No Camp Cliff

Sir Cliff is such a big draw in the British Isles that whenever shows are announced, veritable tent cites often spring up outside venues days in advance. This time however, several of the facilities on the schedule have banned tents and sleeping bags, citing health and safety concerns.

In case you’re wondering what the big deal is, in the late ’50s and early ’60s Cliff and The Shads, as they’re affectionately known by fans, dominated the British pop scene, notching up 19 No. 1 hits including “Living Doll,” “Travellin’ Light,” “Please Don’t Tease” and “Apache.” They also starred in a pair of wildly popular films: “Summer Holiday” and “The Young Ones.”

For their part Sir Cliff’s fans have vowed to take the ban lying down, with one, 60-year-old Viv Johnson telling The Telegraph, “I don’t know any other venue who stops us from queuing for days to get the best tickets. We’re adults. We’ve never had any trouble and after a cup of tea we’re asleep by 11 p.m.”

The nine-city trek kicks off with a pair of shows Sept. 25-26 at London’s O2 Arena and will hit Nottingham, Birmingham, Cardiff, Liverpool, Glasgow, Newcastle, Sheffield and Manchester.