Mark Andrews – Why Cliff Richard is the answer to Generation Smartphone

He didn't smile, he 'smouldered', wrote one newspaper. Another accused him of 'crude exhibitionism'. There were concerns that out-of-control youngsters had become 'intoxicated by rock 'n' roll'. "Don't let your daughter go out with people like this," wrote one journalist.'

Fair enough, you might think. Musicians behaving badly is hardly a new phenomenon. Joseph Purcell died from pneumonia following a particularly wild night on the lash. Beethoven was notorious for living in squalor, playing his piano very loudly in the early hours of the morning, and bullying his servants. And you could write an opera about the wild antics of Richard Wagner. So you can hardly be too surprised to find that postwar rock'n'roll singers might have pushed the boundaries a little.

The problem with that theory is that the singer in question was Cliff Richard. Who, with hindsight, probably hasn't done that much to damage the fabric of society. Apart from Summer Holiday. And Travellin' Light.

Which brings me to something of a more modern dilemma which seems to be troubling the nation.

Should children be allowed to have smartphones?

The actress Sophie Winkleman is the latest name to back a growing campaign to ban youngsters from carrying such devices. Education Secretary Gillian Keegan has already announced they are to be banned in schools, and the commentator Rod Liddle hopes the the day will come when a child with a smart phone will be viewed as shocking as smoking a cigarette.

My natural instinct is to agree. I'm quite disturbed by how many young people now live in a zombie-like state, shuffling around at a snail's pace, staring at their screens, oblivious to the world around them. Dentist's waiting room, sitting on the train, everywhere they go they live in some weird detachment from the rest of society, head bowed, often with an earpiece plugged in, like the ones old people used to use with their crystal sets. On balance, would you say they look as if their mobile phones are enriching their lives? Because they rarely seem to be laughing or smiling.

The logical conclusion would be that mobile phones are 'bad for their mental health', as it is fashionable to say these days.

And that is before we come to problems with bullying on social media, scams, and the dark web. Even, on the increasingly rare occasions when you see youngsters participating in some form of social activity like a pub, a nightclub or a day out, they seem to be more interested in filming themselves than actually savouring the occasion. Maybe that's why they Don't Talk Any More.

Given that most of us managed perfectly well before smartphones came alon, it hardly seems much of a hardship to suggest today's kids wait until they are, I dunno, about 35, before they are allowed hand-held access to the information superhighway. They may even, one day, thank us for it.

Yet despite all this, I still feel the presence of a young Harry Webb nagging away in the background. Are mobile phones really corrupting the minds of future generations, or is it really a case of grumpy grown-ups feeling left out of a changing world? Is it really any different to Cliff annoying the life out of people still holding out hopes for a Glenn Miller comeback tour, by blathering on about his Livin' Doll?

As is usually the case, the reality probably lies somewhere in the middle. In moderation, a bit of access to social media is likely to be harmless. The difficulty is deciding how much time is acceptable and, more to the point, how one is to enforce that.

Still, I think the best solution will probably not come from some draconian ban, but from Cliff Richard himself. Because while, 60-odd years ago, the very mention of his name might have turned every milk bar in the land into a screaming cacaphony, today's kids would consider him decidedly 'cheugy'. And if you don't know what that means, go onto the worldwide web and find out. You don't want them thinking you're a salt daddy.

The moral being that today's young people today, just as they did in the 1950s, have a notoriously short attention span. And in five or 10 years' time, a smartphone will probably have as much street cred as a Betamax. Particularly if they see their parents using them.

So the best thing to do is relax, and embrace the smartphone revolution. Start chatting to them on social media. Show them what's trending on TikTok, Myspace or whatever is in at the moment. And just watch them desert their devices in droves.

Especially if they see Cliff Richard Wired For Sound.