Sir Cliff Richard, the Peter Pan of Pop, is one of the few artists to have had hits across eight decades and this year marks 65 Years of Making Music.
Sir Cliff, who has had 14 hits in his time is celebrating with his new Blue Sapphire Tour, featuring some of the biggest hits from his career.
And for those who want to enjoy the music but cannot make the shows, a special cinema version is to be screened at the end of the month – for one weekend only.
Sir Cliff Richard has announced the release of an orchestral album in celebration of his 65th year in the music industry.
Cliff With Strings – My Kinda Life comprises seven decades worth of hits including the songs Living Doll, We Don’t Talk Anymore, Summer Holiday and Suddenly, with the late Newton-John.
Discussing the album, Sir Cliff Richards, 82, said that after 65 years in the business, it was really an emotional journey to listen back to some of his original vocals and hear just how young he was, and how his style changed over the years.
He said that the tracks meant a lot to him and that they were so refreshed with the orchestral arrangements and that the most emotional track on the album for him was Suddenly with his dear friend, Olivia Newton-John.
He said they recorded this version together live for his 75th birthday in 2015 and how well their voices sounded together, and the crystal gentility that Olivia always managed to exude.
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Newton-John, who was known for playing Sandy in the 1978 film Grease, and had an extensive career in music died last year aged 73.
Sir Cliff’s new album is a compilation of his favourite tracks and biggest hits, with orchestral arrangements from composer Chris Walden.
The collection includes the 1999 recording from Sir Cliff Richard’s performance of Everything I Do (I Do It For You) at his Countdown Concert celebrating the millennium.
Cliff With Strings – My Kinda Life will be available on CD and digitally on East West Records from 3rd November, with the vinyl release set for 24th November.
Sir Cliff Richard who was born Harry Rodger Webb on 14th October 1940) is a British singer and actor with total sales of over 21.5 million singles in the United Kingdom and is the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart history, behind Elvis Presley and the Beatles.
Richard was originally marketed as a rebellious rock and roll singer in the style of Elvis Presley and Little Richard. He dominated the British popular music scene in the pre-Beatles period of the late 1950s to early 1960s with his backing group, the Shadows. His 1958 hit single “Move It” is often described as Britain’s first authentic rock and roll song. In the early 1960s, he had a successful screen career with films including The Young Ones, Summer Holiday and Wonderful Life and his own television show at the BBC.
Over 130 of his singles, EPs and albums have reached the UK Top 20, more than any other artist. Sir Cliff Richard has had 67 UK top ten singles, the second highest total for an artist (behind Presley) and holds the record, with Presley, as the only act to make the UK singles charts in its first six decades (1950s–2000s). He has achieved 14 UK No. 1 singles, and is the only singer in each of five consecutive decades, to have had a No. 1 single in the UK. He also had four UK Christmas No. 1 singles, two of which were as a solo artist; “Saviour’s Day” and “Mistletoe and Wine“.
Richard has sold over 250 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time.
