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 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.

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 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.

For his debut session, Norrie Paramor provided Richard with "Schoolboy Crush", a song previously recorded by an 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 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".
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.

— NME, September 1958
The single went to No.
2 on 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 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 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, 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.

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 p
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 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.
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 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.
For his debut session, Norrie Paramor provided Richard with "Schoolboy Crush", a song previously recorded by an 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 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". 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.
— NME, September 1958
The single went to No. 2 on 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 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 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, 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.
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 p
Cliff Richard