clifford t ward: tell me about him

He's a really twee singer-songwriter. I think he had Parkinsons Disease which prevented him touring. My folks have his greatest hits, and there are two good songs on it. One is "Crisis" which you may know. The other is the one about how he fell in love with an air hostess. It has a really good Hey Jude-style sing-along bit at the end.

Top 10 hit with "Gaye", died end of last year. Obit + eulogy here. Not my cup of tea, but RIP.

Multiple sclerosis, not parkinson's. Sorry! My mistake. Didn't realise he was dead, either. I feel bad for dissing his music now. Lets just remember him for those 2 good songs, eh? RIP

slightly ernest, very dead, ex teacher and singer songwriter with girl hair beloved of cliff richard. not terrible, just a more twee al stewart really. had an album on john peel's wonderful dandelion label and "coathanger" the single from that album is an absolute WONDER if you - like me - weep at soaring string sections over fey acoustic singer songwriter sub-al stewart types from the late sixties. won't irk you too much. won't make you too thrilled either...

For three years I produced a magazine devoted to the music and life of Clifford T. Ward who sadly died in December 2001 after a long battle against Multiple Sclerosis. I was lucky to meet the man on a number of occasions and I consider him to be the most under-rated songwriter of the 20th century. "Twee?" You must be bloody joking. The man was a genius. It's so easy to dismiss his unorthodox melodic songs as "twee". Unfortunately there have been a few compilations of late that haven't really done justice to his talent. The one to buy is "Gaye & Other Stories" which compiles the best of his first three albums on one CD. "Home Thoughts", his best original LP is available on CD on the Virgin label. It won't take many listens to either of these CDs to appreciate Cliff's talent. His best song, however, is probably "The Best Is Yet To Come", a single from 1981 that has yet to make it onto CD. Dave Cartwright's biography of Clifford T. Ward - Bittersweet - is essential and harrowing reading. The best "rock biog" I have ever read and available from Moonicorn Books. There's a fantastic web site devoted to Clifford T. Ward run by a guy called Mick Armitage - www.shef.ac.uk/misc/personal/cs1ma/ctw/ctward.html - a long winded address but absolutely worth it. You can download song samples and spend hours indulging yourself in Clifford T. Ward!! Hope all this is of use.

PS I should add that Dave's book is funny, informative and compelling as well! Oh and it's Cliff's first three Charisma label albums that are on the compilation CD. Singer Songwriter (his first, on Dandelion originally) is available in its own right as a CD on See For Miles. Wouldn't want any fellow 'anoraks' catching me out!

Just thought i would mention that Cliff's song 'Home Thoughts From Abroad' has been voted as the 4th best British song of all time on a BBC Radio 2 poll.

ctw was, in a word, a genius. his talent for marrying lyrics to musical harmony was sometims nothing short of sublime...i listened to him for over 26 years, and like many others, grieved for him in his illness, and final death..if anyone wants to listen to some music that may well change their life then get a copy of home thoughts from abroad, and if possible, escalator. he made others, all containing memorable pieces, but, in my opinion, these 2 are stuffed with excellence...