Finding Harry

Chapter 10

It was August 1966 and Cliff had long been searching for someone, or something. He had finally found it. He'd found religion, and, tonight was the night that he was to announce his becoming a Christian to the nation. He was going to attend a Billy Graham Crusade, and it was to be one of the most momentous nights of his life.

He had cut his hair short, recently, bravely defying the trends of long, moppy hair, that was set by the Beatles. He wore thick, horn-rimmed spectacles, and his most loved fashion was a beige, corduroy jacket and trousers, with a dark turtle-necked jumper underneath. He had long ago lost the pointed toe shoes, the pink jackets, the striped shirts and the quiffs. That was the 50s. He had moved on.

I could tell he was nervous as he walked down the stairs of his new house. A few months ago he had met a Christian teacher called Bill Latham (Bill was recommended to him as a spiritual advisor by his old English teacher, Jay Norris). Bill and Cliff had bought a house together, and they were letting Mammy Latham and I stay with them as sort of honorary guests.

Cliff's mother, Dorothy, had gotten over the loss of her husband, and Cliff had arranged for a chauffeur, a mister Derek Bodkin, to help her get around. His sisters had all married, and he now had eleven nieces and nephews. Cliff was a happy, fulfilled man. Especially now that he'd found God. But there was still a long way to go...and lots of obstacles to overcome, the first of which was taking place tonight.

He came downstairs and joined Bill, Mammy Latham and I at the breakfast table. We had toast, jam, scones and coffee. Bill would sometimes even cook himself a fried breakfast of eggs, bacon and sausages. Cliff, however, had started dieting since the making of 'Summer Holiday', ever since one of the secretaries at EMI handed him a calorie chart, and since he heard himself mentioned as 'that chubby Cliff Richard' on Coronation Street. He now religiously stuck to a slice of toast and a coffee in the morning, and then he'd have himself a nice, big meal in the evening. But nothing more. His favourite food was curry, growing up in India, but he couldn't eat it all the time, now, as he claimed it wasn't good for his waistline. So, in order to keep himself trim, he had limited himself to only eating curries on 'special occasions'. Poor guy, the things he puts himself through just to please the fans! He's always cared for his image, this man.

Well, anyway, he sat down at the table and helped himself to a piece of dry, warm toast. The phone rang. Bill picked it up.

"Hello?" he said, "...Oh, hello sir – yes, yes he is... yes – five o'clock? Yes that's fine... okay, thanks... do you want to speak to him? No? Okay, alright, yep see you later then...okay, bye!" He hung up.

"Who was that?" asked Cliff.

"The arena organiser, he just wanted to check that you were still up for tonight."

"Good good," said Cliff, "Five o'clock he said?"

"Yes, we've got to be there about half an hour earlier though, to go through the briefings and all that. Looking forward to it?"

"Well I can't say I'm not nervous, but yes, I am looking forward to it," said Cliff, munching away at his toast.

"You look pale," I said, cupping my mug of coffee between my hands.

"Do I?" asked Cliff, patting his cheeks in a slightly anxious manner.

"Let me make you a bowl of my special soup, Cliff, dear...it'll put some colour in your cheeks," said Mammy Bodkin.

"No, thanks, Mammy Bodkin, but I'm afraid that if I eat much more I'm going to be sick!"

"Okay, dear!" smiled Mammy Bodkin.

We sat in silence. Cliff was obviously quite nervous, and there wasn't much we could say to comfort him.

Later that day we set off to the arena, which was situated in central London. On arriving, Cliff was whisked off to be briefed about where to sit, where to stand, when to speak, and all that, whilst Mammy Bodkin, Bill and I were shown our seats. We were given special guest seats at the front row, which was good for Mammy Bodkin, because her eyesight wasn't too good! The closer to the stage, the better!

The speeches finally started to a packed audience at 5pm sharp. Cliff was sat up on the stage, looking very nervous. He was sweating, his legs crossed, and he was twiddling with his thumbs. The poor guy looked like he was about to die. Billy Graham stepped up to the microphone and began to talk about Jesus, what religion can give you, why Christianity was so great, and how it can change people's lives. The time that passed before Cliff's announcement seemed to last for an eternity. Finally, Billy introduced him, "And now, ladies and gentlemen, we have a special guest here for you tonight – Cliff Richard! Please welcome him as he comes..." The audience burst into a polite, but deafening applause as Cliff nervously stepped up to the microphone. Billy clapped him on the back as he went to find a seat.

It was just Cliff, now...Cliff, the microphone, and the nation.

The clapping died down.

"Hello, ladies and gentlemen..." he cleared his throat... "First of all I'd just like to thank everyone here, including Billy, for letting me appear here tonight..." He went on, "As I'm sure some of you may have heard, I have recently been drawn to religion through the death of my father, and it is thanks to a number of friends and associates that I have been shown Christianity..." his voice faded as he looked around at the masses of people in the auditorium. Television cameras were rolling and sweat trickled down his forehead. "I have been lucky enough," he continued, "to be shown the light. And I want to make this message known – along my journey to becoming a Christian I asked lots of questions, and I often found myself hoping that I'd find some confounding evidence that would throw it all out the window. It would make life so much easier, I could have so much fun. But what has been shown to me is that Jesus is a living – personage – a living spirit – that lives inside each and every one of us... I feel that the morality in our society is falling away at our feet, and that we, as the few enlightened souls, have to try and hold our planet together. We have to stay away from the drugs, from the abuse, from the swearing...from the sex outside of marriage. We have to do this for our Lord. And I would have never found all this out – if I hadn't have been...Cliff Richard." There was another huge applause. "I am a Christian, and I'm proud of it," he said, his face filled with conviction. He gave a faded, 'Thank you' as Billy Graham came back up to the front of the stage and shook hands with him. He'd done it. Cliff had announced his religion to the public, and he was a new man. No longer Cliff the sexy rock 'n' roller, he was now Cliff the Christian. And he'd stay this way for the rest of his career.