The singles discography of the British singer Cliff Richard consists in excess of 200 singles, of which 159 singles have been released in the UK in varying vinyl, CD, cassette and digital formats. Listed alongside the UK singles in the discography below are a further 20 singles which were released in other territories, as well as 22 singles which were sung in German and only released in German-speaking countries.
Richard's debut single "Move It", recorded with his equally successful backing band the Drifters (later renamed the Shadows) was written by original guitarist Ian Samwell. It was released in August 1958, and was the first British rock and roll hit to make the UK singles chart top ten, reaching number two and spending 17 weeks on the chart. He achieved his first number one in August 1959 with his fifth single, "Living Doll", which spent six weeks at the summit while becoming the UK's highest-selling single of 1959. From then, through to December 1963, Richard achieved 19 consecutive top-four singles, including seven number ones and a further six peaking at number two. Richard accumulated a total of 28 weeks at number one on the UK singles chart in this period. His biggest hit of this period, "The Young Ones", lifted from the film of the same name, debuted at number one on the charts, spent a total of six weeks at number one and went on to achieve the rare feat in the UK alone, of sales of over a million – it was only the sixth million-seller in the UK and remains his highest-selling single in the UK.
From 1964, despite the emerging dominance of the Beatles and beat music, Richard continued achieving top 10 hits throughout the 1960s, although the frequency of top-five hits dropped off. In 1968, the track "Congratulations" was chosen to be his first Eurovision Song Contest entry, and although it came second in the contest, it became his biggest hit of the last half of the sixties, reaching number one in the UK and a number of European countries.
In the 1950s and 1960s, singles were the dominant sales medium, generally far ahead of album sales. Towards the end of the 1960s and into the 1970s, this shifted, with albums becoming dominant. For the first half of the 1970s, Richard struggled to achieve big hits, apart from his 1973 Eurovision Song Contest entry "Power to All Our Friends". It was not until 1975 that Richard changed the focus of his recording career from singles to albums, beginning with the recording of the I'm Nearly Famous album. It produced the lead single "Miss You Nights", released in late 1975, and "Devil Woman", which became his first US top-ten hit and biggest hit there. From this time, the singles were generally lifted from the albums, although not exclusively. In 1979, Richard's single "We Don't Talk Anymore" became the highest selling record of his career achieving worldwide sales over four million.
From the late 1970s through the 1980s and into the 1990s Richard continued to have many top 10 hit singles, including the seasonal number ones "Mistletoe and Wine" in 1988 and "Saviour's Day" in 1990. Although from the mid-1990s Richard has suffered a lack of radio airplay, he has continued to have success, rounding out the 1990s with the number one "The Millennium Prayer", Throughout the 2000s, he had top-five singles throughout the first decade, up until song downloads began to be included in the UK singles chart.
Richard has achieved 14 number one singles on the UK singles chart, including having the unique distinction of having two versions of the same song hitting number-one on the singles chart. "Living Doll" first topped the charts in 1959, then again 26 years later in a re-recording for the Comic Relief charity with the cast of British TV series The Young Ones. Richard also has the distinction of being the only artist to have achieved UK number-one singles in five consecutive decades, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. Richard's sales of singles within the UK itself make him the highest-selling British male solo artist of singles of all time.
Singles 1950s Title YearPeak chart positionsCertifications Album UK AUSAustralian chart peaks: Top 100 (Kent Music Report) peaks to December 1969: N.B. The chart information contained in this book was retrospectively calculated. The Kent Music Report was not Australia's official chart until May 1974. Top 100 (Kent Music Report) peaks from January 1970 to 19 June 1988: N.B. The chart information between January 1970 and April 1974 in this book was retrospectively calculated. The Kent Report chart was licensed by ARIA between mid-1983 and 12 June 1988. Top 50 (ARIA Chart) peaks from 13 June 1988: "The Best of Me" (ARIA) peak: "I Just Don't Have the Heart" (ARIA) peak: Top 100 (ARIA) peaks from January 1990 to December 2010: N.B. This book is missing data from the last ARIA Report of 1990, and therefore the peak for "Saviour's Day" is missing. "Lean on You" (ARIA) peak: "Stronger Than That" (ARIA) peak: "From a Distance" (ARIA) peak: "Saviour's Day" (ARIA) peak: N.B. The HP column displays the highest position reached. "We Don't Talk Anymore" (remix) (ARIA) peak: "I Still Believe in You" (ARIA) peak: "All I Have to Do Is Dream" (ARIA) peak: BEL (FLA) CANCanadian singles chart. Prior to June 1964, peaks are on the CHUM Chart. Peaks afterwards are on the RPM chart:
For CHUM Chart peaks see: A convenient list of every individual week and position number that Richard charted in the CHUM singles chart. Click on the date to view the CHUM chart for that week. These dates can also be cross-referenced with the charts at the CHUM Tribute website. "I Could Easily Fall (in Love with You)": "Twelfth of Never": "Wind Me Up (Let Me Go)": "Congratulations": "Jesus": "Devil Woman": "Don't Turn the Light Out": "We Don't Talk Anymore": "Carrie": "Suddenly": "Dreamin'": "A Little in Love": "Give a Little Bit More": "Daddy's Home": GER IREThe Official Charts in Ireland began on 4 October 1962. Chart positions before that are taken from the Evening Herald Chart which was a Top Ten single chart published by the Irish daily newspaper Evening Herald between February 1959 and December 1962. NL For Dutch peaks see:
See also: NOR SWESwedish peaks: Up until 1975: From 1975 onwards: US"Move It" /"Schoolboy Crush" with the Drifters19582—100———————————5————— rowspan="6" "High Class Baby"with the Drifters7——————3——"Livin' Lovin' Doll"with the Drifters195920—————————"Mean Streak" /"Never Mind"with the Drifters1021—————————————5————"Living Doll"with the Drifters19163719131130 UK: Gold"Travellin' Light" /"Dynamite"with the Shadows11657———————1—15—1—4———UK: SilverCliff Richard: The 1950s UK AUS BEL CAN GER IRE NL NOR SWE USNumber 1 hits2000020210Top 10 hits5100021520
1960s Title YearPeak chart positionsCertifications Album UK AUS BEL (FLA) CAN GER IRE NL NOR NZNew Zealand singles peaks: Before 1965: Between 1966 and 1975: Since 1975: See also for peaks and certifications: SWE US"A Voice in the Wilderness"with the Shadows1960295———1148—8— UK: Silver rowspan="5" "Fall in Love with You"with the Shadows2————2126—14— UK: Silver"Please Don't Tease"with the Shadows12———18116— UK: Silver"Nine Times Out of Ten"with the Shadows32913——3—74—— UK: Silver"I Love You"with the Shadows17814—34465120— UK: Silver"Catch Me" with the Shadows1961—22—————————21 Today"Theme for a Dream"with the Shadows32216——412—3—— UK: Silver"Gee Whizz It's You" with the Shadows46220——3—————My and My Shadows"A Girl Like You"with the Shadows32215——47234— UK: Silver"What'd I Say" with the Shadows———————————Listen to Cliff!"When the Girl in Your Arms Is the Girl in Your Heart"324——2—1518— UK: SilverThe Young Ones"Forty Days" with the Shadows——————8————21 Today"Outsider" 1962—22—————————"The Young Ones"with the Shadows16451611214— UK: GoldThe Young Ones"How Wonderful to Know" ———————————21 Today"I'm Lookin' out the Window" /"Do You Want to Dance"with the Shadows23—4————2—1223—— UK: Silver"Lessons in Love" with the Shadows——————7————The Young Ones"It'll Be Me"with the Shadows26814—22235— UK: Silver32 Minutes and 17 Seconds with Cliff Richard"Wonderful to Be Young" with the Shadows———16———————Wonderful to Be Young"Y'Arriva" with the Shadows—————————17—21 Today"The Next Time" /"Bachelor Boy"with the Shadows193—2—1128422—99 UK: GoldSummer Holiday"Summer Holiday" /"Dancing Shoes"with the Shadows19631351—221169— UK: Silver"Lucky Lips"with the Shadows44181111—162 UK: Silver World: Gold rowspan="3" "It's All in the Game"2761—24231025 UK: Silver"Don't Talk to Him"with the Shadows23714215159— UK: Silver"Maria No Mas" with the Shadows——4———2————When in Spain"I'm the Lonely One"with the Shadows1964816—182934—1392"I Only Have Eyes for You" —31—————————It's All in the Game"Constantly (L'Edera)"469——834610— UK: Silver"On the Beach"with the Shadows7410——634—12— UK: SilverWonderful Life"The Twelfth of Never"86—14——1397——"I Don't Wanna Love You" ———————————Cliff Richard"I Could Easily Fall (in Love with You)"with the Shadows691740—833—6— UK: SilverAladdin and His Wonderful Lamp"The Minute You're Gone" /"Just Another Guy"19651—6—24————2———6———19——— UK: Silver"Angel" —614————————Cliff Richard"On My Word"1231————————— rowspan="5" "The Time in Between"with the Shadows2283—————————"Wind Me Up (Let Me Go)"240—23—515—618— UK: Silver"Blue Turns to Grey"with the Shadows19661520————18—11——"Visions"781——409——4——"Time Drags By"with the Shadows1098——————13——Finders Keepers"In the Country"with the Shadows610——3510147312—Cinderella"It's All Over"1967965———11——15—— rowspan="5" "I'll Come Runnin'"2669——————10——"The Day I Met Marie"105———107—4——"All My Love (Solo Tu)"693——812—5——"Congratulations"19681513231112199 UK: Gold"I'll Love You Forever Today"2767—————————Two a Penny"Wonderful World" ——20———————— rowspan="2" "Marianne"225618——15—————"Don't Forget to Catch Me"with the Shadows2147—————————Established 1958"Good Times (Better Times)"196912468—37912—2017— rowspan="2" "Big Ship"83813——8—————"Early in the Morning" —55—————————Tracks 'n Grooves"Throw Down a Line"with Hank Marvin75812——8——15—— rowspan="2" "With the Eyes of a Child"2074———16—————Cliff Richard: The 1960s UK AUS BEL CAN GER IRE NL NOR NZ SWE USNumber 1 hits70221756420Top 10 hits3320155431202423150
1970s Title YearPeak chart positionsCertifications Album UK AUS BEL (FLA) CAN GER IRE NL NOR NZ SWE US"The Joy of Living"with Hank Marvin19702571————————— rowspan="13" "Goodbye Sam, Hello Samantha"6294—11120—10——"I Ain't Got Time Anymore"21————14—————"Sunny Honey Girl"197119—30—————20——"Silvery Rain"27——————————"Flying Machine"37———35——————"La Ballade de Baltimore" ———————————"Sing a Song of Freedom"13———42————14—"Jesus"197235——58———————"Living in Harmony"12————10—————"A Brand New Song"51——————————"Power to All Our Friends"19734312—4211111— UK: Silver"Help It Along" / "Tomorrow Rising"29——————————"Take Me High"2788——29—27—6——Take Me High"(You Keep Me) Hangin' On"197413————15——13——"Nothing to Remind Me" ———————————The 31st of February Street"It's Only Me You Left Behind"197560—————————— rowspan="2" "Honky Tonk Angel"55——————————"Miss You Nights"1510017———10————I'm Nearly Famous"Devil Woman"197693—4—6—75—6 CAN: Gold US: Gold"I Can't Ask for Anymore Than You"17—23——2——38—80"Hey Mr. Dream Maker"3182————21—34——Every Face Tells a Story"My Kinda Life"1977156119—38—18————"Don't Turn the Light Out" ———83——————57"When Two Worlds Drift Apart"46——————————"Try a Smile" ———————————"Every Face Tells a Story (It Never Tells a Lie)" ———————————"Yes He Lives"1978———————————Small Corners"Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music" ———————————"Please Remember Me"———————————Green Light"Can't Take the Hurt Anymore"———————————"Green Light"197957——————————"We Don't Talk Anymore"13141141547 UK: Gold GER: Gold