Clifford T Ward Tribute Page

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{CLIFFORD THOMAS WARD}

{ February 10th 1944 - December 18th 2001 }

One of the greatest ever English singer songwriters, Clifford T Ward was one of five children, having one sister and three brothers. He was educated at Stourport Secondary Modern School. At school he spent some time as a choir boy. In 1962, shortly after leaving school, Cliff formed a beat band called Cliff Ward and The Cruisers. The band was popular in Birmingham and also in demand at American Army bases in France. It was during this time abroad that Cliff wrote "Home Thoughts From Abroad" (a song that would later appear on his second solo album). In the mid 1960s and after several member changes, the group was re-named Martin Raynor and The Secrets with Cliff in the role of the elusive Raynor. The fictitious name was soon dropped and the band continued on, simply known as The Secrets. It went on to do some extensive touring around Britain and France, achieving moderate success. Along the way, six singles were recorded by the group (ten of the songs penned by Cliff himself), though these made little impact on the music world. In 1968, following the demise of The Secrets, Cliff decided he needed to get a 'real job', and so spent the following three years at a teacher training college, ultimately finding employment at nearby North Bromsgrove High School, teaching English and drama. In his spare time, he continued songwriting and recorded his first solo album Singer Songwriter. His first album, Singer Songwriter, was released in 1972 on Dandelion Records (a label formed by the late disc jockey John Peel) just before it went into liquidation. As a result, the album received little media coverage and went largely unnoticed. Signing a new contract with Charisma Records, Cliff went on to have a hit with the haunting single Gaye. It sold over a million copies worldwide and reached number 8 in the UK Singles Chart in June 1973. In July 1973, following the success of Gaye, Cliff's second album Home Thoughts achieved healthy sales and reached number 40 in the UK Albums Chart. At this point, wanting to concentrate on music full time, he gave up the teaching profession. He made a rare public appearance in August, performing Gaye on Top of the Pops. In January 1974 Cliff entered the singles chart again at number 37 with Scullery, a track from his third album Mantle Pieces. Subsequent singles, notably No More Rock'n'Roll, Jigsaw Girl, Ocean of Love, and I Got Lost Tonight (written by US singer-songwriter Tim Moore, one of the very rare occasions when he recorded outside material) were much loved by BBC radio presenters and programmers but Cliff never made it into the UK charts again. It was said that he would have had more commercial success were it not for his dislike of touring, public appearances, interviews and photo shoots. The Best Is Yet To Come, from the album Both of Us, enjoyed success when covered by Justin Hayward, and his songs were also recorded by Cliff Richard, Jack Jones, Art Garfunkel, and Judy Collins. He was compared to Paul McCartney by reviewers and his songs have strong melodies and concise, original lyrics. In 1984 Cliff was diagnosed as having {Multiple Sclerosis}. He continued to record and write songs while living at home. In 1994, Cliff was interviewed by local paper, the Wolverhampton Express & Star. He told reporter Aidan Goldstraw: "I have not and will not come to terms with this illness. There are times - usually quite late at night - when I'm almost normal again. But unless they find a cure for this dreadful MS, then I don't see a future." Also then, he recorded his eleventh and what would be his last new album, Julia And Other New Stories, crawling on all fours into his home-based recording studio to finish it. At around the same time, a stage musical, Shattered World, was produced as a tribute to him, based on his life and his battle against MS. Half of the songs were Cliff's own and half were numbers written by others about him. In the winter of 2001, Cliff fell ill from pneumonia and entered hospital. He died there a few weeks later, at 9 a.m. on Tuesday December 18th...aged 57.

The legacy left behind by Cliff is that of his music A true genius and one who will never be forgotten...

CLIFFORD T WARDs..'HOME THOUGHTS FROM ABROAD'

.. "I could be a millionaire if I had the money

I could own a mansion, no I don't think I'd like that

But I might write a song that makes you laugh, now that would be funny

And you could tell your friends in England you'd like that

But now I've chosen aeroplanes and boats to come between us

And a line or two on paper wouldn't go amiss

How is Worcestershire? Is it still the same between us?

Do you still use television to send you fast asleep?

Can you last another week? Does the cistern still leak?

Or have you found a man to mend it?

Oh, and by the way, how's your broken heart?

Is that mended too? I miss you

I miss you, I really do.

I've been reading Browning, Keats and William Wordsworth

And they all seem to be saying the same thing for me

Well I like the words they use, and I like the way they use them

You know, Home Thoughts From Abroad is such a beautiful poem

And I know how Robert Browning must have felt

'Cause I'm feeling the same way about you

Wondering what you're doing and if you need some help

Do I still occupy your mind? Am I being so unkind?

Do you find it very lonely, or have you found someone to laugh with?

Oh, and by the way, are you laughing now?'Cause I'm not..I miss you..I miss you..I really do.."I really do"...

To *Purchase Any Of Cliffords Music & Current *CDs..Please Contact:- Mr ROY SMITH By EMAIL -{[email protected]}

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