Cliff Richard 1995— Sir Cliff
 In 1976 the decision was made to repackage Cliff Richard as a rock artist. That year he produced the landmark album I'm Nearly Famous, which included the successful but controversial guitar-driven track Devil Woman (Richard's first true hit in the United States) and the ballad Miss You Nights. Richard's fans were excited about this revival of a performer who had been a part of British rock from its early days. Many music names such as Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, and Elton John were seen sporting I'm Nearly Famous badges, pleased that their boyhood idol was getting back into the heavier rock in which he had begun his career.
Notwithstanding this, Richard continued to release gospel-tinged albums in parallel with his rock and pop albums. For example, Small Corners from 1978 contained the singles Yes He Lives. Despite his 1976 comeback, this single failed to chart in the United Kingdom. In 1980, the singer officially changed his name by deed poll from Harry Webb to Cliff Richard.
In 1979, Richard teamed up with the producer Alan Tarney for the pop hit single We Don't Talk Anymore, which hit #1 in the UK, and #7 in the U.S. The record gave Richard the distinction of becoming the first act to reach the Hot 100 in the 1980s who had also reached the Hot 100 in each of the three previous decades. The song was quickly added onto the end of his latest album Rock 'n' Roll Juvenile. It was his first time at the top of the UK singles chart in over ten years, and the song would become his biggest-selling single ever. At long last he had some extended success in the United States: following the #6 placement for Devil Woman in 1976, the follow-ups We Don't Talk Anymore and Dreaming both reached the top ten. His 1980 duet Suddenly with Olivia Newton-John was a Top 20 hit in America. Richard continued with a string of top ten albums, including I'm No Hero, Wired For Sound, Now You See Me, Now You Don't, and, marking his 25th year in show business, Silver. The singles chart also saw his most consistent period of top twenty hits since the mid 1960s, with three of them on the Hot 100 at the same time at the end of 1980. 1987 saw Richard record his Always Guaranteed album, which became his best selling album of all new material. It contained the two top ten hit singles, My Pretty One and Some People. Richard concluded his thirtieth year in music in spectacular chart style, reaching number one on the British singles chart with Mistletoe and Wine, while simultaneously holding the number one positions on the album and video charts with the compilation Private Collection summing up his biggest hits from 1979-1988. Mistletoe and Wine was his biggest seller to that point.
In 1986, Richard teamed up with The Young Ones to re-record his smash hit Living Doll for the charity Comic Relief. Along with the song, the recording contained comedy dialogue between Richard and The Young Ones. The release went to #1. That same year he opened in the West End as a rock musician called upon to defend Earth in a trial set in the Andromeda Galaxy in the multi-media Dave Clark musical Time.
Further top ten albums included Stronger in 1989, From a Distance in 1990 and yet another number one with The Album in 1993. The next few years saw Richard concentrate on bringing the musical Heathcliff to the stage. The production was a resounding success, but the time it took seemed to take a toll on his reinvigorated chart status. Back in the UK during the next years and throughout the 1980s, Richard remained one of the best-known music artists in the country. In the space of a few years he worked with Elton John, Mark Knopfler, Julian Lennon, Freddie Mercury, Stevie Wonder, Phil Everly, Janet Jackson, Sheila Walsh, and Van Morrison. Richard also reunited with Olivia Newton-John. In 1989, he filled the Wembley Stadium for a few nights with a spectacular titled The Event. Meanwhile, the Shadows later re-formed (and again split). They recorded on their own, but also reunited with Richard in 1978, 1984, and 1989-90 for some concerts. On June 14, 2004 Cliff joined the Shadows onstage at the London Palladium. The Shadows had decided to re-form for one final tour of the UK, with this concert heralded as their final ever concert as Cliff and the Shadows.
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