Matt Richards – författare

'Cliff had exploded onto the scene, had become Britain's very own Elvis, and was about to embark on a career that, at the time of writing, has extended into its eighth decade. Nobody at that moment - least of all Cliff - could have foreseen the triumphs that lay ahead, and amongst them, the catalyst for the trial to which that stardom ultimately led.'Sir Cliff Richard is Britain's most successful home-grown pop star with a career that's unlikely ever to be surpassed. Since 1958 he's sold over 250,000,000 records, had fourteen Number 1 and sixty-seven Top 10 singles and, along with Elvis Presley, is the only act to make the UK Top 10 in six consecutive decades. Even now, in his ninth decade, he's still recording and touring to packed venues. With these sorts of figures, it's no wonder Sir Cliff Richard - the pop star - is an entertainment phenomenon. But Sir Cliff Richard - the person - is somewhat of an enigma. In this new book, authors Matt Richards & Mark Langthorne dig deep to find out who Sir Cliff Richard really is.In profiling his life and career, his success, his relationships and his beliefs, they uncover a man of contradictions; the rock & roller who rejected sex and drugs, the poster boy for Christianity, the very public performer who gives little away about his private life, the star who's a national treasure to many yet a figure of ridicule to others. From the stories behind the hit records to the battle to break America, from childhood memories in India to recent abuse allegations and career-threatening headlines, nothing is off-limits in this definitive portrayal, painting a picture of an artist and a man who has become increasingly misunderstood and maligned when he should simply be celebrated for the performer and the person he is.

Almost seventy-five years ago, MI9 dreamt up the most audacious escape and evasion plan of World War Two. Formulated by Airey Neave, one of the first men ever to escape from Colditz, this plan was one of subterfuge, concealment and deception on a scale never seen before. With numerous downed RAF and Allied pilots on the run in Europe and with the fabled Comete Escape Line having been infiltrated by double agents, Neave's plan was to hide these men right under the very noses of the Nazis rather than risk repatriation. Choosing a forest in the heart of France, right next to one of the German Army's largest ammunition bases, Neave, Belgian agents and the French Resistance would secretly transport and hide Allied pilots and soldiers within feet of the enemy. Nobody thought it would work, but such was the success of the secret camp that a whole community of over one hundred and fifty Allied escapers lived within the forest for three months in the run-up to D-Day. Despite numerous close shaves, they were never discovered and this outrageous plan, brilliant in its simplicity, saw the Allied evaders make their home in the forest, cooking and hunting to survive - and even setting up a golf course in the forest using branches for clubs - without discovery. This operation remained absolutely secret, to the point that the inhabitants of the villages surrounding the forest were unaware, until the end, of the existence of that allied force so close to them.Told through interviews with evaders, members of the Resistance and the children charged with smuggling food into the forest, this book tells the compelling story of one of the most audacious operations in World War Two. A story that has, until today, remained as secret as the Hidden Army of Freteval.

'Cliff had exploded onto the scene, had become Britain's very own Elvis, and was about to embark on a career that, at the time of writing, has extended into its eighth decade. Nobody at that moment - least of all Cliff - could have foreseen the triumphs that lay ahead, and amongst them, the catalyst for the trial to which that stardom ultimately led.'Sir Cliff Richard is Britain's most successful home-grown pop star with a career that's unlikely ever to be surpassed. Since 1958 he's sold over 250,000,000 records, had fourteen Number 1 and sixty-seven Top 10 singles and, along with Elvis Presley, is the only act to make the UK Top 10 in six consecutive decades. Even now, in his ninth decade, he's still recording and touring to packed venues.With these sorts of figures, it's no wonder Sir Cliff Richard - the pop star - is an entertainment phenomenon. But Sir Cliff Richard - the person - is somewhat of an enigma. In this new book, authors Matt Richards & Mark Langthorne dig deep to find out who Sir Cliff Richard really is.In profiling his life and career, his success, his relationships and his beliefs, they uncover a man of contradictions; the rock & roller who rejected sex and drugs, the poster boy for Christianity, the very public performer who gives little away about his private life, the star who's a national treasure to many yet a figure of ridicule to others.From the stories behind the hit records to the battle to break America, from childhood memories in India to recent abuse allegations and career-threatening headlines, nothing is off-limits in this definitive portrayal, painting a picture of an artist and a man who has become increasingly misunderstood and maligned when he should simply be celebrated for the performer and the person he is.

On June 25th, 2009, the world was rocked by the tragic, shocking news that Michael Jackson - the biggest and most influential music icon since Elvis Presley - was pronounced dead on arrival at a Los Angeles hospital. He was 50 years old. As the news reverberated around the world, it was accompanied by even more shocking and controversial information - a sickening revelation to Jackson''s millions of fans: that Jackson had died in the care of his personal physician, Dr Conrad Murray - a whole 83 minutes before Murray put a 911 call in to emergency services. In this, a comprehensive and truly horrifying account of those crucial minutes - Murray''s frantic attempts to cover his tracks and revive his client before the truth could be revealed - are laid bare. This is a compelling, multi-perspective tracking of all who were involved at the scene, and their part to play in the events surrounding Jackson''s tragic passing. The shocking cocktail of drugs employed to keep Jackson alive, adminstered by Murray himself; the harrowing and squalid conditions in which this troubled musical genius ended his life, all is 100% accurately described from official court transcripts and documentation. A powerful and compelling account of the brutal truth behind the rumours.

When Freddie Mercury died in 1991, aged just 45, the world was rocked by the vibrant and flamboyant star''s tragic secret that he had been battling AIDS. The announcement of his diagnosis reached them less than 24-hours before his death, shocking his millions of fans, and fully opening the eyes of the world to the destructive and fatal disease. In Somebody to Love, biographers Mark Langthorne and Matt Richards skilfully weave Freddie''s pursuit of musical greatness with Queen, his upbringing and endless search for love, with the origins and aftermath of a terrible disease that swept across the world in the 1980s.With brand new perspectives from Freddie''s closest friends and fellow musicians, this unique and deeply moving tribute casts a very different light on his death. An intimate read, like Freddie and his art, it will stay with you for a long time to come.

When Freddie Mercury died in 1991, aged just 45, the world was rocked by the vibrant and flamboyant star's tragic secret that he had been battling AIDS. The announcement of his diagnosis reached them less than 24-hours before his death, shocking his millions of fans, and fully opening the eyes of the world to the destructive and fatal disease. In Somebody to Love, biographers Mark Langthorne and Matt Richards skilfully weave Freddie's pursuit of musical greatness with Queen, his upbringing and endless search for love, with the origins and aftermath of a terrible disease that swept across the world in the 1980s.With brand new perspectives from Freddie's closest friends and fellow musicians, this unique and deeply moving tribute casts a very different light on his death. An intimate read, like Freddie and his art, it will stay with you for a long time to come.

'Cliff had exploded onto the scene, had become Britain's very own Elvis, and was about to embark on a career that, at the time of writing, has extended into its eighth decade. Nobody at that moment - least of all Cliff - could have foreseen the triumphs that lay ahead, and amongst them, the catalyst for the trial to which that stardom ultimately led.'Sir Cliff Richard is Britain's most successful home-grown pop star with a career that's unlikely ever to be surpassed. Since 1958 he's sold over 250,000,000 records, had fourteen Number 1 and sixty-seven Top 10 singles and, along with Elvis Presley, is the only act to make the UK Top 10 in six consecutive decades. Even now, in his ninth decade, he's still recording and touring to packed venues.With these sorts of figures, it's no wonder Sir Cliff Richard - the pop star - is an entertainment phenomenon. But Sir Cliff Richard - the person - is somewhat of an enigma. In this new book, authors Matt Richards & Mark Langthorne dig deep to find out who Sir Cliff Richard really is.In profiling his life and career, his success, his relationships and his beliefs, they uncover a man of contradictions; the rock & roller who rejected sex and drugs, the poster boy for Christianity, the very public performer who gives little away about his private life, the star who's a national treasure to many yet a figure of ridicule to others.From the stories behind the hit records to the battle to break America, from childhood memories in India to recent abuse allegations and career-threatening headlines, nothing is off-limits in this definitive portrayal, painting a picture of an artist and a man who has become increasingly misunderstood and maligned when he should simply be celebrated for the performer and the person he is.