An extended play ( EP ) is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record . Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 15 to 30 minutes. An EP is usually less cohesive than an album and more "non-committal".
86-398: PieceMan is an EP by American noise rock band Cop Shoot Cop , released in 1989 by Vertical Records . The record was limited to 1000 pressings. However, the songs "Disconnected 666" and "Eggs for Rib" would be rerecorded for Consumer Revolt while "Rbt. Tilton Handjob" would appear on the 1994 re-issue of Headkick Facsimile . All tracks are written by Cop Shoot Cop Adapted from
172-637: A New World LP on an EP that was marked "Part 1". A second EP was planned, but never appeared; only the sleeve was printed. The first double EP released in Britain was the Beatles ' Magical Mystery Tour film soundtrack. Released in December 1967 on EMI's Parlophone label, it contained six songs spread over two 7-inch discs and was packaged with a lavish color booklet. In the United States and some other countries,
258-617: A Shadows instrumental replaced a Richard song at the top of the British charts. 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
344-448: A career spanning over 65 years, Richard has amassed several gold and platinum discs and awards, including two Ivor Novello Awards and three Brit Awards . More than 130 of his singles, albums, and EPs have reached the UK Top 20, more than any other artist. Richard has had 67 UK top ten singles, the second highest total for an artist (behind Presley). He holds the record, with Presley, as
430-614: A company-supplied flat at Howrah near Calcutta , to a semi-detached house in Carshalton , north Surrey . 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 , Enfield , and the family moved in with other relatives in Waltham Cross , Hertfordshire, where he attended Kings Road Junior Mixed Infants School, until
516-405: A double EP could usually be more economically and sensibly recorded on a single vinyl LP . In the 1950s, Capitol Records had released a number of double EPs by its more popular artists, including Les Paul . The pair of double EPs (EBF 1–577, sides 1 to 8) were described on the original covers as "parts ... of a four-part album". In 1960, Joe Meek released four tracks from his planned I Hear
602-528: A further album in this format, 1985's " Drinking Gasoline ", on the Virgin Records label. Double EPs can also contain the work of multiple artists split across different sides, akin to split albums . An example of this is the Dunedin Double EP, which contains tracks by four different bands. Using a double EP in this instance allowed each band to have its tracks occupying a different side. In addition,
688-474: 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. The album itself reached No. 3 over the Christmas period and
774-590: A manager for a catering contractor that serviced the Indian Railways , and the former Dorothy Marie Dazely. His parents also spent some years in Howrah, West Bengal . After the violence of Direct Action Day , they decided to relocate to Britain permanently. Richard is primarily of English heritage, but he had one great-grandmother who was of half Welsh and half Spanish descent, born of a Spanish great-great-grandmother named Emiline Joseph Rebeiro. The Webb family lived in
860-661: A modest home in Maqbara, near the main shopping centre of Hazratganj . Dorothy's mother served as the dormitory matron at the La Martiniere Girls' School . Richard had three sisters, Joan and Jacqui, plus Donna (1942–2016). 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
946-401: A pair of 7-inch discs recorded at 45 or 33 1 ⁄ 3 rpm , or two 12-inch discs recorded at 45 rpm. The format is useful when an album's worth of material is being pressed by a small plant geared for the production of singles rather than albums and may have novelty value which can be turned to advantage for publicity purposes. Double EPs are rare, since the amount of material record-able on
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#17330863433611032-610: A record number of consecutive top ten UK hits for a male artist. 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. Richard acted in the 1967 film Two a Penny , released by Billy Graham's World Wide Pictures , 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
1118-547: A revival of the popular Italian hit "L'edera". 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. Richard, and the Shadows in particular, however, never achieved star status in the United States. In 1960 they toured
1204-479: A rocker's sense of speed and passion, and Lionel Bart 's " Living Doll ". 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
1290-480: A single song, instead resembling a mini album. EPs of original material regained popularity in the punk rock era, when they were commonly used for the release of new material, e.g. Buzzcocks ' Spiral Scratch EP. Ricardo Baca of The Denver Post said in 2010, "EPs—originally extended-play 'single' releases that are shorter than traditional albums—have long been popular with punk and indie bands." Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks. In
1376-490: A song previously recorded by American 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. There are various stories about why
1462-470: A spectacular titled The Event in front of a combined audience of 144,000 people. 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. Later in 1990,
1548-439: A standard 45 rpm phonograph . In the early era, record companies released the entire content of LPs as 45 rpm EPs. These were usually 10-inch (25-cm) LPs (released until the mid-1950s) split onto two 7-inch EPs or 12-inch (30-cm) LPs split onto three 7-inch EPs, either sold separately or together in gatefold covers. This practice became much less common with the advent of triple-speed-available phonographs. Introduced by RCA in
1634-643: A three-bedroom council house in nearby Cheshunt was allocated to them in 1950, at 12 Hargreaves Close. He then attended Cheshunt Secondary Modern School from 1952 to 1957. 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. A development of retirement flats, Cliff Richard Court, has been named after him in Cheshunt. Harry Webb became interested in skiffle . When he
1720-410: A trilogy of three EPs, beginning with She Is Coming , stated: "By delivering a trio of EPs throughout a period of several months, Miley is giving her fans more of what they want, only in smaller doses. When an artist drops an album, they run the risk of it being forgotten in a few weeks, at which point they need to start work on the follow-up, while still promoting and touring their recent effort. Miley
1806-445: A video for it. EMI agreed to his demand despite the fact the single was expected to sell well. About 1,000 copies are known to exist on vinyl. 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
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#17330863433611892-478: Is doing her best to game the system by recording an album and delivering it to fans in pieces." However, this release strategy was later scrapped in favor of the conventional album release of Plastic Hearts . Major-label pop musicians who had previously employed such release strategies include Colbie Caillat with her fifth album Gypsy Heart (2014) being released following an EP of the album's first five tracks known as Gypsy Heart: Side A three months prior to
1978-479: Is often described as Britain's first authentic rock and roll song. In the early 1960s, he had a successful screen career with films including The Young Ones , Summer Holiday and Wonderful Life and his own television show at the BBC. Increased focus on his Christian faith and subsequent softening of his music led to a more middle-of-the-road image, and he sometimes ventured into contemporary Christian music . In
2064-427: Is the mini-LP , which was a common album format in the 1980s. These generally contained 20–30 minutes of music and about seven tracks. A double extended play is a name typically given to vinyl records or compact discs released as a set of two discs, each of which would normally qualify as an EP. The name is thus analogous to double album . As vinyl records, the most common format for the double EP, they consist of
2150-520: The Record Mirror also printed EP charts. The popularity of EPs in the US had declined in the early 1960s in favor of LPs. In the UK, Cliff Richard and the Shadows , both individually and collectively, and the Beatles were the most prolific artists issuing EPs in the 1960s, many of them highly successful releases. The Beatles' Twist and Shout outsold most singles for some weeks in 1963. The success of
2236-459: 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 evangelical Christians. 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
2322-473: The Eurovision Song Contest Previews for the BBC in 1971 and 1972. 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
2408-843: The PieceMan liner notes. Extended play An extended play (EP) originally referred to a specific type of 45 rpm phonograph record other than 78 rpm standard play (SP) and 33 rpm long play (LP), but as of 2024 , also applies to mid-length CDs and downloads as well. EPs are considered "less expensive and time-consuming" for an artist to produce than an album, and have long been popular with punk and indie bands. In K-pop and J-pop , they are usually referred to as mini-albums . EPs were released in various sizes in different eras. The earliest multi-track records, issued around 1919 by Grey Gull Records , were vertically cut 78 rpm discs known as "2-in-1" records. These had finer grooves than usual, like Edison Disc Records . By 1949, when
2494-599: The UK Singles Chart . John Lennon credited "Move It" as being the first British rock record. 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
2580-558: The concept album recorded for Time . 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
2666-481: The "Cliff Richard musical", and led to Richard's being named the No. 1 cinema box office attraction in Britain for both 1962 and 1963, beating that of even James Bond . The title song of The Young Ones became his biggest-selling single in the United Kingdom, selling over one million copies in the UK. The irreverent 1980s TV sitcom The Young Ones took its name from Richard's 1962 film. In mid-1963, Cliff and
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2752-529: The 1950s. Examples are Elvis Presley's Love Me Tender from 1956 and "Just for You", " Peace in the Valley " and " Jailhouse Rock " from 1957, and the Kinks ' Kinksize Session from 1964. Twelve-inch EPs were similar, but generally had between three and five tracks and a length of over 12 minutes. Like seven-inch EPs, these were given titles. EP releases were also issued in cassette and 10-inch vinyl formats. With
2838-511: The 1980s) were introduced in 1970, with tracks selected from an album and packaging resembling the album they were taken from. This mini-LP format also became popular in America in the early 1970s for promotional releases, and also for use in jukeboxes . In 2010, Warner Bros. Records revived the format with their "Six-Pak" offering of six songs on a compact disc. Due to the increased popularity of music downloads and music streaming beginning
2924-521: The 45 rpm single and 33 1 ⁄ 3 rpm LP were competing formats, 7-inch 45 rpm singles had a maximum playing time of only about four minutes per side. Partly as an attempt to compete with the LP introduced in 1948 by rival Columbia , RCA Victor introduced "Extended Play" 45s during 1952 . Their narrower grooves, achieved by lowering the cutting levels and sound compression optionally, enabled them to hold up to 7.5 minutes per side—but still be played by
3010-654: 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" as opposed to "Schoolboy Crush". Richard was quoted as saying: 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. The single went to No. 2 on
3096-528: 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. 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,
3182-585: 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. 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
3268-497: The EP in Britain lasted until around 1967, but it later had a strong revival with punk rock in the late 1970s and the adaptation of the format for 12-inch and CD singles. The British band Cocteau Twins made prolific use of the EP format, releasing ten EP's between 1982 and 1995. In the Philippines , seven-inch EPs marketed as " mini-LPs " (but distinctly different from the mini-LPs of
3354-475: 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,
3440-470: 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. His final acting role on the silver screen to date was in 1973, when he starred in the film Take Me High . In 1973, he sang
3526-521: The Shadows appeared for a season in Blackpool , where Richard had his portrait modelled by Victor Heyfron. As with the other contemporary 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 be popular, and 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
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3612-553: 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. In
3698-534: The Shadows split in 1968, Richard continued to record. During the 1970s, Richard took part in several television shows and fronted his own show It's Cliff Richard from 1970 to 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
3784-517: The UK as well as Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Northern Europe and Asia, and retains a following in other countries. When not touring, he divides his time between Barbados and Portugal. In 2019, he relocated to New York. Cliff Richard was born Harry Rodger Webb on 14 October 1940 at King George's Hospital (now King George's Medical University ), Victoria Street, in Lucknow , which was then part of British India . His parents were Rodger Oscar Webb,
3870-557: 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. Richard received the Brits highest honour, The Outstanding Contribution award", in 1989. In June that year, he filled London's Wembley Stadium for two nights with
3956-497: The US in 1952, EMI issued the first EPs in Britain in April 1954. EPs were typically compilations of singles or album samplers and were played at 45 rpm on 7-inch (18-cm) discs, with two songs on each side. The manufacturing price of an EP was a little more than that of a single. Thus, they were a bargain for those who did not own the LPs from which the tracks were taken. RCA had success in
4042-705: 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. Although baptised as an Anglican , Richard did not practise the faith in his early years. In 1964, he became an active evangelical Christian and his faith has become an important aspect of his life. Standing up publicly as an evangelical affected his career in several ways. Initially, he believed that he should quit rock 'n' roll, feeling he could no longer be
4128-671: 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. 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
4214-487: The United Kingdom, an EP can appear either on the album or the single chart. The Official Chart Company classifies any record with more than four tracks (not counting alternative versions of featured songs, if present) or with a playing time of more than 25 minutes as an album for sales-chart purposes. If priced as a single, they will not qualify for the main album chart but can appear in the separate Budget Albums chart. An intermediate format between EPs and full-length LPs
4300-439: 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. 2 in
4386-485: 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. After many years of limited success in the US, three of his singles simultaneously charted on
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#17330863433614472-484: 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. Richard's fans were excited about this revival of a performer who had been a part of British rock from its early days. Many big names in music such as Jimmy Page , Eric Clapton and Elton John were seen sporting I'm Nearly Famous badges, pleased that their boyhood idol
4558-517: The United States, the Recording Industry Association of America , the organization that declares releases "gold" or "platinum" based on numbers of sales, defines an EP as containing three to five songs or under 30 minutes. On the other hand, The Recording Academy 's rules for Grammy Awards state that any release with five or more different songs and a running time of over 15 minutes is considered an album, with no mention of EPs. In
4644-424: The advent of the compact disc (CD), more music was often included on "single" releases, with four or five tracks being common, and playing times of up to 25 minutes. These extended-length singles became known as maxi singles and while commensurate in length to an EP were distinguished by being designed to feature a single song, with the remaining songs considered B-sides , whereas an EP was designed not to feature
4730-434: The best-selling music artists of all time . He has never achieved the same popularity in the United States despite eight US Top 40 singles, including the million-selling " Devil Woman " and " We Don't Talk Anymore ". In Canada, he had a successful period in the early 1960s, the late 1970s and early 1980s, with some releases certified gold and platinum. He has remained a popular music, film, and television personality at home in
4816-694: 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
4902-481: The early 1960s, his hits were consistently in the top five. 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 having very recently left the Shadows to be replaced by Brian Bennett. Typically,
4988-653: 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,
5074-443: The format with Elvis Presley , issuing 28 EPs between 1956 and 1967 , many of which topped the separate Billboard EP chart during its brief existence. Other than those published by RCA, EPs were relatively uncommon in the United States and Canada, but they were widely sold in the United Kingdom, and in some other European countries, during the 1950s and 1960s. In Sweden, the EP was a popular record format, with as much as 85% of
5160-406: The full album; and Jessie J 's fourth studio album R.O.S.E. (2018) which was released as four EPs in as many days entitled R (Realisations) , O (Obsessions) , S (Sex) and E (Empowerment) . The first EPs were seven-inch vinyl records with more tracks than a normal single (typically four of them). Although they shared size and speed with singles, they were a recognizably different format than
5246-404: The groove on the physical record could be wider and thus allow for a louder album. In the 1960s and 1970s, record companies released EP versions of long-play (LP) albums for use in jukeboxes . These were commonly known as "compact 33s" or "little LPs". The jukebox EP was played at 33 1 ⁄ 3 rpm, was pressed on seven-inch vinyl and frequently had as many as six songs. What made it EP-like
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#17330863433615332-470: The last Hot 100 of 1980 ("A Little in Love", "Dreamin'", and "Suddenly"). 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." In 1980, Richard officially changed his name, by deed poll , from Harry Rodger Webb to Cliff Richard. At
5418-415: The late 2000s, EPs have become a common marketing strategy for pop musicians wishing to remain relevant and deliver music in more consistent timeframes leading to or following full studio albums. In the late 2000s to early 2010s, reissues of studio albums with expanded track listings were common, with the new music often being released as stand-alone EPs. In October 2010, a Vanity Fair article regarding
5504-417: The live album Cliff in Japan in 1967. In 1968, Richard 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
5590-530: The market in the late 1950s consisting of EPs. Billboard introduced a weekly EP chart in October 1957, noting that "the teen-age market apparently dominates the EP business, with seven out of the top 10 best-selling EPs featuring artists with powerful teen-age appeal — four sets by Elvis Presley, two by Pat Boone and one by Little Richard ". Other publications such as Record Retailer , New Musical Express ( NME ) , Melody Maker , Disc and Music Echo and
5676-581: 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. In 1986, Richard reached No. 1 by teaming up with the case of the comedy series The Young Ones to re-record his smash hit " Living Doll " for
5762-451: The only act to make the UK singles charts in all of its first six decades (1950s–2000s). He has achieved 14 UK No. 1 singles, and is the only singer to have had a No. 1 single in the UK in each of five consecutive decades. He also had four UK Christmas No. 1 singles , two of which were as a solo artist; " Mistletoe and Wine " and " Saviour's Day ". By the late-1990s, Richard had sold more than 250 million records worldwide, making him one of
5848-470: 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
5934-463: 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 evangelical Christian friends advised him not to abandon his career. Soon after, Richard re-emerged, performing with Christian groups and recording some overtly Christian material. He still recorded secular songs with the Shadows, but devoted a lot of his time to Christian based work, including appearances with
6020-627: The same time, he received, from the Queen, the award of Officer of the Order of the British Empire for services to music and charity. 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
6106-617: The seven-inch single. Although they could be named after a lead track, they were generally given a different title. Examples include the Beatles ' The Beatles' Hits EP from 1963, and the Troggs ' Troggs Tops EP from 1966, both of which collected previously released tracks. The playing time was generally between 10 and 15 minutes. In the UK they came in cardboard picture sleeves at a time when singles were usually issued in paper company sleeves. EPs tended to be album samplers or collections of singles. EPs of all original material began to appear in
6192-574: The show, Richard said: "I'm lucky to be here". He said that his seatbelt had prevented him from flying through the windscreen. 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. 1987 saw the release of his Always Guaranteed album, which became his best-selling album of all-new material, and included
6278-522: The songs are spread across two 12" 45 rpm discs. Also, the vinyl pressing of Hail to the Thief by Radiohead uses this practice but is considered to be a full-length album. In 1982 Cabaret Voltaire released their studio album " 2x45 " on the UK-based label Rough Trade , featuring extended tracks over four sides of two 12-inch 45 rpm discs, with graphics by artist Neville Brody . The band subsequently released
6364-426: The songs were augmented by the band's single A- and B-sides from 1967 to create a full LP –a practice that was common in the US but considered exploitative in the UK. The Style Council album The Cost of Loving was originally issued as two 12-inch EPs. It is more common for artists to release two 12-inch 45s rather than a single 12-inch LP. Though there are 11 songs that total about 40 minutes, enough for one LP,
6450-475: The stage name "Cliff Richard"), Ian 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. Agent George Ganjou saw the group perform in London, and recommended them to Norrie Paramor for an audition. For Richard's debut session, Paramor provided him with "Schoolboy Crush",
6536-490: The toilet to avoid the nerves of the voting. In May 2008, a Reuters news report claimed that voting in the competition had been fixed by the Spanish dictator, Francisco Franco , to ensure that the Spanish entry won, thus allowing them to host the contest the following year (1969). It was claimed that Spanish TVE television executives offered to buy programmes in exchange for votes, as well as contract unknown-artists. The story
6622-521: The top of the chart. It was the best-selling UK single of 1988, shifting 750,000 copies. The album was certified quadruple platinum, becoming Richard's first to be certified multi-platinum by the BPI since it had introduced multi-platinum awards in February 1987. In May 1989, Richard released his 100th single, " The Best of Me ", becoming the first British artist to achieve the feat. The single peaked at No. 2 in
6708-685: The trend noted post-album EPs as "the next step in extending albums' shelf lives, following the "deluxe" editions that populated stores during the past few holiday seasons—add a few tracks to the back end of an album and release one of them to radio, slap on a new coat of paint, and—voila!—a stocking stuffer is born." Examples of such releases include Lady Gaga 's The Fame Monster (2009) following her debut album The Fame (2008), and Kesha 's Cannibal (2010) following her debut album Animal (2010). A 2019 article in Forbes discussing Miley Cyrus ' plan to release her then-upcoming seventh studio album as
6794-441: The two top-10 hit singles " My Pretty One " and " Some People ". 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 collected his biggest hits from 1979 to 1988. "Mistletoe and Wine" was Richard's 99th UK single and spent four weeks at
6880-472: Was 16, his father bought him a guitar, and in 1957, he formed the school vocal harmony group The Quintones, before singing in the Dick Teague Skiffle Group. Harry Webb became lead singer of a rock and roll group, the Drifters (distinct from the US group of the same name ). The 1950s entrepreneur Harry Greatorex wanted the up-and-coming rock 'n' roll singer to change his name . The name Cliff
6966-514: 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 . 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
7052-564: Was getting back into the heavier rock in which he had begun his career. 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 . In 1979, Richard teamed up once again with producer Bruce Welch for
7138-642: 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. Later in 1979, Richard performed with Kate Bush at the London Symphony Orchestra 's 75th anniversary celebration at the Royal Albert Hall . With "We Don't Talk Anymore" in 1979, Richard finally began to receive some extended success in
7224-427: Was that some songs were omitted for time purposes, and the most popular tracks were left on. Unlike most EPs before them, and most seven-inch vinyl in general (pre-1970s), these were issued in stereo . Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard OBE (born Harry Rodger Webb ; 14 October 1940) is a British singer and actor. He has total sales of over 21.5 million singles in the United Kingdom and, as of 2012,
7310-404: Was the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart history, behind the Beatles and Elvis Presley . Richard was originally marketed as a rebellious rock and roll singer in the style of Presley and Little Richard . With his backing group, the Shadows , he dominated the British popular music scene in the pre-Beatles period of the late 1950s to early 1960s. His 1958 hit single " Move It "
7396-415: 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. However, the allegations turned out to be untrue, as it was a widely repeated rumour instigated by TVE. Nevertheless, "Congratulations" was a huge hit throughout Europe and Australia, and yet another UK No. 1 in April 1968. After
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