Cliff Richard's in the pink with a show that's pure gold

Shaun Curran

October 19, 2009

Cliff Richard and Hank Marvin of The Shadows

IT WAS billed as a golden anniversary – and pop’s living legend Sir Cliff Richard didn’t let his fans down with three hours of 24-carat hits.

There wasn’t a spare seat in the house as one of Britain’s most successful groups – Cliff And The Shadows – played two nights to mark their 50th year in the music business.

And with its billing as their farewell tour, it was also a chance for the fans and their idols to say goodbye after a lifetime together.

Click here to see Shaun Curran's full review of the show on CityLife

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tiggerluc, somewhere in shaw (19/10/2009 at 11:12)

Well done Sir Cliff and the Shadows - I wonder how many of todays acts could fill arenas 50 years on

Englisc Stannes, North Manchester (19/10/2009 at 12:39)

I wonder how many toilets were available!.

Seemingly Ignored, Heald Green (19/10/2009 at 13:09)

My brother went and paid £120 each. Why does multi-millionnaire committed Christian Cliff have to charge that amount? I saw Tom Jones on Friday less than half that.

JACKS THE RED (19/10/2009 at 14:13)

My 14 year old son went with his dad and stepmum last night - he thoroughly enjoyed it but the mass exodus from the carpark at 10:30 resulted in them taking 1 and a half hours to get home - 8 miles away.

carol jackson (19/10/2009 at 15:35)

myself and my husband had a really enjoyable evening with cliff being fantastic and so were the shadows. Well worth £60. Oodles of energy for their ages and the new single is very rocky, we really like it

carol jackson (19/10/2009 at 15:37)

We really enjoyed the concert. Sir Cliff was fantastic and so were the shadows. Glad they performed the rock numbers as well as the pop songs. We thought it was great value for £60.

bluefitz (19/10/2009 at 15:53)

In reply to seemingly Ignored, I don't know where the £120 seats were - maybe VIP - as the tickets were priced at £60.

red rag, manchester (19/10/2009 at 16:18)

We had seats 11 rows from the front and they cost £60 so not sure myself where the £120 seats were, they might have been on stage or could they have been bought from the touts?

red rag, manchester (19/10/2009 at 16:24)

Great show we paid £60 pound and were 11 rows from the front not sure where the £120 pond tickets were for but they must have been brilliant seats unless of course thats the price the touts were charging.

tiggerluc, somewhere in shaw (19/10/2009 at 16:40)

I have given up parking on the MEN car park:
a) due to the crazy prices charged.
b) ensuing chaos when leaving. You would have thought that the MEN whjen built would have had to exits etc.

I park on car parks away from the site. The time spent walking to my car from the Arena and driving away is still quicker than the hours spent waiting in the MEN. The last time it took me two hours to get out of the park and centre and that was a few years ago. Looks like nothing changed.

STEPHEN LODGE (19/10/2009 at 20:18)

A really good concert well worth the money.In regard to the car parking that someone was on about.I parked in an N.C.P. car park opposite side of the road from the arena and it only cost £2-80 for 12 hours.

Broderick MacIvor (19/10/2009 at 22:12)

What a pity that what should have been an enjoyable night out was marred by bad management on behalf of the MEN Arena stewards and management, I am refering to the fact that not only did the lift specifically designated for disabled fans broke down but these fans were subjected to an officious yellow coated steward berating them for overloading the afore mentioned lift. If adequate stewards had been in attendance they would have witnessed a number of able bodied people using it. Also during the interval little or no regard was given to public safety a number of wheelchair bound fans had to battle oncoming hoards whilst attempting to access the 1 designated disabled toilet, there was only 1 steward on duty and her response to being challeged was that there was nothing she could do as there were 41000 people in the complex. With a little thought by the Arena's mangement could have solved this problem, ie using a flexible barrier down the centre of the walkway and ensuring hat sufficient stewards were in attendance, but i for got that such measures would have eaten into the huge profits the company made by only charging between £55 and £120 per ticket.

tiggerluc, somewhere in shaw (20/10/2009 at 09:06)

I once used that car park Stephen Lodge, but I got caught up in the chaos which ensues when the police close off the road down by the Arena to allow the people out.

I park right up past the CIS buildings. As indicated before -far less hassle.

Trevor Schofield (20/10/2009 at 16:30)

Cliff Richard & The Shadows were the first, and remain probably one of the best British 'groups' ever. Thanks to Hank,Bruce,Brian,and Sir Cliff & Co for Saturday night's concert at the M.E.N.Arena, one of the best 'live gigs' I have seen. After it, I did not care how long it took to get home!

Linda West (20/10/2009 at 23:59)

'Seemingly Ignored' ...Cliff and the Shads did NOT charge £120 for tickets. Goodness knows where you bought yours. The face value was £60 or further back they were £55. Some agencies like Ticketmaster added on a booking fee but that was all. Unless you bought them from touts, Ebay or one of those ticket agencies just there to make huge profits then you should have just paid £60. The show is fantastic and worth every penny. Well done boys!!!

LynnR,Eccles, Peel reen, Eccles (21/10/2009 at 10:20)

Cliff & Shads were absolutely brilliant! The sound, lighting and video effects were amazing. Glad to see the MEN reviewer gave an accurate report (unlike last year where Cliff was given negative press by Simon Donohue). I paid £120 for 2 tickets 3 rows from the front and had a fantastic seat. Don't know where people got them from who paid upwards of £100 each. Cliff may be 69 but I bet he is fitter, has more energy and still sounds better than many 29 year olds. I have been to many Cliff concerts and he never fails to deliver, each concert surpassing the previous one, However this was his best yet! Pity the Shads are not considering touring again as I am sure they would have sell out concerts as well as Cliff. As long as Cliff keeps doing concerts I will still be attending. Keep on rocking lads!

LynnR Ec\cles

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