Comments on: CLIFF RICHARD – “Congratulations”

By: Jungman Jansson

Jungman Jansson — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:20:57 +0000

I remember singing “Congratulations” with various home-made lyrics (with varying degrees of decency and silliness) as a child. I don’t know exactly why I picked that particular song – possibly because it’s easy to remember and sing, or because the chirpy melody was very effective at annoying whichever adults were around to hear it. But this means the song must have had a fair amount of staying power, as I did it almost 20 years after its ESC appearance.

Cliff’s performance has more or less the same effect on me now as my interpretations had on my poor mother. I never realised until today that it’s Cliff who’s being congratulated (obviously I haven’t listened very closely before). To leave out both the subject and the object (well, and the verb) like that comes across as a particularly obnoxious, egocentric way to tell a story, creating an extremely self-satisfied effect. And as for the slowdown at the end… well, it’s been said already. Massiel was a worthy winner, at least compared just to Cliff. I honestly don’t feel like trawling through the entire starting grid, there are limits even to my madness.

SwedenWatch Eurovision ’68 special: Finishing in 5th place, Claes-Göran Hederströms “Det börjar verka kärlek, banne mej” is a fairly well-loved song (mainly due to the earnest clumsiness of the lyrics, I believe) that tends to get trotted out here whenever the need arises to represent the “old skool” (ie. pre-ABBA) days of Eurovision.

By: Waldo

Waldo — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 22:42:22 +0000

Cliff was famously devestated when he lost Eurovision, the judging for which he spent in Trap 2. There’s a snap of him “admiring” the trophy in the hands of Massiel who had just pipped him with the ludicrous “La La La”. He later admitted that he would have been quite happy to imbed it in her skull, not very Christian really. The girl who beat him in 1973, Anne Marie David, was for me one of the lovliest visions ever to have won the contest and her song (in the original French) was actually extremely good. As for “Congrats”, it’s an excellent pop song and suited Cliff down to the ground.

Re # 5 – My vote goes to the sublime “Big Ship”.

By: wichita lineman

wichita lineman — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 05:59:12 +0000

In the same way that some intros take a split second to make you feel physically and mentally uplifted (Da Doo Ron Ron, Anarchy In The UK, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun), the sharp parp that kicks Congratulations into your ears makes me feel immediately depressed and anxious. As low point follows low point, the ‘oompah’ time change towards the end – probably nicked from DDDBM&T’s sly and saucy, neo-Weimar Bend It – is the crassest moment of all. A 2 for me.

Maybe Cliff would have beaten Massiel in the Eurovision if the public had voted for The Sound Of The Candyman’s Trumpet instead of Congratulations (anyone out there heard it?).

Re 5: The Day I Met Marie and Throw Down A Line both very good calls. In The Country shows Cliff could turn out a gem while in uber-chipper mode. Miss You Nights and When Two Worlds Drift Apart are both extraordinary, Anglo-Jimmy Webb, very grown-up pop records.

By: Matthew

Matthew — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 03:50:17 +0000

I didn’t comment on Lady Madonna on the grounds that, if you don’t have anything much nice to say, say nothing at all, but now I’m thinking come back Beatles, all is forgiven! I like a bunch of (by democratic acclaim) real stinkers from the 50s and 60s, but I can’t find any love for Cliff at any stage.

I guess he does here invent Austin Powers’ sexy sixties look, so that’s something.

By: Mark G

Mark G — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 09:11:09 +0000

They both bonkers.

By: richard thompson

richard thompson — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 08:52:35 +0000

This could have been seen by Cliff as a gospel song, when in record collector the writers thought of it as a more trippy tune.

By: Eva

Eva — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 19:37:53 +0000

GREAT TO SEE YOU CLIFF. YOUR SONGS ARE ALL GREAT. HAVE A GOOD ONE.

By: koganbot

koganbot — Sun, 20 Aug 2006 19:23:33 +0000

OK, now I have. In the middle, when he goes “I was afraid think you thought you were above me/I was only fooling myself to think you love me/But then tonight you said you couldn’t live without me/That ’round about me (?) you wanted to stay,” he actually puts a rolling Elvis lift in his voice that shows he can probably sing the hell out of a song if he wants to. But this performance is pathologically chipper, isn’t it? Roy Orbison or Bobby Darin could have put something – menace? slyness? – into this. Maybe Cliff could have, too, but he didn’t.

By: koganbot

koganbot — Sun, 20 Aug 2006 19:12:11 +0000

I don’t believe I’ve ever heard Cliff Richard.

By: Doctor Mod

Doctor Mod — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 06:19:19 +0000

Who’s afraid of Cliff Richard?? Not I.

Rather, for me the song is really quite “uncommentable.” I have no memory chip marked Cliff Richard, as he didn’t even exist as far as the US was concerned until “Devil Woman,” which I thought was quite an ironic breakthrough title for one reputedly so godly.

By: intothefireuk

intothefireuk — Wed, 16 Aug 2006 18:28:02 +0000

Fluff but still should have won Eurovision and I actually like the ruffled dandy look that predates his role in Heathcliff years later. He’s a nice clean boy as my Mum would say.

By: Marcello Carlin

Marcello Carlin — Wed, 16 Aug 2006 07:59:20 +0000

“Throw Down A Line” would have been an immense Cliff number one.

By: Tim Hopkins

Tim Hopkins — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 19:07:24 +0000

I don’t think that’s true, Johnney. For example, I have ot on good authority that Cliff only likes small speakers, and thinks tall speakers are rubbish.

By: JohnneyB

JohnneyB — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 18:07:31 +0000

The scariest thing about cliff is his sincerity. He really really means everything he says, and he only says nice things, which is by itself terrifying. He’s like the saintly twin of Johnney Rotton.

By: Steve Mannion

Steve Mannion — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 17:14:34 +0000

I am scared of Cliff. If he tried to hug me I would run away.

By: Erithian

Erithian — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 16:39:21 +0000

OK Marcello, new game – which other Cliff song should have reached Number 1 instead of this? My vote is for “The Day I Met Marie”.

By: pˆnk s lord sükråt cunctør

pˆnk s lord sükråt cunctør — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 15:59:47 +0000

for some reason pete’s post has reminded me that did a weird and scary dance with his legs while performing this song, so i think ph34r (and/or repression) are at the root of the silence

By: Pete

Pete — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 15:46:37 +0000

Not scared. Bored. This was light entertainment Cliff, the Cliff I don’t really remember. As a kid I’d seen movie star Cliff (Espresso Bongo is still a terrific film), and new “sexy” leather jacketed Wired For Sound Cliff, but Eurovision Cliff always seemed wrong to me.

Actually it always seemed wrong to put establish acts in Eurovision, but only cos of the string of no-hopers foisted upon Eurovision in the 80′s* and some ridiculous belief in fair play.

*Not Bardo obv.

By: Marcello Carlin

Marcello Carlin — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 14:43:08 +0000

Not worth commenting on, really.

Now if “Goodbye Sam, Hello Samantha” had made it to the top…

By: Tom

Tom — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 14:02:05 +0000

The uncommentable song!

You are all scared of Sir Cliff.