Originally published in the Guardian on 4 July 1996
Just when Tim Henman threatened to bring British tennis into the modern era, up jumped Sir Cliff Richard on to the very same Wimbledon stage to take British pop music back into the dark ages.
Sir Cliff, the nation's number one tennis groupie as well as its oldest surviving pop star, took advantage of a long rain delay on men's quarter finals day ? which saw Henman's match postponed until 11.00am today ? to serenade the cold and frustrated Centre Court spectators from his seat in the Royal Box.
Pete Sampras and his Dutch opponent Richard Kracijek were at two games all in their first set when the drizzle set in. Three hours later, after the crowd had exhausted its repertoire of community singing and party games, Sir Cliff came to the rescue.
Commandeering a microphone, he began his performance with, inevitably, Summer Holiday. "What next?" he asked. "Do you remember the Young Ones?" The faces of the many foreign visitors remained politely blank.
But there were enough genuine Brits in the crowd to ensure that, even after 30-odd years, the handclapping was resolutely anchored to the on-beat. John Lennon, Mick Jagger, Liam Gallagher ? they seemed to have passed across the face of British culture with no more consequence than Bobby Wilson, Roger Taylor and Jeremy Bates.
As Sir Cliff swung into Bachelor Boy, an all-star backing group filed into the row behind: Pam Shriver, Martina Navratilova, Virginia Wade, Gigi Fernandez, Elizabeth Smylie and other past and present stars of the women's tennis tour. "The Supremes!" Cliff said proudly. More like Ginny and the Groin Strains, others felt.
Notable by her absence was Sue Barker, Sir Cliff's sometime alleged girlfriend. The 1976 French Open champion and current BBC-TV Wimbledon presenter is generally credited with lighting the fuse of his tennis obsession.
But nothing could hold back Sir Cliff, who at 55 looked almost as boyish as the 21-year-old Henman. All Shook Up and Livin' Doll whizzed by, in the atmosphere ? enhanced by the large green canvas tent covering the court itself ? of a Boy Scout camp of the 1950s. Sir Cliff announced: "I never thought I'd play the Centre Court."
But it couldn't last. As the crowd swayed in waltz time, the sun came out. Just like Woodstock, really.
[Richard Kracijek went on to win the men's singles title in 1996. Since 2009, a retractable roof has been used on Centre Court.]
Richard Williams
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2011/jul/04/archive-sir-cliff-serve-throwbacks
Scarlett Chorvat Kim Smith Hilary Duff Lake Bell Haylie Duff
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