In a vote by a panel of teenagers to decide from a selection of Richard's unreleased tracks which ones should be released as singles, "Nine Times Out of Ten" came second to "Please Don't Tease. Both Richard and his producer Norrie Paramor thought "Nine Times Out of Ten" would be the number one choice, as they both preferred the song.[1][4]
"Nine Times Out of Ten" was co-written by American rock and roll influence Otis Blackwell, known for co-writing songs such as "Great Balls of Fire", "All Shook Up" and "Fever". The B-side, "Thinking of Our Love", was written by the Shadows' Bruce Welch and Hank Marvin "at three o'clock in the morning in Oklahoma City".[2][4] The single set a new record for the number of advance sales of the single in the UK, with around 180,000 sales, and went straight in at number 3 on the UK Singles Chart.[2]
Upon the release of "Nine Times Out of Ten", Richard was described as making "a surprise return to rock 'n' roll" and a "break from the beaty ballads that have kept Cliff in the charts". However, Richard said at the time that he was "giving [his] fans what they have been asking for".[4]
Reception
Reviewing for Disc, Don Nicholl wrote that "Nine Times Out of Ten" "doesn't quite measure up to some of his previous work", blaming the timing of its release. He described it as a "very fast rocker written in the Presley idiom and it seems to be somewhat dated to me". Nicholl also wrote that "Thinking of Our Love" is a "quieter number" with "considerable charm in the gentle melody".[4]
