Biography
Max Clifford has been in the business of public relations business protecting and promoting a wide variety of clients for well over 40 years. He has become as instantly recognisable as many of the stars he has represented over the years. His views and comments are sought on a daily basis for the world’s media on a wide range of subjects and he is a regularly appears on TV and radio as a guest on current affairs, news, documentaries and chat shows.
Also during the last 20 years he has become increasingly involved with many of the major front page stories in the British media. He now regularly breaks stories and stops stories in between orchestrating PR campaigns for a multitude of clients from all over the world and is also patron of two children’s charities and helps fundraise and supports many others. Often poacher and gamekeeper at the same time, he has helped save many a famous career from media damage and destruction. Increasingly, during the last decade, he is approached by members of the public who seek out his help to get justice and awareness often when all other means have failed.
In 1970 Max Clifford created MCA his public relations company that has never to this day had to pitch for business, something that is probably unique for the public relations industry. Max’s philosophy is simple: “We don’t waste time talking about what we can achieve; we much prefer spending our time and energy achieving it. Like lots of things in life I’d rather do it than just talk about it”.
Well respected by the media, Piers Morgan, former Editor of the Mirror and TV pundit said: “I have a great deal of respect for Max Clifford, I can tell you that if I was in trouble he’d be the first person I’d call”.
Max says of his business: “The public relations side of my business is basically to set out and to create the best possible image for the many and diverse clients MCA represents. It’s interesting, stimulating, challenging and ever changing, and it’s infinitely preferable to having to work for a living”.
Background
Maxwell Frank Clifford was born in April 1943, Kingston Hospital, Surrey. He is the youngest of four children by his father, Frank, an electrical engineer and his mother, Lillian, a full time housewife. The Clifford siblings were raised in South Wimbledon, London. When Max left his local secondary modern school at fifteen years of age, he had nothing but his Honours Degree in street-raking.
His first job, in a very old fashioned local departmental store, was totally unsuitable for someone with his temperament and attitude to authority and he soon became bored to distraction. Not surprisingly it was only a matter of time before he was sacked.
Max has always been an avid sportsman. He played football and water-polo and boxed in his youth but now prefers two swim and play tennis. It was through the sport that he was offered a job as a junior sports reporter on the Merton and Morden News.
Next stop was EMI Records press office in 1962, where practically his first assignment was to promote an unknown band from Liverpool called the Beatles. The rest is history….