Review: Cliff Richard at Sheffield City Hall

Sir Cliff Richard is a part of British culture over the last 50 odd years and whether you like him or not he has traversed the decades and whilst pop stars have come and gone he has lasted them all.

Apart from his gospel tours his fans have had to be content seeing him in arenas over the last few tours, but on this current tour he has returned to play medium sized venues. He could have easily sold out tonight's venue many times but you get the impression that he respects his fans right down to appearing on stage at the advertised time, to the reasonably priced tour merchandise in the foyer and giving his fans the chance to see him live in a more personal environment. That respect is felt between the audience and the man himself throughout the night.

He appears at the top of a small flight of steps, a minutes standing ovation from his fans takes place. The first song he performs is the new single, Golden. Basically the song has a lyric that is a tribute to his fans who have stayed loyal to him over his career. "Memories, happiness. I've lived a life that has been blessed, you've always been there with arms wide open" it goes. Gushing and sentimental it is but it sums up the atmosphere in the auditorium perfectly. Whether this will be his last tour who knows but the lyric might suggest so.

Looking thin and tanned his voice seemed suited to the more mellow tracks. He does all the Rock n Roll standards like Roll Over Beethoven as the gig warms up. He is backed with a talented band and 3 backing singers, the two young men look like they have just come from the musical Dreamboats and Petticoats and they first show off their 1960s dance moves on Living Doll.

He jokes with the fans over a recent bad photo shot of him taken at 3am as he got off a 7 hour delayed flight from one of his homes abroad in Portugal. "The headline said Cliff looked fraught, I wasn't fraught, I was drunk!" he informs them to much laughter.

Of course there is some new product to push. An album recorded in America of Rock n Roll standards is out next year. "The album is out next year" he says "With the 75 at 75 hits album being in the album chart, I don't want to be greedy having two albums in the chart at once" he jokes.

It might be a well scripted show but he makes it sound fresh and spontaneous. Covering the length of his career the hits flowed, Miss You Nights flowed perfectly into Summer Holiday and the Young Ones.

When he performs Devil Woman it could be Top of the Pops from 1976 as he sings the song with the same arm movements and gestures as he did nearly 40 years ago.

He has performed many duets over the years, one of his best is Suddenly, the track he sang with Olivia Newton John for the film musical Xanadu in 1980. He treats the fans to a note perfect version with the other backing singer Suzie Furlonger. She provides an excellent vocal too. They both rework the magic too earlier in the evening on the Peaches and Herb track, Re-United.

The fans rush to the front as the gig moves up a gear as some of the best pop songs he has recorded are performed: We Don't Talk Anymore and Wired For Sound send a shiver down the spine.

Of course he couldn't leave the stage without singing his Eurovision track, Congratulations, it might sound a little twee coming after the aforementioned hits but the song is part of his career and it pleased the fans. It is back to the standards such as Do You Wanna Dance and Great Balls of Fire as the gig closes.

"You will give him a good review won't you?" urges one of the fans sat next to me. It is hard not to as I had just witnessed a concert that would have pleased even the most cynical observer. The smiles on the faces of the audience leaving the venue said it all.

As the huge balloons are thrown into the audience, they burst and confetti is showered from them over the audience. Sir Cliff's bubble will never burst with performances as good and entertaining as this.