Richard's Rep Addresses Jazz Backlash

Sir Cliff Richard's manager has come to the singer's defence after fans complained they felt "flat and disappointed" by his new jazz sound.

Richard staged a series of concerts at London's Royal Albert Hall last week (ends17Oct10) to mark his 70th birthday on Thursday (14Oct10) and the release of his new swing album, Bold As Brass.

But the gigs struck a sour note with Richard's devotees, who flocked tohis official website to trash their idol's latest tracks.

One fan ranted "I feel flat and disappointed. It is the first time since 1958 that I have not come away from a concert buzzing. In the second half, I actually wanted to go to sleep. We feel our money was wasted".

Another added "I was expecting to relive my youth, not feel like a pensioner. I was looking forward to jigging about to Cliff's tunes, not listening to other people's songs".

But Richard's manager insists the veteran star has been longing to takehis career in a "new" direction.

He says, "Cliff hasn't been in the business for 50 years without makingchanges. He's had great reviews for his recent concerts which were billed as a big band sound. Robbie Williams and Rod Stewart have done jazz albums and Cliff wanted to do one too; he knows that not everyone is going to like every genre of music but this time he wanted to try something new".