A hundred thousand welcomes for Cliff Richard at Live at the Marquee in Cork

A céad míle fáilte, mini-stampede towards a famous singer, and, believe it or not, one guitar smashed to pieces on stage.

A hundred thousand welcomes for Cliff Richard at Live at the Marquee in Cork

A céad míle fáilte, mini-stampede towards a famous singer, and, believe it or not, one guitar smashed to pieces on stage. No, Justin Bieber wasn't in town, but a man who could easily be described as the world's most successful pop star: Cliff Richard.

Cliff performed in front of a large crowd of devoted fans at last night's Live at the Marquee gig, having previously played at the venue in 2014, coincidentally the year his support act, Collabro, won Britain's Got Talent.

The foursome warmed up the audience with a selection of musical theatre tunes, including 'This is the Moment' from Jekyll and Hyde, 'Oh What A Night' from Jersey Boys, and a trio of songs from long-running show, Les Mis: 'Bring Him Home', 'I Dreamed A Dream', and 'Stars'. The group also performed an original song, Lighthouse, before Cliff took to the stage. Fresh from their first headline gig in Dublin, which was attended by Cliff last night, the group could easily draw a large crowd to a Marquee gig in their own right.

Belting out a selection of songs from his impressive music career, which includes a staggering 102 albums, Cliff delighted the audience with a mix of his best known tunes and a selection of rock and roll classics - appropriate, as this concert was part of his Just Fabulous Rock 'n' Roll Tour.

As it is not the star's first time singing in Ireland, he has clearly been working on his cúpla focal, which he used to wish a céad míle fáilte to all of his guests as the show began. One guest then welcomed him in return with a sign calling him "the sexiest man in the universe".

Cliff paid tribute through song to a number of famous figure who supported him throughout his lengthy career, including rock 'n' roll icon Chuck Berry, who passed away earlier this year, to home he dedicated his rendition of 'Sweet Little Sixteen'.

He also spoke highly of his bandmates in The Shadows, who performed with him for much of his early career, before singing their hit, 'Travellin' Light'. Other hits on the night included 'With You Nights', 'Devil Woman', 'We Don't Talk Anymore', 'Summer Holiday' and 'Suddenly' with Suzie Samuels, which he originally sang with Olivia Newton John for the film Xanadu.

As the finale approached, an excitable crowd eventually overwhelmed a handful of security guards at the front of the stage, where they waved homemade banners and reached their arms forward, desperate to make contact with their idol, a situation which could only be described with a reference to Eoin McLove of Father Ted fame.

He may be 76, but after almost 60 years of showbiz Cliff Richard still knows how to wow a crowd.

Check out some of the concert here:

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