He enrolled at Worcester Teacher Training College and subsequently taught at North Bromsgrove High School teaching English and Drama. One of his pupils was the future wife of Sting, Trudie Styler, and another was Underworld singer Karl Hyde. The children heard singing on Ward's early albums were from North Bromsgrove High School. In his spare time, he continued songwriting and recorded his first solo album Singer Songwriter, released in 1972 on Dandelion Records (a label formed by the disc jockey John Peel) just before it went into liquidation. As a result, the album received little media coverage and went largely unnoticed. Signing a new recording contract with Charisma Records, Ward went on to have a hit with the single "Gaye". It sold over a million copies worldwide and reached number 8 in the UK Singles Chart in July 1973. In July 1973, following the success of "Gaye", Ward's second album Home Thoughts achieved healthy sales and reached number 40 in the UK Albums Chart. At this point, he gave up the teaching profession to concentrate on music full-time. He made a rare public appearance in July, performing "Gaye" on Top of the Pops. According to Allmusic, the song "Wherewithal" from the Home Thoughts album is "infectious and lyrically excellent" and it was surprising that it failed to chart. In January 1974, Ward entered the UK singles chart again at number 37 with "Scullery", a track from his third album Mantle Pieces. Subsequent singles including "No More Rock 'n' Roll", "Jigsaw Girl", "Ocean of Love" and "I Got Lost Tonight" (written by the US singer-songwriter Tim Moore, one of the very rare occasions when he recorded outside material) were given airtime by BBC Radio presenters, but Ward never made it into the UK singles chart again. In the late 1970s, Justin de Villeneuve became his manager. It was said that he would have had more commercial success were it not for his dislike of touring, public appearances, interviews and photo shoots. Ward's manager in the early 1970s, Clive Selwood, said that Ward's lack of touring contributed to his limited commercial success, stating: "Clifford should have been a major, major star – he had hits, but he simply wouldn't perform publicly." "The Best is Yet to Come", from the album Both of Us, enjoyed success when covered by Justin Hayward, and his songs have been recorded by Cliff Richard, Jack Jones, Art