Clifford Thomas Ward (10 February 1944 – 18 December 2001) was an English singer-songwriter, best known for his career as a solo artist. Ward's 1973 album Home Thoughts remains his best known recording and he had hit singles with "Gaye" and "Scullery". His reluctance to tour in support of recorded work may have affected his chances of more substantial mainstream success.
Solo career
In 1967, following the demise of The Secrets, Ward decided he needed to get "a real job". He enrolled at Worcester Teacher Training College and subsequently taught at North Bromsgrove High School teaching English and Drama. According to Allmusic, the song "Wherewithal" from the Home Thoughts album is "infectious and lyrically excellent" and it was surprising that it failed to chart.
Subsequent singles including "No More Rock 'n' Roll", "Jigsaw Girl", "Ocean of Love" and "I Got Lost Tonight" (written by the US singer-songwriter Tim Moore, one of the very rare occasions when he recorded outside material) were given airtime by BBC Radio presenters, but Ward never made it into the UK singles chart again. In the late 1970s, Justin de Villeneuve became his manager. It was said that he would have had more commercial success were it not for his dislike of touring, public appearances, interviews and photo shoots.
"The Best is Yet to Come", from the album Both of Us, enjoyed success when covered by Justin Hayward, and his songs have been recorded by Cliff Richard, Jack Jones, Art Garfunkel, Judy Collins and more recently by Brian Kennedy and Rumer. At around the same time, a stage musical, Shattered World, was produced as a tribute to him, based on his life and his battle against MS. Half of the songs were Ward's own, and half were numbers written by others about him.
Death
In November 2001, Ward contracted pneumonia and died in Tenbury Community Hospital a few weeks later on 18 December 2001.
Discography
Albums
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Title
! Label
! Original release date
|-
| Singer-Songwriter
| Dandelion Records
| September 1972
|-
| Home Thoughts
| Charisma Records
| June 1973
|-
| Mantle Pieces
| Charisma Records
| December 1973
|-
| Escalator
| Charisma Records
| April 1975
|-
| No More Rock 'n' Roll
| Philips
| December 1975
|-
| Waves
| Philips
| November 1976
|-
| New England Days
| Mercury
| October 1977
|-
| Both of Us
| Philips
| March 1984
|-
| Sometime Next Year
| Tembo Records
| July 1986
|-
| Gaye and Other Stories
| Virgin Records
| October 1990
|-
| Laugh It Off
| Ameless Records
| February 1992
|-
| Julia and Other New Stories (demos and out-takes)
| Graduate Records
| February 1995
|-
| Hidden Treasures
| RP Media
| August 1998
|-
| Bittersweet
| RP Media
| May 1999
|-
| The Ways of Love
| RP Media
| May 2000
|-
| Anthology
| Cherry Red Records
| June 2002
|-
| This Was Our Love
| Cherry Red Records
| May 2003
|-
| Work in Progress
| The Friends of Clifford T. Ward
| October 2003
|-
| Secrets & Sidetracks
| The Friends of Clifford T. Ward
| 2004
|-
| Studio Sessions (limited edition)
| Cherry Red Records
| September 2005
|-
| Change of Heart
| Cherry Red Records
| September 2009
|-
| The Kinver Sessions 1968-1972
| Beaujangle
| 2009
|-
| Path Through the Forest - The Secret World of Clifford T. Ward
| Wooden Hill
| 2009
|-
| The Best Is Yet to Come: The Collection
| Press Play/Cherry Red Records
| 2013
|-
| Infatuation: Singles and Demos 1966-68 - The Secrets ft. Clifford T. Ward
| Grapefruit Records
| 2015
|}
Singles (partial list)
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Title
!Label
!Year
|-
|Gaye / Home Thoughts from Abroad
|Charisma
|1973
|-
|Wherewithal / Thinking of Something to do
|Charisma
|1973
|-
|Scullery /
|Charisma
|1973
|-
|Jig-Saw Girl / Cellophane
|Charisma
|1975
|-
|No More Rock & Roll / Gandalf
|Philips
|1975
|}
TV appearances
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Show
! Channel
! Song(s)
! Date
|-
| Top of the Pops
| BBC1
| "Gaye"
| 13 July 1973
|-
| Top of the Pops
| BBC1
| "Gaye"
| 27 July 1973
|-
| Russel Harty Plus
| LWT
| "Gaye"
| 12 August 1973
|-
| Hits a Go Go
| SRG (Switzerland)
| "Gaye"
| 6 October 1973
|-
| The Old Grey Whistle Test
| BBC2
| "Scullery", "All Modern Conveniences"
| 20 November 1973
|-
| Top of the Pops
| BBC1
| "Scullery"
| 20 December 1973
|-
| Rock On with 45
| Granada
| "Jayne (from Andromeda Spiral)" + 1
| 3 October 1974
|-
| Songs of Searching
| BBC2
| "Home Thoughts from Abroad", "Escalator", "For Debbie & Her Friends", "Ocean of Love"
| 17 October 1976
|-
| Get It Together
| Granada
| "Someone I Know"
| 14 February 1978
|-
| Pebble Mill at One
| BBC1
| "Contrary"
| 1981
|-
| The Castlebar Song Contest
| RTÉ
| "Gaye", "Up in the World", "Home Thoughts from Abroad"
| 1982
|-
| The Late Late Show
| RTÉ
| "Watchin' the T.V News"
| 1983
|-
| Live at 3
| RTÉ
| "The Best is Yet to Come & Gaye"
| 1982
|}
Bibliography
- Bittersweet: The Clifford T. Ward Story, Dave Cartwright – Moonicorn Books (1999) – Cherry Red (2003)
- Clifford T. Ward: Complete Recordings Illustrated, A.P Sparke - APS Publications (2019)
DVD
- Oh and By the Way - The Clifford T. Ward Story - Shotwize Motion Picture co. (2020)
References
External links
- Appreciation page by Peter Daltrey
- Official CTW Bandcamp page showcasing rare tracks
- The Official Facebook. Page of Clifford T.Ward : The Clifford T. Ward Project.
- Clifford T. Ward website