The Young Ones (1961)
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 six 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.
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