The stage was designed to give prominence to a massive dial in the form of a speaker which told us from what era a particular song was from – not that many of the sell-out crowd needed telling.

The atmosphere was electric in anticipation of Cliff taking the stage; many people had come a long way, _ some from Malta - to witness this spectacle, and boy did the great man deliver.

We grumble at times about the price of concert tickets, but in this case, the money was well spent. You could tell that every penny had gone into the production of the show. Most artistes play about 25 songs in a concert. Cliff did 19 – in the first half, and I gave up counting as he passed 40!

A great band, superlative singers and dancers that would have Brucie chomping on this (alleged) toupee.

Cliff is renowned for rehearsing a show to the nth degree and it shows. The vocals were spot on and the choreography was excellent. The main problem was, of course, what to leave out from a career of more than 100 hits.

Every aspect of his career came under scrutiny; staring with Move It from 1958 and including his latest material.

Of course the biggest cheers were for his biggest hits: Congratulations, Bachelor Boy, Devil Woman and The Young Ones amongst them.

He even paid homage to his stage career with Had To Be from Heathcliffe.
Cliff Richard though is a performer par excellence. It is the mark of a true musician when you can sing without accompaniment and his accapella version of Miss You Nights in memory of lost friends was a particular highlight.

He chatted to the audience and darted about the stage putting many to shame – can you believe the guy is 68?

And he promised us that he'll be back next year . . . and he's bringing The Shadows with him.

Bring it on!

Thanks Cliff for 50 Years of great music – and all in one night!

Martin Hutchinson