The Young Ones

1 9 6 1 (UK)

In 1961, Cliff Richard had most of the world at his feet. Easily Britain's most successful performer, he had just picked up his fifth gold disc (for A Girl Like You), was playing to packed houses worldwide, and had Britain's most popular group - The Shadows - as his backing band.

Cliff had broadened his appeal from his early days as an Elvis copy, to all round entertainer and was now looking for a film career to compliment his role as a recording star, which came with The Young Ones. This was not his first movie role. He appeared briefly in the 1959 film Serious Charge, from which came the million seller: Living Doll, and played a supporting role in Expresso Bongo later that same year.

The Young Ones was a musical produced by Kenneth Harper and directed by Sidney J Furie, and starred Cliff as leader of a Paddington (London) youth club. When their meeting place is bought out from under them, the youth club gang stages a tuneful fund-raiser to challenge the lease.

His leading lady was South African dancer/actress Carol Grey, who joined the cast at the last minute, when the film was already a week into its shooting.

The film was a tremendous success, as was the soundtrack album. Released in December 1961, it spent 6 months in the top three best selling albums and 39 weeks in the Melody maker LP top 10, also spawning the No 1 single The Young Ones, and a top ten hit for The Shadows (Peace Pipe). This was Cliff's third album of 1961 and his most successful to date.

In America the film was re-titled It's Wonderful To Be Young and the new title, written by Bacharach/David and performed by Cliff, The Shadows and The Norrie Paramor Strings, was added to the soundtrack album. Despite the repackaging and subsequent promotion, Cliff failed to find the same success in America and the record was not a hit.