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The Great Pretender

Jon Savage, MOJO, February 1995

CLIFF IS THE ARCHETYPAL BRITISH POP STAR. Born in 1940, his extraordinary career began with the release of his first record, 'Move It', in autumn 1958. As rock faded, he shrewdly widened his appeal with the pivotal 'Living Doll'. Backed by The Shadows, Cliff bossed British pop from 1959 through 1963, with 19 Top 5 records, seven Number 1s, and three smash movies – Expresso Bongo, The Young Ones and Summer Holiday.

Total word count of piece: 2832

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