Bittersweet: The Clifford T. Ward Story

by David E. Cartwright

From his youth, through his brief but beautiful impact on the charts, to the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis that effectively ended his career, the musicians that define Clifford T. Ward's unique talent are as varied as they are impressive—Jimmy Page, Paul McCartney, Karl Hyde, Jeff Lynne, and Tim Rice. All speak between these pages of a truly extraordinary man that the outside world, sadly, remembers only for one single and one beautiful album, way back in 1973. In this affectionate, humorous, and exhaustively researched book, now updated following Clifford's death in 2001, the author's unique style, with his inside knowledge of music and musicians, makes good the case to reconsider this hugely neglected talent.

339 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2003

Reviews

[Phil Vivian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had long meant to read this and finally gave myself the kick I needed after a friend commented on it. The story of a wonderful singer-songwriter-musician, not always easy to live with clearly, very private in many ways, whose later years, which came all too early, became a struggle for sustained recognition of the kind he deserved amid a gradual diminishing of physical strength through debilitating disease. So glad that I read it although the title is exactly right: a hard, moving read at times, but fluently and uncompromisingly told.

[Jethro Wall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tragic, but super insightful and interesting to learn about who Clifford T. Ward was, as there seems to be very limited information on him (not a surprise as he's so obscure). By far my favorite parts was when the author delved into his music, and the releasing of albums and such, as well as his reflective and melancholy comments about the end of his life. A few parts were a bit slow, mainly when he wasn't talking about Clifford, and getting side tracked with something else. But super thankful that this exists - it has deepened my experience when listening to his music, and that's all I can ask for.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember Clifford from the 70’s mainly for his 2 songs ,Gaye and Home thoughts from abroad, I remembering thinking “ wish my English teacher looked like this “ with his long blonde hair and good looks and was an English teacher to boot. .His songs were more poetry set to music and some of the lyrics so poignant they stop you in your tracks to listen. He is one of the most requested singers on radio 2 and has often come high up in various polls on songwriters, favourite songs etc., so why is more not known about this singer songwriter and why did he not enjoy more commercial success. This book gives you the answers; he hated live performing and refused to promote many of his albums, although he did appear on TV shows. He like so many artists in the 70’s got embroiled in financial deals and ended up never making a lot of money although probably the record company did. The book also explores his relationship with his wife, who he met at school and they ended up getting married really young with the first of his four children on the way. He comes across as a perfectionist and very domineering or perhaps he knew what he wanted and how his songs should be and wouldn’t except anything else. Many of today’s big stars contributed to the book, which shows what regard Clifford was held in as a song writer. Sadly Clifford became ill with MS and suffered money problems , his personality changes are pointed out by the author which I think is a bit unfair as being diagnosed with a progressive illness and probably on strong medication which I am sure would have devastating side effects would take the toll on anyone. Clifford sadly passed away in December 2001 but he still has many fans and his music is still widely listened to.

[Howard Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Clifford T. Ward story is one that needed to be told, it has been sadly forgotten over the years. This book is no hagiography; Ward's flaws as a man are discussed in great depth. However, the love that the author has for the man and the music shines through too.

Elements of the book are problematic; I would argue that too much of the book is about Dave Cartwright and he's not short of opinions about all sorts of things, mainly modern life and modern music, both of which he clearly finds pretty rubbish. I would say that these opinions are not particularly welcome and took me out of the fascinating story a little. Sometimes, his bad jokes and deliberate diversions start to become a little tedious too. However, his writing style is not without charm. His love of the Worcestershire area is obvious (How is Worcestershire? Pretty good, according to Dave Cartwright) and his local knowledge adds a great deal to the tale. I am sure that any Clifford T. Ward fan will get an awful lot from this book. Cartwright spoke to an impressively large amount of central figures from Ward's life, and they all add something different and important. The contribution from Ward's long-suffering wife (Pat) is immense, frequently hilarious and often heart-breaking.

I have, for a long time, wanted to read a book about Clifford T. Ward and Dave Cartwright was the right man to write it. It may be of no interest to people who don't know Ward's music (which is far too many people), but it really should be read by anyone who does.

[Bev · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this for the most part but found the author went off on a tangent at times and I had to re-read sections as I wasn't sure if he was talking about himself or CTW! Found a lot of the details quite sad.