Pop: Lyric Sheets: This is the story of a pop star

Thursday 25 November 1999 19:02 EST

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No one likes him. He doesn't care. So why has Sir Cliff gone straight in at Number 2 this week in the face of no radio airplay, with his "Millennium Prayer"?

Of how he came up in the Fifties

Of a first classic rock single he cut

Of his band - who were a legend

Of how he drove teenagers wild

Of how he frightened parents

Of his rebel stance and shiny suits

Of his nasty shoes and greasy hair

Of his unsuitability as a role model

Of his caterwauling and gyrations

Of the rumours about his sexuality

Of the way he outsold Elvis Presley

Of the way he outsold The Beatles

Of the sheer number of his hit discs

Of how change was part of his style

Of how effortless he made it seem

Of how he embraced a weird religion

Of how so many disapproved of it

Of his boundless energy and tenacity

Of more rumours about his sexuality

Of his absolute refusal to discuss it

Of a dozen Number 1s over five decades

Of how they felt obliged to knight him

Of the fact that he is 59 years old

Of the fact that he doesn't look bad on it

Of rejection by his own record company

Of the howls of derision from all quarters

Of his retreat to an independent label

Of a complete airplay ban by the BBC

Of his insouciance in the face of it all

And of his massive hit record in 1999

So who's the real rebel then, kids?

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