GLASGOW’S police force had to call in the military to help hold back the crowds when teen sensation Cliff Richard came to town.

It was September, 1959, and the singer – who is still going strong – was booked in to do a week of shows at the Empire.

Fans – mainly young women – went wild, stopping traffic outside the venue as officers desperately tried to manoeuvre them on to the pavements and clear a path for cars along West Nile Street

Chants of “we want Cliff, we want Cliff!” grew and eventually, a jeep-load of the 170 Provost Company, Royal Corps of Military Police, based in Newlands on the city’s south side, turned up.

Glasgow Times:

Passing purely by accident, four lance-corporals travelling in the vehicle quickly assessed what was going on and jumped out to lend a hand.

“The hysteria rose and fell”, noted the Glasgow Times’ sister title, The Glasgow Herald, “but mostly fell as the cool night air did its work, and in half an hour the crowd had dispersed, with nothing to complain of but a sense of anti-climax and a few crushed toes”.

The fans were extremely young, reported the newspaper.

“Some wore school blazers, most joined long queues for ice cream and lollies. All burst into a shriek of welcome as Mr Richard’s number -- 10 -- flashed on at the side of the stage.

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“Mr Richard, plumply handsome, appeared to do a lot of singing, but as his audience screamed on with increasing intensity, no-one heard a note.

“A peroxided blonde tore her hair in ecstasy. The blazer group grew quieter as the rest got more excited. Mr Richard gave a disjointed wiggle, the curtain came down, the surge for the stage door began.”

Cliff’s backing group at the Empire was The Shadows who, just two weeks earlier, had changed their name from The Drifters because it clashed with the US group of the same name.

Glasgow Times:

Screaming adolescents aside, Cliff’s concerts were a success and his presence guaranteed a full house.

After that 1959 concert, at the mobbed stage-door, police officers told fans Cliff would “certainly” not be making an appearance. He was true to his word: he was in his dressing room, reading a book.

Our archive also has photos of Evening Times readers meeting their hero – Ann McLean, Rita Traynor, Douglas Gordon and Neil Ritchie were the lucky competition winners who met up with the star.

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“Big thrill for four Junior Times competition winners,” announces the Evening Times on October 1, 1959, alongside a photograph of the happy quartet.

Where are Ann, Rita, Douglas and Neil now? Did you see Sir Cliff in Glasgow?

Which other famous faces have you seen in the city over the decades?

Share your memories and stories by emailing ann.fotheringham@glasgowtimes.co.uk or by writing to Ann Fotheringham, Glasgow Times, The Print Centre, 125 Fullarton Drive, Cambuslang, Glasgow G32 8FG.