Christmas is coming, and with it, the music of Sir Cliff Richard.
The singer, 86, whose three Christmas No.1 singles include Mistletoe and Wine, is adding to his oeuvre by releasing an album of cover versions of his favourite number-one songs by other artists.
Sir Cliff, who was born in India to British parents and now has homes in Barbados and New York, speaks exclusively to hello! as he launches his album Only Number Ones, which features renditions of Norman Greenbaum's Spirit in the Sky, The Monkees' I'm a Believer and Bing Crosby's White Christmas.
Here, he reflects on a seven-decade career that has made him the third top-selling artist in the history of the UK Singles Chart, behind The Beatles and his hero, Elvis Presley.
Cliff, tell us about your new album, Only Number Ones…
“The record company initially suggested a different project for my next album. I didn’t feel that it was really ‘my’ music, so as an alternative, I suggested an album of tracks by stars who made it to No.1 in the UK. Fortunately for me, they agreed.”
One of the songs is Harry Styles's Sign of the Times. Have the two of you met, and would you duet with him?
“No, Harry and I have never met. The reason why S...