- Clifford T. Ward
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Clifford T. Ward Birth name Clifford Thomas Ward Born 10 February 1944
Stourport-on-Severn, Worcestershire, EnglandDied 18 December 2001 (aged 57)
Kidderminster, Worcestershire, EnglandOccupations Singer-songwriter Years active 1962–2001 Clifford Thomas Ward (10 February 1944 – 18 December 2001)[1] was a popular English singer-songwriter, best known for his career as a solo artist.
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Early life
Born in Stourport-on-Severn, Worcestershire, Ward was one of five children, having one sister and three brothers. He was educated at Stourport Secondary Modern School, and there he met his wife, Pat, when she was 13 years old, and he 14. At school he spent some time as a choir boy. Ward and Pat married when he was 17 and she 16, after Pat became pregnant with the first of their four children: Debbie, Martin, Sam and Polly.
Early career
In 1962, shortly after leaving school, Ward formed a beat band "Cliff Ward and the Cruisers". The band was popular in Birmingham and also in demand at American Army bases in France. It was during this time abroad that Ward wrote "Home Thoughts from Abroad" (a song that would later appear on his second solo album and also as the B-side of "Gaye"). In the mid 1960s and after several member changes, the group was re-named 'Martin Raynor and The Secrets' with Ward in the role of the elusive Raynor. The fictitious name was soon dropped and the band continued on as 'The Secrets', and went on to tour around Britain and France, achieving moderate success. Along the way, six singles were recorded by the group (ten of the songs penned by Ward himself), though these made little impact.
Solo career
In 1968, following the demise of The Secrets, Ward decided he needed to get "a real job", and so spent the following three years at a teacher training college, ultimately finding employment at nearby North Bromsgrove High School, teaching English and drama. One of his pupils was the future wife of Sting, Trudie Styler. The children heard singing on Ward's early albums were from North Bromsgrove High School. In his spare time, he continued songwriting and recorded his first solo album Singer Songwriter.
Singer Songwriter was released in 1972 on Dandelion Records (a label formed by the late disc jockey John Peel) just before it went into liquidation. As a result, the album received little media coverage and went largely unnoticed. Signing a new recording contract with Charisma Records, Ward went on to have a hit with the single "Gaye". It sold over a million copies worldwide and reached number 8 in the UK Singles Chart in July 1973.[1]
In July 1973, following the success of "Gaye", Ward's second album Home Thoughts achieved healthy sales and reached number 40 in the UK Albums Chart.[1] At this point, wanting to concentrate on music full time, he gave up the teaching profession. He made a rare public appearance in August, performing "Gaye" on Top of the Pops. In January 1974 Ward entered the singles chart again at number 37 with "Scullery",[1] a track from his third album Mantle Pieces.
Subsequent singles, notably "No More Rock 'n' Roll", "Jigsaw Girl", "Ocean of Love" and "I Got Lost Tonight" (written by the U.S. singer-songwriter Tim Moore, one of the very rare occasions when he recorded outside material) were loved by BBC Radio presenters and programmers but Ward never made it into the UK charts again. It was said that he would have had more commercial success were it not for his dislike of touring, public appearances, interviews and photo shoots. "The Best is Yet to Come", from the album Both of Us, enjoyed success when covered by Justin Hayward, and his songs were also recorded by Cliff Richard, Jack Jones, Art Garfunkel, and Judy Collins. He was compared to Paul McCartney by reviewers and his songs have strong melodies and concise, original lyrics.[citation needed]
Death
In 1984 Ward was diagnosed as having multiple sclerosis. He continued to record and write songs while living at home, cared for by his wife Pat.
In 1994, Ward was interviewed by local newspaper, the Wolverhampton Express & Star. He told reporter Aidan Goldstraw: "I have not and will not come to terms with this illness. There are times — usually quite late at night — when I'm almost normal again. But unless they find a cure for this dreadful MS, then I don't see a future".
Also then, he recorded his eleventh and what would be his last new album, Julia and Other New Stories, crawling on all fours into his home-based recording studio to finish it. At around the same time, a stage musical, Shattered World, was produced as a tribute to him, based on his life and his battle against MS. Half of the songs were Ward's own, and half were numbers written by others about him.
In the early winter of 2001, he fell ill from pneumonia and entered a Kidderminster hospital. He died there a few weeks later, on 18 December.[2]
Albums
Title Original release date Singer-Songwriter September 1972 Home Thoughts June 1973 Mantle Pieces December 1973 Escalator April 1975 No More Rock 'n' Roll December 1975 Waves November 1976 New England Days Ocotber 1977 Both of Us March 1984 Sometime Next Year July 1986 Gaye and Other Stories October 1990 Laugh It Off February 1992 Julia and Other New Stories (demos and out-takes) February 1995 Hidden Treasures August 1998 Bittersweet May 1999 The Ways of Love May 2000 Anthology June 2002 This Was Our Love May 2003 Work in Progress October 2003 Studio Sessions (Limited Edition) September 2005 Sometime Next Year October 2005 Bibliography
- Bittersweet: The Clifford T. Ward Story, David Cartwright - ISBN 1-901447-18-9
References
External links
Categories:- 1944 births
- 2001 deaths
- English singer-songwriters
- English songwriters
- English male singers
- People from Stourport-on-Severn
- Charisma Records artists
- People with multiple sclerosis
- Deaths from pneumonia
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