Nile Rodgers: 'You wouldn't wanna smoke pot with Cliff Richard'

Published Nov 16 2011, 18:09 GMT  |  By Mayer Nissim

Nile Rodgers has said that Sir Cliff Richard did not change people's lives.

The Chic hitmaker told Absolute Radio 60s DJ Pete Mitchell that Richard could not be held up alongside other stars with a greater influence.



Rodgers said: "The problem with Cliff is that as sort of cool as he was, he didn't have that thing that translated over to the States. If you're gonna be really cool, you've sort of gotta be cool there too.

"He didn't make a generation of kids say, 'Wow, this guy changed my life'. It was just another person with a hit record.

"There's a big difference between people who had hit records and people who would make you march in their parade. You know, he wouldn't be the dude that you'd wanna smoke pot with."

Watch Nile Rodgers talking about Cliff Richard below:



Absolute Radio 60s launched the station by announcing that it would 'ban' all records by Richard and instead play hits by the likes of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.

In response to the attention given to the 'ban', Absolute Radio 60s bosses said: "Absolute Radio 60s is the sound of the most influential decade in music history.

> Absolute Radio readies '60s and '70s stations
> Sir Cliff Richard 'banned from Absolute Radio 60s'

"Yes, Cliff enjoyed chart success, but we believe timeless acts of the decade that remain relevant today, are bands like The Beatles, The Stones, The Doors, The Who and Aretha Franklin.

"If there was no Beatles or Stones we'd have no Oasis or Kings of Leon. No Aretha Franklin, then no Amy Winehouse or Adele. We don't feel the same influence can be said for Sir Cliff."

DJ Mitchell said that while Richard wrote "one of the greatest British rock 'n' roll records" with 'Move It' in 1958, he had lost his way by 1959's 'Living Doll' and failed to "influence a generation" as others did.

Watch Pete Mitchell give his thoughts on Cliff Richard below: