Sir Cliff Richard, 72, is one of the greatest music stars to come out of Britain, selling more than 260 million copies of his many albums. He also represented his country in the Eurovision Song Contest twice, in 1968 and 1973.
The first time he represented the United Kingdom at Eurovision was in London, 1968, he came second with the song Congratulations. Backing to the competition in 1973, he finished in 3rd place, with the song Power to all our friends.
Richard first performed in Israel in September 1963. Then, as a teen idol, he was greeted at Ben-Gurion Airport by some 2,000 fans. He returned to the Jewish state in the late 1960s, when he filmed the musical documentary “His Land,” and again in 1988 as part of Israel’s 40th anniversary celebrations.
Throughout his long career, Richard had more than 100 singles in the charts, including “Move It,” “Congratulations” (Eurovision) and “Living Doll.”
Richard’s arrival in Israel in the 1960s was discussed later on in a Yedioth Ahronoth article written by Emanuel Bar Kadma in 1976, which claimed that legendary producer and impresario Giora Godik chose to bring Richard to Israel over The Beatles.
