CLIFF RICHARD has more than the hit record "Midas Touch".
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A superstar whose fame circles the globe needs no introduction. Cliff Richard has been
called both 'the most phenomenal hit-making machine in the record
industry' and 'an ambassador for Christianity.' But those with
elephantine memories will remember the pelting rock 'n' roller of the
50s who snarled, "Move It". How did the change occur? To answer that
we must go back to 1961 when despite wall-to-wall hit records Cliff
began to feel increasingly uneasy about his life. He was affected by
the death of his father. Cliff thought of arranging a séance in order
to communicate with his dead father. Bruce Locking, one of the members
of his back-up group The Shadows, was an active follower of the
Jehovah's Witness religious sect. He strongly warned Cliff against any
séance, citing references in his Bible, which forbade any such
activity. Cliff was surprised by and impressed with Bruce's intense
interest in the Bible. For quite a while after that, Cliff met with
Bruce and other Jehovah Witnesses discussing the tenets of their
religion. Cliff bought his own Bible and studied it frequently. "What
was happening was this great big hole in my life and I was trying to
fill it," says Cliff. "But at the time I was just getting
disillusioned and I couldn't understand why because I had what I
wanted. I wanted to be a rock 'n' roll singer and I had that career
and I was very successful at it. I can see now it was because I needed
some kind of stabilizing factor in my life. Rock 'n' roll is not
stable, not in itself. I went around asking a lot of questions." Cliff
sensed a lack of certainty about their salvation in the Jehovah
Witnesses he spoke to. It was after seemingly endless searching and
interminable discussions into the small hours that Cliff finally found
the peace he was looking for. In his autobiography, "Which One's
Cliff?", the singer recalls reading Revelation 3:20, "Behold I stand
at the door and knock, whoever hears my voice opens the door, I will
come in." That night Cliff heard the knock and opened the door of his
heart. "All I recall is that I meant what I said and was willing for
the consequences." For Cliff those consequences were a "radical change
of life style, a focal point for new relationships" and indeed a new
life. It also meant ridicule from the press, irritated by his squeaky
clean image. Today Cliff stands at the pinnacle of unprecedented
record business achievement. But his relationship with Christ is still
the most important thing in the singer's life.