Live screening is a gift in Cliff's diamond year

He's one of the nation's musical treasures, and this weekend Sir Cliff Richard will mark his 60th anniversary in showbiz with a special cinema broadcast of a live show.
Sir Cliff Richard celebrates 60 years on stage.
Picture: Michelle KloboucnikSir Cliff Richard celebrates 60 years on stage.
Picture: Michelle Kloboucnik
Sir Cliff Richard celebrates 60 years on stage. Picture: Michelle Kloboucnik

The singing star is currently on his 60th Anniversary Tour, and Friday’s show will be beamed to cinemas across the country - live from Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall, with a repeat screening on Sunday, his 78th birthday.

Fans on the Fylde will be able to catch the show at Odeon Blackpool and Vue Cleveleys, as Sir Cliff celebrates his 103rd album release, a record-breaking 123 single hits and the equivalent of 20 years spent in the UK charts.

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Ahead of the event, Sir Cliff answered some questions about his career.

This tour marks your 60th anniversary – how has your live performance changed over the years?

In my first concerts I had no catalogue of my own and so I sang songs recorded by my contemporaries of that time. Now I am lucky to have a massive catalogue, and everything changes when you have hits of your own!

123 singles to date is a staggering achievement, but which is your favourite to perform?

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Miss You Night, Devil Women, Ocean Deep, and We Don’t Talk Anymore are among my favourites. All the number ones are great to sing knowing that they are now wrapped up in people’s memories. There are songs on my new CD that I can’t wait to sing live; I am a very lucky guy!

The encore screening is on your birthday; what’s your biggest wish for your 78th year?

I wish for another year of the good health God has provided me with and, as always, I hope I don’t disappoint my fans in any way and that this tour will bring pleasure, fun, and a little bit of something new into their lives.

What were the reasons for doing the cinema event this year? Could you have imagined that when you first started out that technology will make this possible?

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Presenting my concert in a ‘cinema’ format is something that in those early years was an impossibility. Way back, to be seen in a cinema meant we had to perform live in a cinema, so this screening is going to be a great thrill for me and my band.

What are your favourite memories from 60 years in the music industry?

It is still exciting to remember those 14 No 1s, those 34 top four records and all the top 20 entries I had. I find it hard to think that it actually happened to me.

What can fans expect from your new album in November?

In the last 15 years I have not recorded any brand new songs, so the fans will probably not be expecting them.

This CD however, is full of them. I feel I have been ‘reborn’, in that this album takes me back to where I started.