SIR Cliff Richard springs a surprise on the former Taunton composer of his classic 'Miss You Nights' hit on local radio shortly.

In 'The Writer of the Song: Dave Townsend -- Miss You Nights', Dave tells how he wrote the award-winning song in the mid-'70s when he was living in the Taunton area.

But what Dave Townsend didn't know when he recorded the show at Bridgwater's new community radio -- BCRfm 107.4 -- was that programme producer Mike Guy had taped a surprise interview with Cliff Richard beforehand.

In the interview Cliff said: "'Miss You Nights' has played a major role in my performances ever since 1975 when we released it. It's classic stuff and has advanced the understanding of pop-rock. It has also played a major role in the way pop-rock is seen as an art form.

"I feel really privileged to have been given a chance to sing what I consider a classic pop ballad. It has meant a great deal to me."

This month's Record Collector magazine cites 'Miss You Nights' as key to Cliff reclaiming credibility following the Eurodross of 'Congratulations'. 'Miss You Nights', said Record Collector, saw Cliff edge perilously close to cooldom for the first time since the late 50s.

Dave Townsend said after recording the BCRfm programme: "It's clear the song still means a great deal to a lot of people."

The song also has special significance for the programme's producer and presenter, Mike Guy, a former reporter on the County Gazette's sister paper, the Bridgwater Mercury.

Mike, who compiled a weekly music column in the Bridgwater Mercury during the '70s, actually heard the song well before Cliff recorded it.

"Dave had fronted Taunton band Phoenix Press before going solo," said Mike. "He invited me round one evening to hear some new songs he had written and recorded. They were just demos and the third one was 'Miss You Nights'. I only had to hear it once to know it was a winner.

"Some time later I was driving with the car radio tuned to Radio 1 when the DJ introduced the new single by Cliff Richard. As soon as it started I knew it was Dave's song."

Mike went on to thank the County Gazette for helping to track down Dave Townsend and making the programme possible.

He said: "I decided to appeal for information through the Gazette and within just a few hours of it hitting the streets I was e-mailed by a reader with the number of one of Dave's sisters." Mike was then put in touch with Dave, who now lives in the London area.

In the programme listeners will hear three versions of 'Miss You Nights' -- Dave's original demo, his album demo and Cliff's hit.

What's missing, though, is the identity of the muse ... the miss the musician missed so much he penned 'Miss You Nights'?

But the Gazette can reveal it was Miss Sally Lewis of Milverton ... now mother-of-two Mrs Sally Perrin of North Curry.

Sally (inset) said: "I was 17 and I had been going out with Dave for about three or four months when I went on holiday with a friend to Majorca for a couple of weeks.

"When I got back Dave came over to Milverton to see me. He sat at the kitchen table saying how much he'd missed me and that he'd written a song for me. Then he gave me a piece of paper on which he'd written the lyrics.

"We parted not long after and then I remember getting a call from Bruce Welch's secretary asking if I could read the song over the phone because Cliff was going to do it and they wanted to make sure they'd got the lyrics exactly right.

"A bit later on Dave and I got back together again, and in 1977 I accompanied him to the Ivor Novello awards when he was presented with his award for writing the song. I've still got the green velvet dress and knee-length boots I wore to the ceremony ... but I'm not sure where the hand-written lyrics are. They may have got lost in a house-move."

'THE Writer of the Song: Dave Townsend -- Miss You Nights' will be broadcast on BCRfm on Sunday, September 30, from 2-3pm. Don't miss.