Guardian Music — From Robbie Williams to Gabrielle Aplin, the seasonal charts have taken a serious turn this yearDecember used to be silly season for the charts. The Christmas Top 40 was home to the wacky (Mr Blobby), the weird (Mike Flowers Pops) and Cliff Richard. ... more info

Guardian Music — Royal Albert Hall, LondonYou can infer everything you need to know about the British attitude to Johnny Hallyday from the fact that he's waited until 52 years into his career, indeed until after his official retirement from live performance, to play ... more info

Guardian Music — Fifty years ago a little-known band released a single that, while far from their greatest, heralded the start of a legendary eraIn September 1962, the Beatles went into EMI's Abbey Road studios in north London to record their first single. The A-side... more info

Guardian Music — Travolta and Newton-John reunite 34 years after Summer Nights with album that includes follow-up to You're The One That I WantWinter always brings chills, and this year they will be multiplying: John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John have announced a h... more info

Guardian Music — Catch up with the last seven days in the world of musicThis week's most popular stories1. Chris Brown's albums sabotaged with protest stickersIn the wake of the outcry over the singer's tattoo, protesters are putting warning stickers on his CDs that ... more info

Guardian Music — EC says music giant can buy rival only if it sells off labels that are home to Coldplay, Blur, Kylie Minogue and othersUniversal Music has been given the green light for its £1.2bn EMI takeover by the European Commission, but will have to sell off l... more info

Guardian Music — Van the Man and pious old Cliff? It shouldn't work, but somehow this unlikely pairing creates peace, unity and harmony Reading on mobile? Watch hereI'm not religious, so the lyrics of this song don't move me. But I've always loved the fact that this ... more info

ContactMusic — Sir Cliff Richard scrapped plans to record a secret album under a different name because his record label bosses were not interested in the project The 71-year-old Devil Woman star wanted to go back to the studio and record an album of original mater... more info

Guardian Music — Cliff Richard and the Shadows were Pathé's perfect poster boys for pop when it decided to boost its coverage in the early 60sIn the early 60s, Pathé ramped up its pop coverage. Once the Age of the Teenager had been established, youth became worthy ... more info

Guardian Music — Archive footage of Cliff Richard on the set of the Young Ones in 1963 more info