His 68-year-old song Move It was potentially the first British rock’n’roll record. He’s had so many No 1s, too. Living Doll in the 50s, Summer Holiday and The Young Ones in the 60s, We Don’t Talk Any More in the 70s, Mistletoe and Wine in the 80s, The Millennium Prayer in the 90s.
And what number did Devil Woman get to? So it’s far from his most famous song, then? In terms of pure cultural cut-through, Devil Woman represents the pinnacle of Cliff Richard’s career.
Cultural cut-through how? The song formed the centrepiece of the video game trailer Grand Theft Auto VI: An Extended Look, which has gained 32m views on YouTube since it launched last month. What footage did it soundtrack?
Variously: scuba diving, basketball, kayaking, stripping, VR pornography, kidnapping and armed robbery. And how does the famously Christian Cliff feel about his song being used for such depravity? He may be stuffing his ears with money as we speak.
Yes, but also extremely cool. The song fits the game perfectly. It’s corny and sleazy in equal measure, and as a result people are falling for it again.
So this is why it’s wildly popular? Streams on Spotify are up 325%, and gen Z is making a big thing of tracking it down on vinyl. The success is being compared to when Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill surged back up the charts after being featured on Stranger Things.
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