50th tour Cliff to unveil 1977 song.

Byline: By Andy Coleman

FIFTY years after his first hit record Sir Cliff Richard has unearthed a song he'd forgotten he'd recorded.

And he thinks it's so good he's including it in his anniversary UK tour which visits Birmingham NIA next Thursday, November 22 and 23.

"It's called Mobile Alabama School Leaving Hullabaloo and it's a really fun song which I'll close the first half of the show with," said 68-year-old Sir Cliff. "I recorded it around 1977 after I'd released the I'm Nearly Famous album. We recorded a whole load of stuff and just used what we thought was right for the next album.

So I forgot all about it."

It was rediscovered during research for an eight CD box set marking the 50th anniversary of Move It launching Cliff onto the pop scene and was used as the B side to Thank You For A Lifetime, the recent single that ensured the star has had a top three hit in each of his six decades as a singer. The song only reached number three but Cliff says he's not too disappointed to have missed out on the top spot.

"It's always important to get to number one but over the course of a career you can't do it all the time," he conceded.

And Cliff appreciates that the competition is fierce.

"I enjoy listening to Will Young and Daniel Bedingfield but it's hard to keep up with the Indie bands because they quickly come and go," he said.

"I still buy CDs rather than download music, because you get better quality. Music should be shared - although I enjoy listening through headphones when I'm travelling on a plane."

Cliff's anniversary shows are dubbed the Time Machine Tour.

"The idea for the name came from a show I did in South Africa 20 years ago when one of the fans told me that going to one of my concerts was like being in a time machine because different songs evoked different memories," he added. "I thought 'what a fantastic title'."

Cliff has recently topped the book bestsellers list with his autobiography, My Life, My Way, co-written with his friend Penny Junor.

"I wrote an autobiography years ago but I felt this was the time for a new one," he explained. "Penny was fantastic, I had all my thoughts and memories but she helped me to mar-

Ticket Info

CLIFF RICHARD November 20/22/23: NIA, Birmingham. Tickets: pounds 50 and pounds 45 plus booking fee from 0871 945 6000 or www.theticketfactory.com

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Cliff Richard celebrates 50 years in showbusiness.