Prince John (future John II), asked his father Afonso V of Portugal to pass the African charter to him.

text: Upon becoming king in 1481, John II of Portugal set out on many long reforms. To break the monarch's dependence on the feudal nobility, John II needed to build up the royal treasury; he considered royal commerce to be the key to achieving that. Under John II's watch, the gold and slave trade in west Africa was greatly expanded. He was eager to break into the highly profitable spice trade between Europe and Asia, which was conducted chiefly by land. At the time, this was virtually monopolized by the Republic of Venice, who operated overland routes via Levantine and Egyptian ports, through the Red Sea across to the spice markets of India. John II set a new objective for his captains: to find a sea route to Asia by sailing around the African continent.

text: By the time Vasco da Gama was in his 20s, the king's plans were coming to fruition. In 1487, John II dispatched two spies, Pero da Covilhã and Afonso de Paiva, overland via Egypt to East Africa and India, to scout the details of the spice markets and trade routes. The breakthrough came soon after, when John II's captain Bartolomeu Dias returned from rounding the Cape of Good Hope in 1488, having explored as far as the Fish River (Rio do Infante) in modern-day South Africa and having verified that the unknown coast stretched away to the northeast.

text: An explorer was needed who could prove the link between the findings of Dias and those of da Covilhã and de Paiva, and connect these separate segments into a potentially lucrative trade route across the Indian Ocean.

text: First voyage

text: On 8 July 1497 Vasco da Gama led a fleet of four ships with a crew of 170 men from Lisbon. The distance traveled in the journey around Africa to India and back was greater than around the equator.[11][12] The navigators included Portugal's most experienced, Pero de Alenquer, Pedro Escobar, João de Coimbra, and Afonso Gonçalves. It is not known for certain how many people were in each ship's crew but approximately 55 returned, and two ships were lost.  Two of the vessels were carracks, newly built for the voyage, the others were a caravel and a supply boat.[11]

text: The four ships were:

text:
São Gabriel, commanded by Vasco da Gama; a carrack of 178 tons, length 27 m, width 8.5 m, draft 2.3 m, sails of 372 m²
São Rafael, commanded by his brother Paulo da Gama; similar dimensions to the São Gabriel
Berrio (nickname, officially called  São Miguel), a caravel, slightly smaller than the former two, commanded by Nicolau Coelho
A storage ship of unknown name, commanded by Gonçalo Nunes, destined to be scuttled in Mossel Bay (São Brás) in South Africa[5]

text: Journey to the Cape

text: The expedition set sail from Lisbon on 8 July 1497. It followed the route pioneered by earlier explorers along the coast of Africa via Tenerife and the Cape Verde Islands. After reaching the coast of present-day Sierra Leone, da Gama took a course south into the open ocean, crossing the Equator and seeking the South Atlantic westerlies that Bartolomeu Dias had discovered in 1487.[13] This course proved successful and on 4 November 1497, the expedition made landfall on the African coast. For over three months the ships had sailed more than 10,000 kilometres (6,000 mi) of open ocean, by far the longest journey out of sight of land made by that time.[11][14]

text: By 16 December, the fleet had passed the Great Fish River (Eastern Cape, South Africa) – where Dias had turned back – and sailed into waters previously unknown to Europeans. With Christmas pending, da Gama and his crew gave the coast they were passing the name Natal, which carried the connotation of "birth of Christ" in Portuguese.

text: Mozambique

text: Vasco da Gama spent 2 to 29 March 1498 in the vicinity of Mozambique Island. Arab-controlled territory on the East African coast was an integral part of the network of trade in the Indian Ocean. Fearing the local population would be hostile to Christians, da Gama impersonated a Muslim and gained audience with the Sultan of Mozambique. With the paltry trade goods he had to offer, the explorer was unable to provide a suitable gift to the ruler. Soon the local populace became suspicious of da Gama and his men. Forced by a hostile crowd to flee Mozambique, da Gama departed the harbor, firing his cannons into the city in retaliation.[15]

text: Mombasa

text: In the vicinity of modern Kenya, the expedition resorted to piracy, looting Arab merchant ships that were generally unarmed trading vessels without heavy cannons. The Portuguese became the first known Europeans to visit the port of Mombasa from 7 to 13 April 1498, but were met with hostility and soon departed.

text: Malindi

text: Vasco da Gama continued north, arriving on 14 April 1498 at the friendlier port of Malindi, whose leaders were having a conflict with those of Mombasa. There the expedition first noted evidence of Indian traders. Da Gama and his crew contracted the services of a pilot who used his knowledge of the monsoon winds to guide the expedition the rest of the way to Calicut, located on the southwest coast of India. Sources differ over the identity of the pilot, calling him variously a Christian, a Muslim, and a Gujarati. One traditional story describes the pilot as the famous Arab navigator Ibn Majid, but other contemporaneous accounts place Majid elsewhere, and he could not have been near the vicinity at the time.[16]  None of the Portuguese historians of the time mentions Ibn Majid. Vasco da Gama left Malindi for India on 24 April 1498.

text: Calicut, India

text: The fleet arrived in Kappadu near Kozhikode (Calicut), in Malabar Coast (present day Kerala state of India), on 20 May 1498. The King of Calicut, the Samudiri (Zamorin), who was at that time staying in his second capital at Ponnani, returned to Calicut on hearing the news of the foreign fleets's arrival. The navigator was received with traditional hospitality, including a grand procession of at least 3,000 armed Nairs, but an interview with the Zamorin failed to produce any concrete results. When local authorities asked da Gama's fleet, "What brought you hither?", they replied that they had come "in search of Christians and spices."[17] The presents that da Gama sent to the Zamorin as gifts from Dom Manuel—four cloaks of scarlet cloth, six hats, four branches of corals, twelve almasares, a box with seven brass vessels, a chest of sugar, two barrels of oil and a cask of honey—were trivial, and failed to impress. While Zamorin's officials wondered at why there was no gold or silver, the Muslim merchants who considered da Gama their rival suggested that the latter was only an ordinary pirate and not a royal ambassador.[18] Vasco da Gama's request for permission to leave a factor behind him in charge of the merchandise he could not sell was turned down by the King, who insisted that da Gama pay customs duty—preferably in gold—like any other trader, which strained the relation between the two. Annoyed by this, da Gama carried a few Nairs and sixteen fishermen (mukkuva) off with him by force.[19] Nevertheless, da Gama's expedition was successful beyond all reasonable expectation, bringing in cargo that was worth sixty times the cost of the expedition.

text: Return

text: Vasco da Gama left Calicut on 29 August 1498. Eager to set sail for home, he ignored the local knowledge of monsoon wind patterns that were still blowing onshore.  The fleet initially inched north along the Indian coast, and then anchored in at Anjediva island for a spell. They finally struck out for their Indian Ocean crossing on 3 October 1498. But with the winter monsoon yet to set in, it was a harrowing journey.  On the outgoing journey, sailing with the summer monsoon wind, da Gama's fleet crossed the Indian Ocean in only 23 days; now, on the return trip, sailing against the wind, it took 132 days.

text: Da Gama saw land again only on 2 January 1499, passing before the coastal Somali city of Mogadishu, then under the influence of the Ajuran Empire in the Horn of Africa. The fleet did not make a stop, but passing before Mogadishu, the anonymous diarist of the expedition noted that it was a large city with houses of four or five storeys high and big palaces in its center and many mosques with cylindrical minarets.[20]

text: Da Gama's fleet finally arrived in Malindi on 7 January 1499, in a terrible state – approximately half of the crew had died during the crossing, and many of the rest were afflicted with scurvy. Not having enough crewmen left standing to manage three ships, da Gama ordered the São Rafael scuttled off the East African coast, and the crew re-distributed to the remaining two ships, the São Gabriel and the Berrio.  Thereafter, the sailing was smoother.  By early March, they had arrived in Mossel Bay, and crossed the Cape of Good Hope in the opposite direction on 20 March, reaching the west African coast by 25 April.

text: The diary record of the expedition ends abruptly here. Reconstructing from other sources, it seems they continued to Cape Verde, where Nicolau Coelho's Berrio separated from Vasco da Gama's São Gabriel and sailed on by itself.[21] The Berrio arrived in Lisbon on 10 July 1499 and Nicolau Coelho personally delivered the news to King Manuel I and the royal court, then assembled in Sintra. In the meantime, back in Cape Verde, da Gama's brother, Paulo da Gama, had fallen grievously ill. Da Gama elected to stay by his side on Santiago island and handed the São Gabriel over to his clerk, João de Sá, to take home.  The São Gabriel under Sá arrived in Lisbon sometime in late July or early August. Da Gama and his sickly brother eventually hitched a ride with a Guinea caravel returning to Portugal, but Paulo da Gama died en route. Da Gama disembarked at the Azores to bury his brother at the monastery of São Francisco in Angra do Heroismo, and lingered there for a little while in mourning. He eventually took passage on an Azorean caravel and finally arrived in Lisbon on 29 August 1499 (according to Barros),[22] or early September (8th or 18th, according to other sources). Despite his melancholic mood, da Gama was given a hero's welcome and showered with honors, including a triumphal procession and public festivities. King Manuel wrote two letters in which he described da Gama's first voyage, in July and August 1499, soon after the return of the ships. Girolamo Sernigi also wrote three letters describing da Gama's first voyage soon after the return of the expedition.

text: The expedition had exacted a large cost – one ship and over half the men had been lost. It had also failed in its principal mission of securing a commercial treaty with Calicut.  Nonetheless, the spices brought back on the remaining two ships were sold at an enormous profit to the crown. Vasco da Gama was justly celebrated for opening a direct sea route to Asia. His path would be followed up thereafter by yearly Portuguese India Armadas.

text: The spice trade would prove to be a major asset to the Portuguese royal treasury, and other consequences soon followed. For example, da Gama's voyage had made it clear that the east coast of Africa, the Contra Costa, was essential to Portuguese interests; its ports provided fresh water, provisions, timber, and harbors for repairs, and served as a refuge where ships could wait out unfavorable weather. One significant result was the colonization of Mozambique by the Portuguese Crown.

text: Rewards

text: In December 1499, King Manuel I of Portugal rewarded Vasco da Gama with the town of Sines as a hereditary fief (the town his father, Estêvão, had once held as a commenda). This turned out to be a complicated affair, for Sines still belonged to the Order of Santiago. The master of the Order, Jorge de Lencastre, might have endorsed the reward – after all, da Gama was a Santiago knight, one of their own, and a close associate of Lencastre himself. But the fact that Sines was awarded by the king provoked Lencastre to refuse out of principle, lest it encourage the king to make other donations of the Order's properties.[23] Da Gama would spend the next few years attempting to take hold of Sines, an effort that would estrange him from Lencastre and eventually prompt da Gama to abandon his beloved Order of Santiago, switching over to the rival Order of Christ in 1507.

text: In the meantime, da Gama made do with a substantial hereditary royal pension of 300,000 reis. He was awarded the noble title of Dom (lord) in perpetuity for himself, his siblings and their descendants. On 30 January 1502, da Gama was awarded the title of Almirante dos mares de Arabia, Persia, India e de todo o Oriente ("Admiral of the Seas of Arabia, Persia, India and all the Orient") – an overwrought title reminiscent of the ornate Castilian title borne by Christopher Columbus (evidently, Manuel must have reckoned that if Castile had an 'Admiral of the Ocean Seas', then surely Portugal should have one too).[24] Another royal letter, dated October 1501, gave da Gama the personal right to intervene and exercise a determining role on any future India-bound fleet.

text: Around 1501, Vasco da Gama married Catarina de Ataíde, daughter of Álvaro de Ataíde, the alcaide-mór of Alvor (Algarve), and a prominent nobleman connected by kinship with the powerful Almeida family (Catarina was a first cousin of D. Francisco de Almeida).[25]

text: Second voyage

text: The follow-up expedition, the Second India Armada, launched in 1500 under the command of Pedro Álvares Cabral with the mission of making a treaty with the Zamorin of Calicut and setting up a Portuguese factory in the city. However, Pedro Cabral entered into a conflict with the local Arab merchant guilds, with the result that the Portuguese factory was overrun in a riot and up to 70 Portuguese were killed. Cabral blamed the Zamorin for the incident and bombarded the city. Thus war broke out between Portugal and Calicut.

text: Vasco da Gama invoked his royal letter to take command of the 4th India Armada, scheduled to set out in 1502, with the explicit aim of taking revenge upon the Zamorin and force him to submit to Portuguese terms.  The heavily armed fleet of fifteen ships and eight hundred men left Lisbon on 12 February 1502.  It was followed in April by another squadron of five ships led by his cousin, Estêvão da Gama (the son of Aires da Gama), which caught up to them in the Indian Ocean.  The 4th Armada was a veritable da Gama family affair.  Two of his maternal uncles, Vicente Sodré and Brás Sodré, were pre-designated to command an Indian Ocean naval patrol, while brothers-in-law Álvaro de Ataíde (brother of Vasco's wife Catarina) and Lopo Mendes de Vasconcelos (betrothed to Teresa da Gama, Vasco's sister) captained ships in the main fleet.

text: On the outgoing voyage, da Gama's fleet opened contact with the East African gold trading port of Sofala and reduced the sultanate of Kilwa to tribute, extracting a substantial sum of gold. On reaching India in October 1502, da Gama's fleet set about capturing any Arab vessel he came across in Indian waters, most notoriously the Miri, a pilgrim ship from Mecca, whose passengers he massacred in open water.[26]  He then appeared before Calicut, demanding redress for the treatment of Cabral. While the Zamorin was willing to sign a new treaty,[27] da Gama made a call to the Hindu king to expel all Muslims from Calicut before beginning negotiations, which was turned down. The Portuguese fleet then bombarded the city for nearly two days from the sea shore, severely damaging the unfortified city. He also captured several rice vessels and cut off the crew's hands, ears and noses, dispatching them with an insulting note to the Zamorin.[28]

text: The violent treatment meted out by da Gama quickly brought trade along the Malabar Coast of India, upon which Calicut depended, to a standstill.  But the Zamorin nonetheless refused to submit to Portuguese terms, and even ventured to hire a fleet of strong warships to challenge da Gama's armada (which da Gama managed to defeat in a naval battle before Calicut harbor). Da Gama loaded up with spices at Cochin and Cannanore, small nearby kingdoms, half-vassal and half-at-war with the Zamorin, whose alliances had been secured by prior Portuguese fleets. The 4th armada left India in early 1503. Da Gama left behind a small squadron of caravels under the command of his uncle, Vicente Sodré, to patrol the Indian coast, to continue harassing Calicut shipping, and to protect the Portuguese factories at Cochin and Cannanore from the Zamorin's inevitable reprisals.

text: Vasco da Gama arrived back in Portugal in September 1503, effectively having failed in his mission to bring the Zamorin to submission. This failure, and the subsequent more galling failure of his uncle Vicente Sodré to protect the Portuguese factory in Cochin, probably counted against any further rewards. When the Portuguese king Manuel I of Portugal decided to appoint the first governor and viceroy of Portuguese India in 1505, da Gama was conspicuously overlooked, and the post given to Francisco de Almeida.

text: Pilgrim ship incident

text: On his second voyage, Vasco da Gama inflicted acts of cruelty upon competing traders and local inhabitants, which sealed his notoriety in India.[29][30] During his second voyage to Calicut, da Gama intercepted a ship of Muslim pilgrims at Madayi travelling from Calicut to Mecca. Described in detail by eyewitness Thomé Lopes and chronicler Gaspar Correia, da Gama looted the ship with over 400 pilgrims on board including 50 women, locked in the passengers, the owner and an ambassador from Egypt and burned them to death. They offered their wealth, which "could ransom all the Christian slaves in the Kingdom of Fez and much more" but were not spared. Da Gama looked on through the porthole and saw the women bringing up their gold and jewels and holding up their babies to beg for mercy.'[31]

text: After demanding the expulsion of Muslims from Calicut to the Hindu Zamorin, the latter sent the high priest Talappana Namboothiri (the very same person who conducted da Gama to the Zamorin's chamber during his much celebrated first visit to Calicut in May 1498) for talks. Da Gama called him a spy, ordered the priests' lips and ears to be cut off and after sewing a pair of dog's ears to his head, sent him away.[29]

text: Interlude

text: For the next two decades, Vasco da Gama lived out a quiet life, unwelcome in the royal court and sidelined from Indian affairs.  His attempts to return to the favor of Manuel I (including switching over to the Order of Christ in 1507), yielded little. Almeida, the larger-than-life Afonso de Albuquerque and, later on, Albergaria and Sequeira, were the king's preferred point men for India.

text: After Ferdinand Magellan defected to the Crown of Castile in 1518, Vasco da Gama threatened to do the same, prompting the king to undertake steps to retain him in Portugal and avoid the embarrassment of losing his own "Admiral of the Indies" to Spain.[32] In 1519, after years of ignoring his petitions, King Manuel I finally hurried to give Vasco da Gama a feudal title, appointing him the first Count of Vidigueira, a count title created by a royal decree issued in Évora on 29 December, after a complicated agreement with Dom Jaime, Duke of Braganza, who ceded him on payment the towns of Vidigueira and Vila dos Frades. The decree granted Vasco da Gama and his heirs all the revenues and privileges related,[33] thus establishing da Gama as the first Portuguese count who was not born with royal blood.[34]

text: Third voyage and death

text: After the death of King Manuel I in late 1521, his son and successor, King John III of Portugal set about reviewing the Portuguese government overseas. Turning away from the old Albuquerque clique (now represented by Diogo Lopes de Sequeira), John III looked for a fresh start. Vasco da Gama re-emerged from his political wilderness as an important adviser to the new king's appointments and strategy. Seeing the new Spanish threat to the Maluku Islands as the priority, Vasco da Gama advised against the obsession with Arabia that had pervaded much of the Manueline period, and continued to be the dominant concern of Duarte de Menezes, then-governor of Portuguese India. Menezes also turned out to be incompetent and corrupt, subject to numerous complaints.  As a result, John III decided to appoint Vasco da Gama himself to replace Menezes, confident that the magic of his name and memory of his deeds might better impress his authority on Portuguese India, and manage the transition to a new government and new strategy.

text: By his appointment letter of February 1524, John III granted Vasco da Gama the privileged title of "Viceroy", being only the second Portuguese governor to enjoy that title (the first was Francisco de Almeida in 1505).[35] His second son, Estêvão da Gama was simultaneously appointed Capitão-mor do Mar da Índia ('Captain-major of the Indian Sea', commander of the Indian Ocean naval patrol fleet), to replace Duarte's brother, Luís de Menezes. As a final condition, Gama secured from John III of Portugal the commitment to appoint all his sons successively as Portuguese captains of Malacca.

text: Setting out in April 1524, with a fleet of fourteen ships, Vasco da Gama took as his flagship the famous large carrack Santa Catarina do Monte Sinai on her last journey to India, along with two of his sons, Estêvão and Paulo.  After a troubled journey (four or five of the ships were lost en route), he arrived in India in September.  Vasco da Gama immediately invoked his high viceregent powers to impose a new order in Portuguese India, replacing all the old officials with his own appointments. But Gama contracted malaria not long after arriving, and died in the city of Cochin on Christmas Eve in 1524, three months after his arrival.  As per royal instructions, da Gama was succeeded as governor of India by one the captains who had come with him, Henrique de Menezes (no relation to Duarte).  Da Gama's sons Estêvão and Paulo immediately lost their posts and joined the returning fleet of early 1525 (along with the dismissed Duarte de Menezes and Luís de Menezes).[36]

text: Vasco da Gama's body was first buried at St. Francis Church, which was located at Fort Kochi in the city of Kochi, but his remains were returned to Portugal in 1539. The body of Vasco da Gama was re-interred in Vidigueira in a casket decorated with gold and jewels.

text: The Monastery of the Hieronymites, in Belém, which would become the necropolis of the Portuguese royal dynasty of Aviz, was erected in the early 1500s near the launch point of Vasco da Gama's first journey, and its construction funded by a tax on the profits of the yearly Portuguese India Armadas.  In 1880, da Gama's remains and those of the poet Luís de Camões (who celebrated da Gama's first voyage in his 1572 epic poem, The Lusiad), were moved to new carved tombs in the nave of the monastery's church, only a few meters away from the tombs of the kings Manuel I and John III, whom da Gama had served.

text: Marriage and issue

text: Vasco da Gama and his wife, Catarina de Ataíde, had six sons and one daughter:[37]

text:
Dom Francisco da Gama, who inherited his father's titles as 2nd Count of Vidigueira and the 2nd "Admiral of the Seas of India, Arabia and Persia".  He remained in Portugal.
Dom Estevão da Gama, after his abortive 1524 term as Indian patrol captain, he was appointed for a  three-year term as captain of Malacca, serving from 1534 to 1539 (includes the last two years of his brother Paulo's term).  He was subsequently appointed as the 11th governor of India from 1540 to 1542.
Dom Paulo da Gama, captain of Malacca in 1533–34, killed in a naval action off Malacca.
Dom Cristovão da Gama, captain of Malacca fleet from 1538 to 1540; nominated to succeed in Malacca, but executed by Ahmad ibn Ibrahim during the Ethiopian-Adal war in 1542.
Dom Pedro da Silva da Gama, appointed captain of Malacca from 1548 to 1552.
Dom Álvaro d'Ataide da Gama appointed captain of Malacca fleet in the 1540s, captain of Malacca itself from 1552 to 1554.
Dona Isabel d'Ataide da Gama, only daughter, married Ignacio de Noronha, son of the first Count of Linhares.

text: His male line issue became extinct in 1747, though the title went through female line.[clarification needed]

text: Titles, styles, and honours

text: Over his numerous years serving the Portuguese crown, da Gama was rewarded with many different titles, distinctions, and offices:

text:
Admiral of the Seas of Arabia, Persia, India and all the Orient – Title as chief of the Portuguese India Armadas
2nd Viceroy of India – Title of office as colonial head of Portuguese India
1st Count of Vidigueira – Title of Portuguese nobility

text: Ancestry

text: showAncestors of Vasco da Gama         16. Álvaro Anes da Gama      8. Estevão Vaz da Gama         17. Maria Esteves Barreto      4. Vasco da Gama, Alcalde of Sines                  9. Catarina Mendes                2. Estêvão da Gama                                     5. Inês Sodré                                   1. Vasco da Gama, Count of Vidigueira                     12. Fernão Sodré                6. João Sodré                                   3. Isabel Sodré                                     7. Isabel Serrã

text: Legacy

text: Vasco da Gama is one of the most famous and celebrated explorers from the Age of Discovery. As much as anyone after Henry the Navigator, he was responsible for Portugal's success as an early colonising power. Beside the fact of the first voyage itself, it was his astute mix of politics and war on the other side of the world that placed Portugal in a prominent position in Indian Ocean trade. Following da Gama's initial voyage, the Portuguese crown realized that securing outposts on the eastern coast of Africa would prove vital to maintaining national trade routes to the Far East.

text: However, his fame is tempered by such incidents and attitudes as displayed in the notorious Pilgrim Ship Incident previously discussed.

text: The Portuguese national epic, the Lusíadas of Luís Vaz de Camões, largely concerns Vasco da Gama's voyages.[38]

text: The 1865 grand opera L'Africaine: Opéra en Cinq Actes, composed by Giacomo Meyerbeer from a libretto by Eugène Scribe, prominently includes the character of Vasco da Gama. The events depicted, however, are fictitious. Meyerbeer's working title for the opera was Vasco da Gama. A 1989 production of the opera by the San Francisco Opera featured noted tenor Plácido Domingo in the role of da Gama.[39] The 19th-century composer Louis-Albert Bourgault-Ducoudray composed an eponymous 1872 opera based on da Gama's life and exploits at sea.

text: The port city of Vasco da Gama in Goa is named after him, as is the crater Vasco da Gama on the Moon. There are three football clubs in Brazil (including Club de Regatas Vasco da Gama) and Vasco Sports Club in Goa that were also named after him. There exists a church in Kochi, Kerala called Vasco da Gama Church, and a private residence on the island of Saint Helena. The suburb of Vasco in Cape Town also honours him.

text: A few places in Lisbon's Parque das Nações are named after the explorer, such as the Vasco da Gama Bridge, Vasco da Gama Tower and the Centro Comercial Vasco da Gama shopping centre.[40] The Oceanário in the Parque das Nações has a mascot of a cartoon diver with the name of "Vasco", who is named after the explorer.[41]

text: Vasco da Gama was the only explorer on the final pool of Os Grandes Portugueses. Although the final shortlist featured other Age of Discovery related people, they were not actually explorers nor navigators for any matter.

text: The Portuguese Navy has a class of frigates named after him. There are three Vasco da Gama class frigates in total, of which the first one also bears his name.

text: South African musician Hugh Masekela recorded an anti-colonialist song entitled "Colonial Man", which contains the lyrics "Vasco da Gama was no friend of mine", and another song entitled "Vasco da Gama (The Sailor Man)". Both songs were included in his 1976 album Colonial Man.

text: Vasco da Gama appears as an antagonist in the Indian film Urumi. The film, directed by Santosh Sivan, depicts a failed assassination attempt on da Gama by an Indian.

text: In March 2016, archaeologists working off the coast of Oman identified a shipwreck believed to be that of the Esmeralda from da Gama's 1502-1503 fleet. The wreck was initially discovered in 1998. Later underwater excavations took place between 2013 and 2015 through a partnership between the Oman Ministry of Heritage and Culture and Bluewater Recoveries Ltd., a shipwreck recovery company. The vessel was identified through such artifacts as a "Portuguese coin minted for trade with India (one of only two coins of this type known to exist) and stone cannonballs engraved with what appear to be the initials of Vincente Sodré, da Gama's maternal uncle and the commander of the Esmeralda."[42]


document_title: Cliff Richard

question_text: when was an audience with cliff richards made

question_tokens: when was an audience with cliff richards made

root

text: Cliff Richard

text: Biography[edit]

text: 1940–1958: Childhood and adolescence[edit]

text: Harry Rodger Webb was born in India at King George's Hospital, Victoria Street, in Lucknow, which was then part of British India. His parents were Rodger Oscar Webb, a manager for a catering contractor that serviced the Indian Railways, and the former Dorothy Marie Dazely. Richard is primarily of English heritage, but he has one great-grandmother who was of half Welsh and half Spanish descent, born of a Spanish great-great-grandmother named Emiline Joseph Rebeiro.[14]

tag: p

text: The Webb family lived in a modest home in Maqbara, near the main shopping centre of Hazratganj.[15] Dorothy's mother served as the dormitory matron at the La Martiniere Girls' School. Richard has three sisters, Joan, Jacqui and Donna (1942–2016).[16][17]

text: In 1948, following Indian independence, the family embarked on a three-week sea voyage to Tilbury, Essex, England aboard the SS Ranchi. The Webbs moved from comparative wealth in India, where they lived in a company-supplied flat at Howrah near Calcutta, to a semi-detached house in Carshalton. Harry Webb attended a local primary school, Stanley Park Juniors, in Carshalton. In 1949 his father obtained employment in the credit control office of Thorn Electrical Industries and the family moved in with other relatives in Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire, where he attended Kings Road Junior Mixed Infants School until a three-bedroom council house in Cheshunt was allocated to them in 1950, at 12 Hargreaves Close.

text: He then attended Cheshunt Secondary Modern School from 1952 to 1957. (The school was later renamed Riversmead School before being rebuilt and renamed Bishopslea School). As a member of the top stream, he stayed on beyond the minimum leaving age to take GCE Ordinary Level examinations and gained a pass in English literature. He then started work as a filing clerk for Atlas Lamps.[18] A development of retirement flats, Cliff Richard Court, has been named after him in Cheshunt.[19]

text: Harry Webb became interested in skiffle. His father bought him a guitar at 16 and he formed the Quintones vocal group in 1957, before singing in the Dick Teague Skiffle Group.[20]

text: 1958–1963: Success and stardom[edit]

text: Harry Webb became lead singer of a rock and roll group, the Drifters (not to be confused with the US group of the same name). The 1950s entrepreneur Harry Greatorex wanted the up-and-coming rock 'n' roll singer to change from his real name of Harry Webb. The name Cliff was adopted as it sounded like "cliff face", which suggested "Rock". It was "Move It" writer Ian Samwell who suggested the surname "Richard" as a tribute to Webb's musical hero Little Richard.[3][21]

text: Before their first large-scale appearance, at the Regal Ballroom in Ripley, Derbyshire in 1958, they adopted the name "Cliff Richard and the Drifters". The four members were Harry Webb (by then going under the stage name "Cliff Richard"), Ian "Sammy" Samwell on guitar, Terry Smart on drums and Norman Mitham on guitar. None of the other three played with the later and better known Shadows, although Samwell wrote songs for Richard's later career.

text: For his debut session, Norrie Paramor provided Richard with "Schoolboy Crush", a cover of an American record by Bobby Helms. Richard was permitted to record one of his own songs for the B-side; this was "Move It", written and composed by the Drifters' Samwell while he was on board a number 715 Green Line bus on the way to Richard's house for a rehearsal. For the "Move It" session, Paramor used the session guitarist Ernie Shears on lead guitar and Frank Clark on bass.

text: There are various stories about why the A-side was replaced by the intended B-side. One is that Norrie Paramor's young daughter raved about the B-side; another was that influential TV producer Jack Good, who used the act for his TV show Oh Boy!, wanted the only song on his show to be "Move It".[22] Richard was quoted as saying:

text: It's wonderful to be going on TV for the first time, but I feel so nervous that I don't know what to do. I shaved my sideburns off last night... Jack Good said it would make me look more original.

text: The single went to No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart. John Lennon credited "Move It" as being the first British rock record.[24]

text: In the early days, Richard was marketed as the British equivalent of Elvis. Like previous British rockers such as Tommy Steele and Marty Wilde, Richard adopted Elvis-like dress and hairstyle. In performance he struck a pose of rock attitude, rarely smiling or looking at the audience or camera. His late 1958 and early 1959 follow-up singles, "High Class Baby" and "Livin' Lovin' Doll", were followed by "Mean Streak", which carried a rocker's sense of speed and passion, and Lionel Bart's "Living Doll".

text: It was on "Living Doll" that the Drifters began to back Richard on record. It was his fifth record, and became his first No. 1 single. By that time, the group's line-up had changed with the arrival of Jet Harris, Tony Meehan, Hank Marvin and Bruce Welch. The group was obliged to change its name to "The Shadows" after legal complications with the American group the Drifters as "Living Doll" entered the American top 40, licensed by ABC-Paramount. "Living Doll" was used in Richard's début film Serious Charge, but it was arranged as a country standard, rather than a rock and roll standard.

text: The Shadows were not a typical backing group. They became contractually separate from Richard, and the group received no royalties for records backing Richard. In 1959, the Shadows (then still the Drifters) landed an EMI recording contract of their own, for independent recordings. That year, they released three singles, two of which featured double-sided vocals and one of which had instrumental A and B sides. They thereafter had several major hits, including five UK No. 1s. The band also continued to appear and record with Richard and wrote many of his hits. On more than one occasion, a Shadows instrumental replaced a Richard song at the top of the British charts.

text: Richard's fifth single "Living Doll" triggered a softer, more relaxed, sound. Subsequent hits, the No. 1s "Travellin' Light" and "I Love You" and also "A Voice in the Wilderness", lifted from his film Expresso Bongo, and "Theme for a Dream" cemented Richard's status as a mainstream pop entertainer along with contemporaries such as Adam Faith and Billy Fury. Throughout the early 1960s, his hits were consistently in the top five.

text: In 1961, EMI records organised Richard's 21st birthday party at its London headquarters in Manchester Square led by his producer Norrie Paramor. Photographs of the celebrations were incorporated into Richard's next album "21 Today" in which Tony Meehan joined in despite, then, having very recently left the Shadows to be replaced by Brian Bennett.

text: Typically, the Shadows closed the first half of the show with a 30-minute set of their own, then backed Richard on his show-closing 45-minute stint as exemplified by the retrospective CD album release of Live at the ABC Kingston 1962. Tony Meehan and Jet Harris left the group in 1961 and 1962 respectively and later had their own chart successes for Decca. The Shadows added bass players Brian Locking (1962–63) and then John Rostill (1963–68) and took on Brian Bennett permanently on drums.

text: In the early years, particularly on album and EP releases, Richard also recorded ballads backed by the Norrie Paramor Orchestra with Tony Meehan (and later Brian Bennett) as a session drummer. His first such single without the Shadows was When the Girl in Your Arms Is the Girl in Your Heart in 1961, and he continued to release one or two per year, including covers of "It's All in the Game" in 1963 and "Constantly" in 1964, a revival of a popular Italian hit. In 1965, sessions under the direction of Billy Sherrill in Nashville, Tennessee were particularly successful, yielding "The Minute You're Gone", which topped the UK singles chart and "Wind Me Up (Let Me Go)" which made No. 2.

text: Richard, and the Shadows in particular, however, never achieved star status in the United States. In 1960 they toured the United States and were well-received, but lacklustre support and distribution from a revolving door of American record labels proved an obstacle to long-term success there despite several chart records by Richard including the aforementioned "It's All in the Game" on Epic, via a renewed linking of the worldwide Columbia labels after Philips ended its distribution deal with CBS. To the Shadows' chagrin, "Apache" reached No. 1 in the US through a cover version by Danish guitarist Jorgen Ingmann which was almost unchanged from their worldwide hit. Richard and the band appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show, which was crucial for the Beatles, but these performances did not help them gain sustained success in North America.

text: Richard and the Shadows appeared in six feature films including a debut in the 1959 film Serious Charge but most notably in The Young Ones, Summer Holiday, Wonderful Life, and Finders Keepers. These films created their own genre, known as the "Cliff Richard musical", and led to Richard being named the No. 1 cinema box office attraction in Britain for both 1962 and 1963, beating that of even James Bond.[25] The title song of The Young Ones became his biggest-selling single in the United Kingdom, selling over one million copies in the UK.[26] The irreverent 1980s TV sitcom The Young Ones took its name from Richard's 1962 film. In mid-1963, Cliff and the Shadows appeared for a season in Blackpool, where Richard had his portrait modelled by Victor Heyfron.

text: 1964–1975: Changing circumstances[edit]

text: As with the other existing rock acts in Britain, Richard's career was affected by the advent of the Beatles and the Mersey sound in 1963 and 1964. He continued to have hits in the charts throughout the 1960s, though not at the level that he had enjoyed before. Nor did doors open to him in the US market; he was not considered part of the British Invasion, and despite four Hot 100 hits (including the top 25 "It's All in the Game") between August 1963 and August 1964, the American public had little awareness of him.

text: Richard's 1965 UK No. 12 hit "On My Word" ended a run of 23 consecutive top ten UK hits between "A Voice in the Wilderness" in 1960 to "The Minute You're Gone" in 1965, which, to date, is still a record number of consecutive top ten UK hits for a male artist.[8] Richard continued having international hits, including 1967's "The Day I Met Marie", which reached No. 10 in the UK Singles Chart and No. 5 in the Australian charts.

text: Although baptised as an Anglican, Richard did not practise the faith in his early years. In 1964, he became an active Christian and his faith has become an important aspect of his life. Standing up publicly as a Christian affected his career in several ways. Initially, he believed that he should quit rock 'n' roll, feeling he could no longer be the rocker who had been called a "crude exhibitionist" and "too sexy for TV". Richard intended at first to "reform his ways" and become a teacher, but Christian friends advised him not to abandon his career just because he had become an active Christian. Soon after, Richard re-emerged, performing with Christian groups and recording some Christian material. He still recorded secular songs with the Shadows, but devoted a lot of his time to Christian work, including appearances with the Billy Graham crusades. As time progressed, Richard balanced his faith and work, enabling him to remain one of the most popular singers in Britain as well as one of its best-known Christians.

text: Richard acted in the 1967 film Two a Penny, released by Billy Graham's World Wide Pictures,[27] in which he played Jamie Hopkins, a young man who gets involved in drug dealing while questioning his life after his girlfriend changes her attitude. He released the live album Cliff in Japan in 1967.

text: In 1968, he sang the UK's entry in the Eurovision Song Contest, "Congratulations", written and composed by Bill Martin and Phil Coulter; it lost, however, by one point to Spain's "La La La". According to John Kennedy O'Connor's The Eurovision Song Contest—The Official History, this was the closest result yet in the contest and Richard locked himself in the toilet to avoid the nerves of the voting.[28] In May 2008, a Reuters news report claimed that voting in the competition had been fixed by the Spanish dictator leader, Francisco Franco, to ensure that the Spanish entry won, allowing them to host the contest the following year (1969). It is claimed that Spanish TVE television executives offered to buy programmes in exchange for votes.[29][30] The story was widely covered and featured on UK's Channel 4 News as a main story on 7 May 2008, with Jon Snow interviewing author and historian John Kennedy O'Connor about the matter.[31] Eurovision later ended voting by national juries in a bid to eradicate such alleged scams. Nevertheless, "Congratulations" was a huge hit throughout Europe and Australia, and yet another No. 1 in April 1968.

text: After the Shadows split in 1968, Richard continued to record.

text: During the 1970s, Richard took part in several television shows and fronted his own show It's Cliff Richard from 1970–1976. It starred Olivia Newton-John, Hank Marvin and Una Stubbs, and included A Song for Europe. He began 1970 by appearing live on the BBC's review of the sixties music scene, Pop Go The Sixties, which was broadcast across Britain and Europe on 31 December 1969. He performed "Bachelor Boy" with the Shadows and "Congratulations" solo. In 1972, he made a short BBC television comedy film called The Case with appearances from comedians and his first ever duets with a woman—Newton-John. He went on to release a double live album, Cliff Live in Japan 1972, which featured Newton-John.

text: His final acting role on the silver screen to date was in 1973, when he starred in the film Take Me High.

text: In 1973, he sang the British Eurovision entry "Power to All Our Friends;" the song finished third, close behind Luxembourg's "Tu Te Reconnaîtras" and Spain's "Eres Tú." This time, Richard took Valium to overcome his nerves and his manager was almost unable to wake him for the performance.[32] Richard also hosted the BBC's qualifying heat for the Eurovision Song Contest, A Song for Europe, in 1970, 1971 and 1972 as part of his BBCTV variety series. He presented the Eurovision Song Contest Previews for the BBC in 1971 and 1972.

text: In 1975, he released the single "Honky Tonk Angel," produced by Hank Marvin and John Farrar, oblivious to its connotations or hidden meanings. As soon as he was notified that a "honky-tonk angel" was southern US slang for a prostitute, the horrified Richard ordered EMI to withdraw it and refused to promote it despite making a video for it. EMI agreed to his demand despite positive sales. About 1,000 copies are known to exist on vinyl.

text: 1976–1994: Renaissance[edit]

text: In 1976, the decision was made to repackage Richard as a "rock" artist. That year Bruce Welch relaunched Cliff's career and produced the landmark album I'm Nearly Famous, which included the successful but controversial guitar-driven track "Devil Woman", which became Richard's first true hit in the United States, and the ballad "Miss You Nights". In reviewing the new album in Melody Maker, Geoff Brown heralded it the renaissance of Richard.[33] Richard's fans were excited about this revival of a performer who had been a part of British rock from its early days. Many music names such as Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton and Elton John were seen sporting I'm Nearly Famous badges, pleased that their boyhood idol was getting back into the heavier rock in which he had begun his career.

text: Notwithstanding this, Richard continued to release albums with contemporary Christian music content in parallel with his rock and pop albums, for example: Small Corners from 1978 contained the single "Yes He Lives". On 31 December 1976, he performed his latest single, "Hey, Mr. Dream Maker", on BBC1's A Jubilee of Music, celebrating British pop music for Queen Elizabeth II's impending Silver Jubilee.

text: In 1979, Richard teamed up once again with producer Bruce Welch for the pop hit single "We Don't Talk Anymore", written and composed by Alan Tarney, which hit No. 1 in the UK and No. 7 in the US. Bryan Ferry added hummed backing vocals to the song. The record made Richard the first act to reach the Hot 100's top 40 in the 1980s who had also been there in each of the three previous decades. The song was quickly added onto the end of his latest album Rock 'n' Roll Juvenile, which was re-titled We Don't Talk Anymore for its release in the United States. It was his first time at the top of the UK singles chart in over ten years and the song would become his biggest-selling single worldwide, selling almost five million copies throughout the world.[34] Later in 1979, Richard performed with Kate Bush at the London Symphony Orchestra's 75th anniversary celebration at the Royal Albert Hall.[35]

text: With "We Don't Talk Anymore" in 1979, Richard finally began to receive some extended success in the United States to follow on from the success of "Devil Woman" in 1976. In 1980, "Carrie" broke into the US top 40, followed by "Dreamin'", which reached No. 10. His 1980 duet "Suddenly" with Olivia Newton-John, from the film Xanadu, peaked at No. 20, followed by "A Little in Love" (No. 17) and "Daddy's Home" (No. 23) in 1981.  Ironically, after many years of limited success in the US, three of his singles simultaneously charted on the last Hot 100 of 1980 ("A Little In Love", "Dreamin'", and "Suddenly").[36]

text: In the UK meanwhile, "Carrie" reached No. 4 and "Dreamin'" peaked at No. 8. In a retrospective review of "Carrie," AllMusic journalist Dave Thompson praised "Carrie" as being "an enthrallingly atmospheric number. One of the most electrifying of all Cliff Richard's recordings."[37]

text: In 1980, Richard officially changed his name, by deed poll, from Harry Rodger Webb to Cliff Richard.[38] At the same time, he received the Officer of the Order of the British Empire from the Queen for services to music and charity.[39]

text: In 1981, the single "Wired for Sound" hit No. 4 in the UK and also became Richard's biggest hit in Australia since the early 1960s. To finish the year, "Daddy's Home" hit No. 2 in the UK. On the singles chart, Richard was having his most consistent period of top twenty hits since the mid-1960s. He also was amassing a string of top ten albums, including I'm No Hero, Wired for Sound, Now You See Me, Now You Don't, a live album he recorded with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra titled Dressed for the Occasion, and Silver, marking his 25th year in show business in 1983.

text: In 1986, Richard reached No. 1 by teaming up with The Young Ones to re-record his smash hit "Living Doll" for the charity Comic Relief. Along with the song, the recording contained comedy dialogue between Richard and the Young Ones. That same year Richard opened in the West End as a rock musician called upon to defend Earth in a trial set in the Andromeda Galaxy in the multi-media Dave Clark musical Time. Three Richard singles, "She's So Beautiful", which reached No. 17 in the UK, "It's In Every One of Us" and "Born To Rock 'n Roll", were released over 1985 and 1986 from the concept album recorded for Time.

text: In August 1986, Richard was involved in a five-car crash in torrential rain on the M4 motorway in West London. Richard's car was a write-off as another car swerved and braked hard. Richard hurt his back in the accident but was not seriously injured. Police called for a cab from the accident scene so that he was able to perform that night in the "Time" musical. After the show, Richard said: "I'm lucky to be here". He said that his seatbelt had prevented him from flying through the windscreen.[40]

text: In October 1986, "All I Ask of You", a duet that Richard recorded with Sarah Brightman from the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical version of The Phantom of the Opera reached No. 3 in the UK singles chart.[41] 1987 saw the release of his Always Guaranteed album, which became his best-selling album of all-new material, and included the two top-10 hit singles "My Pretty One" and "Some People".

text: Richard concluded his thirtieth year in music by achieving a UK Christmas No. 1 single in 1988 with "Mistletoe and Wine", while simultaneously holding the No. 1 positions on the album and video charts with the compilation Private Collection, which summed up his biggest hits from 1979 to 1988. "Mistletoe and Wine" was Richard's 99th UK single and spent four weeks at the top of the chart. It was the best-selling UK single of 1988, shifting 750,000 copies.[42] The album was certified quadruple platinum, becoming Richard's first to be certified multi-platinum by the BPI since it introduced multi-platinum awards in February 1987.[43][44]

text: In May 1989, Richard released his 100th single, "The Best of Me", becoming the first British artist to achieve the feat.[45] The single peaked at No. 2 in the UK. It was also the lead single from the UK top ten album Stronger. Released along with the singles "I Just Don't Have the Heart" (UK No. 3), "Lean On You" (No. 17) and "Stronger Than That" (No. 14), the album become Richard's first studio album to amass four UK top twenty hits.

text: Also in 1989, Richard received the Brits highest award: "The Outstanding Contribution award".[46] In June, he filled London's Wembley Stadium for two nights with a spectacular titled "The Event" in front of a combined audience of 144,000 people.[47]

text: On 30 June 1990, Richard performed to an estimated 120,000 people at England's Knebworth Park as part of an all-star concert line-up that also included Paul McCartney, Phil Collins, Elton John and Tears for Fears. The concert in aid of charity was televised around the world and helped to raise $10.5 million for disabled children and young musicians.[48][49]

text: Later in 1990, a live album titled From a Distance: The Event was released. It compiled highlights of the previous year's "The Event" show, and provided two live tracks as singles, "Silhouettes" (UK No. 10) and "From a Distance" (No. 11). However, it was with the Christmas single "Saviour's Day" that Richard scored his 13th UK No. 1 single and his 100th top 40 hit.[50] The album itself reached No. 3 over the Christmas period and was certified double platinum by the BPI.[43]

text: Following the success of the recent Christmas singles, Richard released his first Christmas album Together with Cliff Richard in 1991, however his bid for the UK Christmas No. 1 spot again with "We Should Be Together" was unsuccessful (making No. 10). 1992 saw "I Still Believe in You" (No. 7) released as his Christmas single, while 1993 saw Richard's first new music studio album for over three years released. Simply titled The Album, it debuted at No.1 on the UK album chart. "Peace in Our Time" (No. 8) was the second lead single, followed by "Human Work of Art" (No. 24) and "Healing Love" (No. 19) for Christmas. In 1994, the compilation The Hit List was released, meanwhile in the background, Richard was concentrating on bringing the musical Heathcliff to the stage.

text: With Richard's succession of hit songs and albums from the late 1970s into the early 1980s, followed by another strong run in the late 1980s and early 1990s, a strong fan base had been reestablished and Richard remained one of the best-known music artists in the country. Over the decade of the 1980s he recorded with Olivia Newton-John, Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Phil Everly, Janet Jackson, Sheila Walsh and Van Morrison. Meanwhile, the Shadows later re-formed (and again split). They recorded on their own, but also reunited with Richard in 1978, 1984 and 1989–90.

text: 1995–2007: Knighthood[edit]

text: On 17 June 1995, Richard was appointed a Knight Bachelor (and invested on 25 October 1995)[51] and became the first rock star to be so honoured (Bob Geldof had received his honorary knighthood nine years earlier).

text: In 1996, he led the Wimbledon Centre Court crowd in singing during a rain delay when asked by Wimbledon officials to entertain the crowd.[52][53]

text: In late 1990s, Richard and former EMI UK managing director Clive Black established the record label "Blacknight". In 1998, Richard demonstrated that radio stations were refusing to play his music when he released a dance remix of his forthcoming single "Can't Keep This Feeling In" on a white label using the alias Blacknight. The single was featured on playlists until the true artist was revealed.[54][55] Richard then released the single under his own name as the lead single for his album Real as I Wanna Be, with each reaching No. 10 in the UK on their respective charts.

text: In 1999, controversy again arose regarding radio stations refusing to play his releases when EMI, Richard's label since 1958, refused to release his song, "The Millennium Prayer", having judged that the song did not have commercial potential.[56] Richard took it to an independent label, Papillon, which released the charity recording (in aid of Children's Promise). The single went on to top the UK chart for three weeks, becoming his fourteenth No.1 single.[57][58]

text: Richard's next album, in 2001, was a covers project, Wanted, followed by another top ten album, Cliff at Christmas. The holiday album contained both new and older recordings, including the single "Santa's List", which reached No. 5 in 2003.[59][60]

text: Richard went to Nashville, Tennessee for his next album project in 2004, employing a writers' conclave to give him the pick of all new songs for the album Something's Goin' On. It was another top-10 album, and produced three UK top-20 singles: "Something's Goin' On", "I Cannot Give You My Love", with Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees, and "What Car".

text: On 14 June 2004, Richard joined the Shadows on-stage at the London Palladium. The Shadows had decided to re-form for another tour of the UK. It was not to be their last tour together though, as they would re-form once again for a final tour five years later in 2009.

text: Two's Company, an album of duets released in 2006, was another top-10 success for Richard and included newly recorded material with Brian May, Dionne Warwick, Anne Murray, Barry Gibb and Daniel O'Donnell, plus some previously recorded duets with artists such as Phil Everly, Elton John and Olivia Newton-John. Two's Company was released to coincide with the UK leg of his latest world tour, "Here and Now", which included lesser known songs such as "My Kinda Life", "How Did She Get Here", "Hey Mr. Dream Maker", "For Life", "A Matter of Moments", "When The Girl in Your Arms" and the Christmas single "21st Century Christmas", which debuted at No. 2 on the UK singles chart.

text: Another compilation album, Love... The Album was released on 12 November 2007. Like Two's Company before it, this album includes both previously released material and newly recorded songs, namely "Waiting for a Girl Like You", "When You Say Nothing at All", "All Out of Love", "If You're Not the One" and "When I Need You" (the last was released as a single, reaching No. 38; the album peaked at No. 13).[61]

text: 2008–present: 50th anniversary and Shadows reunion[edit]

text: 2008, Richard's 51st year in the music business saw the release of the eight-CD box set And They Said It Wouldn't Last (My 50 Years in Music).[62] In September, a single celebrating his 50 years in pop music, titled "Thank You for a Lifetime" was released. On 14 September 2008 it reached No. 3 on the UK music charts.

text: On 11 November 2008, Richard's official website announced that Cliff and the Shadows would reunite to celebrate their 50th anniversary in the music business. A month later they performed at the Royal Variety Performance. In 2009, Cliff and the Shadows brought their partnership to an end with the "Golden Anniversary concert tour of the UK".

text: A new album, titled Reunited, by Richard and the Shadows was released in September 2009. It was their first studio project in forty years. The 28 tracks recorded comprise 25 re-recordings of their earlier work, with three "new" tracks, originally from that era (and earlier), the single "Singing the Blues", along with Eddie Cochran's "C'mon Everybody" and the Frankie Ford hit "Sea Cruise". The album charted at No. 6 in the UK charts in its opening week and peaked at No. 4. The reunion tour continued into Europe in 2010. In June 2009, it was reported by Sound Kitchen Studios in Nashville that Richard was to return there shortly to record a new album of original recordings of jazz songs.[63] He was to record fourteen tracks in a week.

text: Richard performed "Congratulations" at the 70th birthday celebrations of Queen Margrethe II in Denmark on 13 April 2010.

text: On 14 October 2010, Richard celebrated his 70th birthday and to mark the occasion, he performed a series of six concerts at the Royal Albert Hall, London. To accompany the concerts, a new album of cover versions of swing standards, Bold as Brass, was released on 11 October. The official party celebrating Richard's 70th birthday was held on 23 October 2010, with guests including Cilla Black, Elaine Paige and Daniel O'Donnell.

text: After a week of promotion, Richard flew out to rehearse for the German Night of the Proms concerts in Belgium at the end of October. He made a surprise appearance at the Antwerp concert of the Night of the Proms on Thursday, 28 October 2010 and sang "We Don't Talk Anymore" to a great reaction from the surprised 20,000 fans at Sportpaleis Antwerp. In all, he toured 12 German cities in November and December 2010, during the Night of the Proms concerts, as the headline act. The total of 18 concerts were attended by over 300,000 fans. Richard performed a selection of hits and tracks from the Bold As Brass album.

text: In November 2010, he achieved his third consecutive UK No. 1 music DVD in three years with the DVD release of Bold as Brass.

text: In October 2011, Richard released his Soulicious album, containing duets with American soul singers including Percy Sledge, Ashford and Simpson, Roberta Flack, Freda Payne and Candi Staton.[64] The album was produced by Lamont Dozier and was supported by a short UK arena tour. Soulicious became Richard's 41st top-10 UK hit album.

text: He was among the performers at the Diamond Jubilee concert held outside Buckingham Palace in June 2012.[65]

text: On 30 June 2012, Richard helped to carry the Olympic torch from Derby to Birmingham as part of the torch relay for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Richard said that his run with the Olympic torch would be one of his top-10 memories.[66]

text: In November 2013, Richard released the 100th album of his career, The Fabulous Rock 'n' Roll Songbook. To that point Richard had released 47 studio albums, 35 compilations, 11 live albums and 7 film soundtracks.[67]

text: Richard was scheduled to open for Morrissey at a live concert at New York's 19,000-capacity Barclays Center on 21 June 2014.[68][69] Morrissey said that he was "honoured and thrilled" to have Richard on the bill.[70] It was reported on 16 June 2014 that Morrissey had cancelled the concert after collapsing with an "acute fever". Richard announced that he would stage a free show for fans in New York on the same night the cancelled concert was due to take place.[71]

text: In October 2015, Richard performed on tour to mark his 75th birthday. He took to the stage across seven cities in the UK, including six nights at London's Royal Albert Hall, a venue in which he has performed over 100 occasions during his career.[72][73] Richard's 2015 tour received a positive review from The Guardian's rock music critic Dave Simpson.[74]

text: Across his career, Richard has achieved total sales of over 21 million singles in the UK and is the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart history, behind the Beatles and Elvis Presley.[2]

text: Lack of commercial support and music industry criticism[edit]

text: Richard has openly complained about the lack of commercial support he receives from radio stations and record labels. He spoke about this on The Alan Titchmarsh Show on ITV in December 2007, pointing out that while new bands needed airplay for promotion and sales, long-established artists such as himself also relied upon airplay for the same reasons. He also noted that 1980s radio stations did play his records and that this went some way to help sales and maintain his media presence. In the BBC Radio 2 documentary Cliff – Take Another Look, he pointed out that many documentaries charting the history of British music (e.g. I'm in a Rock 'n' Roll Band!) fail to mention him (or the Shadows).[75]

text: In 1998, Chris Evans, the then breakfast show host on Virgin Radio, vowed he would never again play a record by Richard, stating that he was "too old".[76][77] In June 2004, British disc jockey Tony Blackburn was suspended from his radio job at Classic Gold Digital for playing records by Richard against station policy. The head of programmes, Paul Baker, sent an e-mail to Blackburn stating that Richard "doesn't match our brand values. He's not on the playlist, and you must stop playing him." On Blackburn's next morning breakfast show, he read a print-out of the e-mail live on air to the show's 400,000 listeners and went on to play two songs by Richard. Classic Gold managing director John Baish later confirmed Blackburn's suspension from the show.[78]

text: In 2011, digital station Absolute Radio '60s, dedicated to playing popular music from the 1960s, announced they would not be playing any of Richard's records because they claimed they did not fit "the cool sound... we're trying to create". DJ Pete Mitchell claimed "Timeless acts of the decade that remain relevant today are the Beatles, the Stones, the Doors and the Who, not Sir Cliff." Richard responded to this by saying: "They're lying to themselves, and more importantly they're lying to the public."[79]

text: Richard has spoken of his irritation about other stars who are praised after taking drugs.[80] In 2009, Richard said he was the "most radical rock-and-roll singer Britain has ever seen" as he did not indulge in drugs or sexual promiscuity.[81] Richard said he is proud that he never adopted the hedonistic lifestyle of a typical rock star. He said: "I've never wanted to trash a hotel room."[82]

text: Richard has criticised the music industry for encouraging artists to court controversy. In November 2013, he said: "The music industry has changed drastically and that damages young artists. This industry can be very destructive."[83] Richard expressed concern about the sexually explicit public image of singer Miley Cyrus, following controversy surrounding a semi-naked video for her song "Wrecking Ball".[83] In the 1970s, Richard said that he was disturbed by the visual imagery and mock horror of singer Alice Cooper.[84] In 1997, Richard said of the rock band Oasis: "It's just a shame that part of what gives them their kick is their self-destructive impulse."[85]

text: In an article for The Guardian in 2011, the journalist Sam Leith wrote of Richard's lack of commercial support among radio stations: "His uncompromising Christianity, his clean-living ways, and his connoisseurship of the fruits of his Portuguese winery have made him an object of incomprehension, even ridicule, for the uncultured, alcopop-drinking younger generation."[86] Also writing in The Guardian, John Robb opined that because Richard has rebelled against the drink and drugs culture of typical rock stars, this "rebelling against rebellion" has made Richard something of a countercultural icon.[87]

text: In December 2013, Richard said that he felt two of his singles, "Mistletoe and Wine" and "The Millennium Prayer", had created a negative reaction against him. He said: "Airplay is vital for single hits. The only way I can have a fair competition is if your records are on the radio. There is an ageism in the radio industry. If you ask me to record a new song, I'm not sure it would get the support it needs."[88]

text: Author and rock music critic Tony Parsons has said: "If you don't like at least some Cliff Richard, then you don't like pop music".[89] Musician Sting has also defended Richard, stating: "Cliff Richard is in my opinion one of Britain's finest singers technically and emotionally."[90]

text: Personal life[edit]

text: Richard's father, Rodger Webb, died in 1961, aged 56. The death of his father at a young age had a great impact on Richard. He later said: "My father died very young. He missed the best parts of my career. When my father was sick, we became very close."[91][self-published source] Richard's mother, Dorothy, died in October 2007, aged 87, after a decade with Alzheimer's disease. In a 2006 interview, he spoke about the difficulties he and his sisters had in dealing with their mother's condition.[92]

text: Richard is a lifelong bachelor.[93] In a three-page letter written in October 1961 to "his first serious girlfriend",[94] Australian dancer Delia Wicks, made public in April 2010 after her death from cancer, Richard wrote, "Being a pop singer I have to give up one priceless thing – the right to any lasting relationship with any special girl. I've just had to make, probably, one of the biggest decisions I'm ever going to make and I'm hoping that it won't hurt you too much."[93] The couple had been dating for 18 months. In the letter he goes on to say, "I couldn't give up my career, besides the fact that my mother and sisters, since my father's death, rely on me completely. I have showbiz in my blood now and I would be lost without it." Richard urged her to "find someone who is free to love you as you deserve to be loved" and who "is able to marry you".[94]

text: After Delia Wicks died in 2010, aged 71, her brother Graham Wicks said that she had been "devastated" by Richard's decision to end their relationship, describing Richard as "a very pleasant man".[93]

text: At the age of 22, a year after his relationship with Delia Wicks ended, Richard had a brief romance with the actress Una Stubbs.[89] Later in the 1960s, Richard considered marriage to the dancer Jackie Irving. Richard described Irving as "utterly beautiful" and says for a time they were "inseparable".[95] Irving went on to marry Adam Faith.

text: In his autobiography, Richard stressed that "sex is not one of the things that drives me", but he also wrote of his seduction by Carol Costa, who at the time was the estranged wife of Jet Harris.[95]

text: In the 1980s, Richard considered asking Sue Barker,[95] a former French Open tennis champion and Wimbledon semi-finalist,[96] if she would agree to marry him. In 2008, Richard said of his relationship with Barker: "I seriously contemplated asking her to marry me, but in the end I realised that I didn't love her quite enough to commit the rest of my life to her."[95]

text: Richard first met Barker in 1982, when she was aged 25. Their romance attracted considerable media attention after Richard flew to Denmark to watch her play in a tennis match and they were later photographed cuddling and holding hands at Wimbledon.[97][98] In an interview in February 1983, Richard spoke of the possibility of marriage with her. He said: "I'm seeing Sue, the only girl I want to see at the moment and if marriage comes on the horizon, I shall relish it."[99] In September 1983, Richard said that he had no immediate plans to marry Barker. He said: "It's not vital to get married and it's not vital to be a father. But I would like to settle down and have a family one day."[100] In July 1984, Barker said of her romance with Richard: "I love him, he's great and I'm sure we love each other."[101]

text: In 1986, after Richard's romance with Barker had ended and she began dating tennis player Stephen Shaw, Richard said that he was still a friend of Barker. He said: "We have a mutual respect for each other and that means a lot to me."[102]

text: When later asked why he has never married, Richard said: "I've had a few false alarms. I've been in love, but marriage is a big commitment and being an artist consumes a great deal of time."[103] He said that in the early 1970s he was in love with the singer and actress Olivia Newton-John. Richard said: "At the time when I and many of us were in love with Olivia she was engaged to someone else. I'm afraid I lost the chance."[103]

text: In 1988, Richard's nephew Philip Harrison spent the first four months of his life in a children's hospital suffering from serious breathing problems. Richard later helped to raise money for the hospital in east London and said that his nephew "had a terrible time but the hospital saved his life."[104][105]

text: Although he has never married, Richard has rarely lived alone. For many years he shared his main home with his charity and promotion schedules manager, Bill Latham, and Latham's mother.[106][107] In 1982, Richard described them as his "second family".[108] Latham's girlfriend, Jill, also lived at the house in Weybridge, Surrey, with them for a time.[89] In 1993, Bill Latham said of Richard's bachelor status: "His freedom has meant that he has been able to do much more than if he had a family. He always goes the extra mile. If he was to have a relationship, he would give it everything. So because his commitments have been his career, his faith, and more latterly, tennis, he has given himself wholeheartedly to those three activities."[109]

text: Richard often declines discussion about close relationships and when asked about suggestions that he may be homosexual has stated categorically that he is not. When the suggestions were first put to him in the late 1970s, Richard responded by saying: "It's untrue. People are very unfair with their criticism and their judgements. I've had girlfriends. But people seem to think that if a bloke doesn't sleep around he must be gay. Marriage is a very special thing to me. I'm certainly not going to do it just to make other people feel satisfied."[108] In 1986, Richard said that rumours about him being homosexual had previously been "very painful" to him.[102]

text: When asked in 1992 if he had ever considered the possibility that he might be gay, he responded: "No."[110] Richard said: "Even if I got married tomorrow there would be a group of people who would believe what they wanted to believe. All that counts is what your family and friends know and they all trust and respect me. What the people outside think, I have no control over."[110] Later in 1996, Richard said: "I'm aware of the rumours, but I am not gay."[80] In 1997, he said: "People who are single shouldn't have to be second-class citizens – we needn't be embarrassed or feel guilty about it, we all have a role to play."[85]

text: Richard said that his faith in God was tested in 1999 after the murder of his close friend, the British television presenter Jill Dando. He said: "I was really angry with God. It shook me rigid that someone as beautiful, talented and harmless could have been killed."[111] Richard said that Dando had many likeable qualities and described her as "a very genuine person". He said of Dando's murder: "It is very difficult to understand and I find it all very confusing."[112] He attended her funeral in May 1999 in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset.[113]

text: Richard has spoken of his friendship with John McElynn, an American former missionary whom he met in 2001 on a visit to New York.[114] In 2008, Richard said: "John now spends most of his time looking after my properties, which means I don't have to. John and I have over time struck up a close friendship. He has also become a companion, which is great because I don't like living alone, even now."[95]

text: In an interview with David Frost in 2002, Richard said that his many good friends have prevented him from feeling lonely and he has always got someone he can talk to.[115] Richard has been a family friend of the Irish broadcaster Gloria Hunniford for over 40 years. When Hunniford's daughter Caron Keating was diagnosed with breast cancer and chose to keep her illness private from the public, Richard was among a small close circle of friends who knew of Keating's condition. When Keating died in April 2004, Richard attended her funeral in Kent and performed his song "Miss You Nights" in tribute to her.[116][117]

text: In 2006, Richard received a Portuguese Order in which he was appointed Commander of the Order of Prince Henry (ComIH),[118] this in recognition of his 40 years of personal and business involvement in that country. Richard finished No. 56 in the 2002 100 Greatest Britons list, sponsored by the BBC and voted for by the public.

text: In his 2008 autobiography, Richard wrote that his views on certain issues are less judgemental than when he was younger.[119] He called on the Church of England to affirm people's commitment in same-sex marriage.[120] He wrote: "In the end, I believe, people are going to be judged for what they are. It seems to me that commitment is the issue, and if anyone comes to me and says: 'This is my partner – we are committed to each other,' then I don't care what their sexuality is. I'm not going to judge – I'll leave that to God."[95]

text: In 2009, the British media reported on a growing friendship between Richard and Cilla Black. The Daily Telegraph said that Richard and Black looked at properties together in Miami and were regularly seen together in Barbados, where they both owned villas. Richard and Black reportedly enjoyed each other's company dining together in Marbella and watching tennis in the Royal Box at Wimbledon.[121] After Black died in August 2015, Richard described her as "incredibly gifted" and "full of heart". He said: "She was a very special person, and I have lost a very wonderful friend. I will miss her dearly."[122] Richard performed the song "Faithful One" in tribute to Black at her funeral in Liverpool.[123]

text: In 2010, Richard confirmed that he is no longer a resident of the United Kingdom and had been granted citizenship by Barbados. He said: "I'm officially a non-resident [of the UK], although I will always be British and proud of it."[12] He currently divides his time between living in Barbados and Portugal.[13] When asked in February 2013 if he had regrets about not starting a family, Richard said that if he had been married with children he could not have devoted so much time to his career. He said: "My three sisters have children, and it's been wonderful to watch them grow up, get married and start families of their own. I've made sure I've always played a part in their lives. So while I think I would have been a good father, I've given myself to my family and I wouldn't have it any other way. My 'freedom' allows me to continue my career. Had I been married, with children, I wouldn't be able to do what I do now."[124]

text: Nationwide Festival of Light[edit]

text: In 1971, Richard was a leading supporter of the Nationwide Festival of Light, a movement formed by British Christians who were concerned about the development of the permissive society. Richard joined public figures such as Malcolm Muggeridge, Mary Whitehouse and Bishop Trevor Huddleston to demonstrate in London "for love and family life, against pornography and moral pollution". Muggeridge criticised the media as being "largely in the hands of those who for one reason or another favour the present Gadarene slide into decadence and Godlessness."[125]

text: One of the targets for the Festival of Light's campaign was the growth of sexually explicit films.[126] Richard was one of approximately 30,000 people who gathered at London's Trafalgar Square for a demonstration. One focus of their protest was against the Swedish sex education film Language of Love, which was showing at a nearby cinema.[127]

text: Philanthropy[edit]

text: Since March 1966, Richard has followed the practice of giving away at least a tenth of his income to charity.[128] Richard has stated that two biblical principles have guided him in how to use his money. He said: "Firstly, it was the love of money (not money itself) that was the root of all evil. Secondly, to be good and responsible stewards of what was entrusted to us."[129] In 1990, Richard said: "Those of us who have something to offer have to be prepared to give all the time."[104]

text: For over 40 years Richard has been a supporter of Tearfund, a Christian charity that aims to tackle poverty in many countries across the world. He has made overseas visits to see their work in Uganda, Bangladesh and Brazil. Richard has said: "Playing a part in relieving poverty is, as I see it, the responsibility of us all."[130]

text: Richard has donated to a leading dementia research charity, Alzheimer's Research UK. He has helped to raise funds and awareness of the disease by speaking publicly about his mother's condition.[131]

text: Richard has also supported numerous UK charities over many years through the Cliff Richard Charitable Trust, both through donations and by making personal visits to schools, churches, hospitals and homes for special needs children. Richard's passion for tennis, which was encouraged by his former girlfriend Sue Barker, also led him in 1991 to establish the Cliff Richard Tennis Foundation. The charity has encouraged thousands of primary schools in the UK to introduce the sport, with over 200,000 children taking part in the tennis sessions which tour the country. The Foundation has since become part of the charitable wing of the Lawn Tennis Association.[80][132][133]

text: The Cliff Richard Charitable Trust gives grants on a quarterly basis, with about 50 different UK registered charities benefiting each time. Richard's Trust mainly donates to charities working in medical research, with children and the elderly, and for those involved in helping people with disabilities.[134]

text: Scottish independence referendum[edit]

text: Richard was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian expressing their hope that Scotland would vote to remain part of the United Kingdom in September's referendum on that issue.[135]

text: Controversies[edit]

text: Copyright[edit]

text: Richard was involved in a campaign to extend copyright on sound recordings in the UK from 50 to 95 years, and extend the number of years on which a musician can receive royalties. The campaign was initially unsuccessful and the UK copyright on many of Richard's early recordings expired in 2008.[136]

text: In 2013, following another campaign, copyright on sound recordings was extended to 70 years after first publication to the public for works still in copyright at that point. This means Richard's recordings between 1958 and 1962 are out of copyright in the UK, but those from 1963 will be in copyright until 2034.[137]

text: 2014 property search, investigation and BBC litigation[edit]

text: In August 2014, in response to a complaint to the Metropolitan Police's Operation Yewtree (set up in the wake of the Jimmy Savile scandal),[138] Richard's apartment in Berkshire was searched, but there were no arrests. He strongly denied the allegations.[139][140] The BBC was criticised for its coverage of the search.[141] The former Director of Public Prosecutions, Lord Macdonald of River Glaven, QC, criticised the police force for its "completely disreputable conduct" and said its action could make the warrant unlawful.[142] Richard pulled out of a visit to the US Open tennis championships, turned down the freedom of his adopted Portuguese home city of Albufeira, and cancelled a scheduled appearance at Coventry Cathedral because he did not want the event to be "overshadowed by the false allegation".[143] He subsequently returned to the UK and voluntarily met with and was interviewed by members of South Yorkshire Police.[144] He was never arrested or criminally charged.[145] Subsequently, David Crompton, chief constable of South Yorkshire Police, was criticised for his interactions with the BBC, and publicly apologised to Richard.[146]

text: In February 2015, South Yorkshire Police announced that the inquiry into the alleged offences had increased, and would be continuing. Richard subsequently released a statement maintaining that the allegations were "absurd and untrue".[147][148][149] The development came a day after an independent report had concluded that South Yorkshire Police had "interfered with the singer's privacy" by telling the BBC about the August 2014 property search. A review by former chief constable Andy Trotter said South Yorkshire Police had breached police guidance on protecting the identity of those under investigation and the handling of the search had dented the force's reputation.[150] The BBC's tip-off regarding the search reportedly came from within Operation Yewtree, although Crompton said he could not be certain that the leak originated from there.[151]

text: In May 2016, South Yorkshire Police sent a file of evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service.[152] The following month, the CPS announced that after reviewing "evidence relating to claims of non-recent sexual offences dating between 1958 and 1983 made by four men" there was "insufficient evidence" to charge Richard with an offence, and that no further action against him would be taken.[153][154] Richard said he was "obviously thrilled that the vile accusations and the resulting investigation have finally been brought to a close". But he said his naming by the media, despite not being charged, meant he had been "hung out like live bait".[154] South Yorkshire Police later "apologised wholeheartedly" to Richard after its investigation into the singer was dropped on 16 June 2016.[155] Richard commented: "My reputation will not be fully vindicated because the CPS's policy is to only say something general about there being 'insufficient' evidence. How can there be evidence for something that never took place?"[156] It was subsequently reported that during the 22-month police investigation a man was arrested over a plot to blackmail Richard. The unnamed man in his forties contacted Richard's aides and threatened to spread "false stories" unless he received a sum of money.[157]

text: On 21 June 2016, the BBC apologised publicly to Richard for causing distress after the controversial broadcast.[158] On 27 September 2016, the Crown Prosecution Service announced that the decision not to prosecute Richard over claims of historical sex offences had been upheld. The CPS reviewed the evidence following applications by two of his accusers,[159] and concluded that the decision not to charge Richard was correct.[160] In October 2016, it was reported that Richard was suing the BBC and South Yorkshire Police. Legal papers were filed at the High Court in London on 6 October 2016.[161] South Yorkshire Police later agreed to pay Richard £400,000 after settling a claim he brought against the force.[162]

text: On 12 April 2018, the case against the BBC opened in the High Court. It was reported that Richard was seeking "very substantial" damages.[163] On 13 April, Richard gave evidence for more than an hour, describing the television coverage as "shocking and upsetting".[164] His written statement was made available online by his lawyers, Simkins LLP.[165][166] On 18 July 2018, Richard won his High Court case against the BBC and was awarded £210,000 in damages.[167][168] Also on 18 July the BBC released a statement apologising for "things we would have done differently", but saying they were looking into appealing the judgment since it "creates new case law and represents a dramatic shift against press freedom".[169]

text: Discography[edit]

text: Tours and concerts[edit]

text: Filmography[edit]

text:
1959: Serious Charge
1960: Expresso Bongo
1961: The Young Ones (aka It's Wonderful to be Young)
1963: Summer Holiday
1964: Wonderful Life (aka Swingers' Paradise)[170]
1966: Finders Keepers
1966: Thunderbirds Are GO (voice as a marionette)
1968: Two a Penny
1970: His Land
1972:  The Case (features Olivia Newton-John)
1973: Take Me High
2012: Run for Your Wife (cameo role as a busker)

text:
1960–63: The Cliff Richard Show (ATV Television)
1964–67: Cliff (ATV Television)
1965: Cliff and the Shadows (ATV Television)
1970–74: It's Cliff Richard featuring Hank Marvin, Una Stubbs and Olivia Newton-John (BBC Television)
1975–76: It's Cliff and Friends (BBC Television)

text:
Year

Title

Total viewers[171]

Channel

1971

Getaway with Cliff

5.2 million

BBC

1972

The Case

5 million

BBC

1999

An Audience with Sir Cliff Richard

11 million

ITV

2001

The Hits I Missed

6.5 million

ITV

2008

When Piers Met Sir Cliff

5.5 million

ITV

text: Television appearances[edit]

text: Theatre work[edit]

text:
Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp: music by the Shadows and Norrie Paramor
Cinderella: music by the Shadows and Norrie Paramor
Time: music by Dave Clark
Heathcliff: music by John Farrar and lyrics by Sir Tim Rice

text: Awards[edit]

text:
1977: Best British male solo artist[46]
1982: Best British male solo artist[46]
1989: Lifetime achievement: Outstanding contribution to music (excluded the Shadows)[46]

text:
1980: Most Exciting Male Singer on TV
1987: Best Male Singer
1989: Favourite Singer

text:
1970: Male Pop Personality
1971: Top Male Pop Personality
1972: Top Male Pop Personality

text:
1958: Best New Disc or TV Singer
1959: UK Male Singer[clarification needed]
1959: Best Single: "Living Doll"
1960: Best UK Single: "Living Doll"
1961: UK Male Singer
1962: UK Male Singer
1963: UK Male Singer
1963: Best World Male Singer
1964: UK Male Singer
1964: UK Vocal Personality
1965: UK Male Singer
1966: UK Male Singer
1966: UK Vocal Personality
1967: UK Vocal Personality
1968: UK Vocal Personality
1969: British Vocal Personality
1970: UK Male Singer
1970: UK Vocal Personality
1970: World's Best Recording Artist of the '60s
1971: UK Male Singer
1971: British Vocal Personality
1972: UK Male Singer
1972: British Vocal Personality

text:
1968: Most Performed Work: "Congratulations" by Bill Martin and Phil Coulter
1970: Outstanding Services to Music

text:
1959: Best Male Singer
1960: Top British Male Singer
1962: The Emen Award: Top male singer
1962: Top British Male Singer
1962: Top single of the year: "The Young Ones"
1963: Best Male Singer
1964: Best Male Singer
1965: Best UK Male Singer
1967: Top Male Singer

text:
1967: Best-Dressed Male
1968: Best-Dressed Male
1969: Best-Dressed Male
1970: Top British Male Singer
1970: Best-Dressed Male
1970: Mr. Valentine
1971: Mr. Valentine

text:
1964: Best Male Singer: Gold
1964: Year End Singles Charts: 1. "Sag 'no' Zu Ihm" ("Don't talk to him")
1965: Best Male Singer: Gold
1980: Top International Male Singer

text:
1961: Record Mirror Survey: Most successful chart records 1958–1961: No. 1: Cliff Richard, "Living Doll" (Richard had three of the top five records and a further two in the Top 50)
1964: Record Mirror Poll: Best-Dressed Singer in the World

text:
1961: Royal Variety Club: Show Business Personality
1961: Weekend Magazine: Star of Stars
1962: Motion Picture Herald Box-Office Survey of 1962: Most Popular Male Film Actor
1963: Motion Picture Herald Box-Office Survey of 1963: Most Popular Male Film Actor
1963: 16 (US Magazine): Most Promising Singer
1964: Billboard (US magazine): Best Recording Artist UK
1969: Valentine Magazine: Mr Valentine

text:
1970: National Viewers' and Listeners' Association: Outstanding Contribution to Religious Broadcasting and Light Entertainment
1971: Record Mirror: UK Male Singer
1974: Nordoff Robbins Music Therapy Committee: Silver Clef: Outstanding Services to the Music Industry
1977: The Songwriters' Guild of Great Britain: Golden Badge Award
1979: Music Week: Special Award for 21 years as successful recording artistes: Cliff Richard and the Shadows
1979: EMI Records: Gold Clock and Gold Key award: EMI celebrates 21-year partnership with Richard

text:
1980: Richard receives O.B.E. from the Queen
1980: BBC TV Multi-Coloured Swap Shop: Best UK Male Vocalist
1980: National Pop And Rock Awards: Best Family Entertainer
1980: Nationwide, in conjunction with Radio 1 and the Daily Mirror: Best Family Entertainer
1981: Sunday Telegraph Readers Poll: Top Pop Star
1981: Daily Mirror Readers Award: Outstanding Music Personality of the Year
1989: The Lifetime Achievement Diamond Award (Antwerp)

text:
1995: American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers: Pied Piper Award (Richard became the first British recipient of Ascap's coveted Pied Piper Award, which recognises outstanding contributions to the songwriter and music community)
1995: The formal investiture of Richard as Knight Bachelor took place at 10.30 a.m. in Buckingham Palace on Wednesday 25 October
1998: Dutch Edison: Lifetime Achievement Award

text:
2000: South Bank Awards: Outstanding Achievement Award
2003: British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors: Gold Badge of Merit
2003: Lawn Tennis Association: 20 Years of Service to Tennis Award
2004: Induction into UK Music Hall of Fame (representing the 1950s: Cliff and the Shadows)
2004: Ultimate Pop Star (No. 1 singles recording artist in UK)[clarification needed]
2005: Avenue of Stars (star on the pavement, London)
2005: Rose D'or Music Festival (Paris): Golden Rose
2006: Commander of the Portuguese Order of Prince Henry (awarded for services to Portugal)[118]

text: 2011: The National German Sustainability Award[173]