1963 Cliff Richard & The Shadows: Summer Holiday

"In winter 1963, it felt like the world would freeze, with John F Kennedy and The Beatles" - not a line from 'Summer Holiday' but from The Dream Academy's 1985 tribute to Nick Drake 'Life In A Northern Town'. And I quote it because I think it provides a convenient context for this present number one; Kennedy's death was still some months in the future and The Beatles were only just making the ripples that would cause the tidal wave on the shore, but Winter 1963 was cold. Bloody cold. To précis a relevant Wikipedia entry:

"In January 1963 the country started to freeze solid with temperatures as low as −16 °C (3.2 °F) in places. Frozen fog was a hazard for most of the country. The sea froze for 1 mile (1.6 km) out from shore at Herne Bay, Kent; BBC television news expressed a fear that the Strait of Dover would freeze across. The upper reaches of the River Thames also froze over. The ice was thick enough in some places that people were skating on it. Icicles hung from many roof gutterings; some of these were as long as a metre (3 feet, 3 inches)."

With all that going on, summer holidays must have seemed a long, long way off even in March, but Cliff's bags are packed and he's on his way, all the while sending us postcards from places "where the sun shines brightly" and "where the sea is blue". Just where he's going is left a suitably vague blank canvas because in truth it doesn't matter; just as long as it's sunny and not freezing Britain then that's fine. We can use our own imaginations as to where the best place to holiday would be.

Light and laid back to the point of simplistic brevity, 'Summer Holiday' breathlessly conjures up a vision and ambience of an idealised summer that everyman aspires to. It's a slight song with a light touch almost to the point of there barely being a song at all, just a lingering echo of nostalgic memory of the 'fun and laughter' Cliff leaves behind him as he drives along in his bus.

"We've seen it in the movies, now let's see if it's true" - the rest of a country white with snow could only look on with envy, but there's no bragging or one-upmanship in the song - Cliff has grasped the nettle to look for the sun and it's up to us to follow if we want. As an aspiration for a future of endless possibilities, 'Summer Holiday' is a carefree delight that's endured far better than anything that has Cliff expressing his undying love, and as such it adds a very welcome plank of credibility to what can charitably be called a mixed bag of a discography to date.