Cliff

So this blog is all about how my ‘Michael Auger sings Cliff Richard’ show came about.

It all started when Collabro met Cliff by chance in October 2016 when we were performing at a corporate gig and it just so happened that Cliff Richard and Rod Stewart were in the audience!! Cliff came back to meet us after the show to say he’d enjoyed our performance and after back and fourths between our managements, Collabro were announced as the support act for Cliffs ‘Just… Fabulous Rock ‘n’ Roll tour’ which would take place Summer 2017.

We became good friends, sharing a love of music, touring and even tennis! I knew from then that one day I wanted to create a show about Cliff. I was in awe of how dedicated his fans were and so impressed with his commitment to the music and seeing how much he loved what he was doing even as he was approaching 80 years old.

Every night on tour I would stand side of stage and watch from the wings to see him do his thing and hear the audience beg for more as he strutted his stuff and shook his hips the only way he knows how! The weather on the tour seemed to be either burning hot sun or torrential rain.

During 2020, when the world was in lockdown, Cliff, much like Collabro, continued to write music and we used to share emails and phone calls discussing how our albums could be enhanced with certain harmonies or drum beats and that felt like such an outer body experience for me at a really difficult time when it felt like the music industry was at a standstill. I even managed to get Cliff to agree to re-releasing Mistletoe & Wine 33 years after its original release with Collabro, and it got top number 5 in the UK singles charts!

When Collabro decided to split in 2022, I realised it was time to look at options for solo shows and began thinking of ideas of what audiences would resonate with and what I could offer that was unique and my interactions with Cliff were just that. I could sing the songs that I’d grown up listening to, and share stories of my personal experiences with the 3rd highest selling U.K. artist of all time (after Elvis and the Beatles)!

I decided to go to Cliff with my ideas and see whether I could get his approval. Well, not only did he approve of me doing the show, he asked how he could help and even suggested I interview him to give myself promotional material to push the show. I then had the idea to use that interview footage to form part of the show, because what’s better than hearing me tell stories about Cliffs life? Cliff telling stories about his life!!

Writing questions for the interview was very daunting as I wanted to make sure I hit all the key points for those who might not know as much about Cliff but I also wanted to try to ask some questions he may not have been asked before, or try to get him to give answers that would be interesting even to his most devoted fans (known as ‘Cliff hangers’ or ‘Cliffettes’)

I got to interview him in a setting he knew very well, surrounded by pictures of his time in Summer Holiday the movie and even on some of his personal travels- no it wasn’t at his house!!! Haha.

I think the comfortable setting and being interviewed by a friend did allow him to give full answers and I was so happy with the interview overall.

After the interview was filmed I then had the mammoth task of editing the videos into smaller sections so that they could be integrated into my show seamlessly leading into or out of a song!

I found myself with lots of footage and so many songs that I wanted to include so tried to get everything into a chronological order to make the show make sense but I also had to work around his answers that didn’t always lend themselves to singing certain songs in a certain order.

I also had to choose which songs I liked to sing too or felt suited my voice best!

With over 200 songs (including 14 UK number 1’s) of Cliffs to fit into an hour and a half, I really had to be strict with what I chose!!

Once I’d written up the show, I had to decide what to wear. This was a hard thing for me because I really wanted to strike a balance so that I wasn’t a Cliff Richard tribute act but also wasn’t fully Michael Auger! Cliff actually lent me his blue jacket from his most recent sapphire tour (2023) that I wore in my final section of the show which was such an honour! I definitely felt more like him and added in a few hip shakes!!!!

I hope to take this show on cruise ships and even around theatres in the U.K. There’s always ways to refine it and I’m so grateful to you all for following my journey with it.

Also, thinking about one step further....if anyone creates a documentary on Cliff or a film of his life- I'd totally be up for portraying Cliff. It just makes sense!

I want to finish this blog with some interesting facts! The first clip I played during my show was Cliff saying ‘People used to say I was the British answer to Elvis’ and I found it really interesting to read that Elvis never performed in the U.K.! Unfortunately Cliff never made it big in America. 'Living Doll' made it to number 30 and his biggest hit in America was 'Devil Woman' which got to number 6 in 1976, which is higher than it got in the U.K. where it peaked at number 9! In 1979, 'We Don’t Talk Anymore' reached number 7 in the U.S. charts but was Cliffs second and only other top 10 U.S. chart hit.

Let’s see if I can take this show to the U.S. and spread the word of Cliff Richard!!!!

Thanks for reading,

Love Michael :D