Sir Cliff Richard has been left distraught by the death of his “soulmate” Olivia Newton-John.
The singer’s friend, DJ Mike Read, said yesterday he had been in contact with the pop star after the news broke she had passed away, aged 73.
Mike said: “I got an email from Cliff last night and he’s devastated.”
Cliff and Olivia share one of the closest friendships in showbusiness spanning more than half a century.
He helped launch her career in the 1970s, and Cliff once admitted that he was even in love with her.
A pal said: “Olivia counted Cliff as one of her closest friends. He was always there for her, no matter what. It’s little wonder it’s hit him so hard. They were soulmates.”
Sir Cliff has yet to comment publicly on the death of his friend, who he met in 1971 when he was hosting his own TV variety show, and she was invited to become a regular guest singer.
He said: “We hit it off straightaway. She was the sort of soulmate that you meet and you know is a friend for life.”
Olivia later went on tour as one of his backing singers, and she became engaged to his Shadows bandmate Bruce Welch before she ended things.
Cliff later admitted he fell for her. “When I and many of us were in love with Olivia she was engaged to someone else,” he said. “I’m afraid I lost the chance.”
He admitted: “I don’t know anybody who knew her who didn’t actually fall in love with her at some point.” Nonetheless speculation persisted that they may have been romantically involved, which Cliff always denied.
“The papers began to speculate that we might be an item,” he said. “But we were as close as it’s possible for two just-good-friends to be.”
He once confessed: “I always find now we are not embarrassed to look at each other while we sing. We are not embarrassed to touch each other while we sing and there is a chemistry.”
Her big break came on his TV series It’s Cliff Richard where she sang a cover of Bob Dylan’s 1970 If Not for You. He once said: “The camera loved her, the viewers loved her, everybody loved her.”
She also appeared in the musical Get Away With Cliff, in which the pair pretended to be married to the tune of Beatles classic When I’m 64. They also sang the duet Suddenly for her 1980 musical film fantasy Xanadu.
Their friendship has endured for decades. In 2018, the pair both posted pictures of them locked in an embrace.
Olivia wrote: “Caught up with my dear wonderful friend Sir Cliff Richard. My inspiration as a young performer in England. Brilliant singer and entertainer – gorgeous voice.”
She stuck by his side throughout his high-profile police investigation, and joined him on stage at the Royal Albert Hall in 2015 to mark his 75th birthday.
She brought out a cake, led the crowd with a chorus of Happy Birthday and gave him the warmest of hugs.
Yesterday tributes to Olivia continued to pour in, including from ABBA.
She came fourth in the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest, when the Swedish band triumphed with Waterloo.
Anni-Frid Lyngstad, known as Frida, 76, said: “What do you feel, what do you say when the nicest, kindest and most loving woman leaves us to travel somewhere else? The heart aches to know Olivia’s brave fight against an, in her case, invincible enemy [of cancer].
“That she never gave up or complained about her situation, but instead told us her story so that we would understand and want to help others affected.”
Tributes also came from Hollywood actress Jane Seymour, 71. Former Bond girl Seymour met her in 1976 after moving to Los Angeles from the UK.
Recalling their final meeting, Seymour said: “The last time... she didn’t know I was coming. She got the day wrong.
“Somehow she got in some sort of clothes and came out and she just kept looking around and she said, ‘Look at those hummingbirds, look at the sky, look at nature. Isn’t it beautiful?’
“That’s who she was. She just grabbed every moment.”
Sir Elton John, 75, praised her as a “beautiful voice and a warm and loving friend”. Fellow Australian Kylie Minogue, 54, said she has “loved and looked up to” Dame Olivia since she was 10.
Australian actress Nicole Kidman,55, said: “Livvie brought the most divine light into the world.”
And singer Mariah Carey, 53, recalled the time she dressed up as “Bad Sandy” as a 5th grader before a live duet in 1998. “We sang our hearts out together to Hopelessly Devoted to You,” she wrote. “This is a moment I’ll never ever forget.”
Australia-based TV presenter Richard Wilkins, a close friend of Olivia, said he had spoken to her Grease co-star John Travolta. He revealed to GMB: “He is too raw to talk.”
It comes after Travolta paid tribute shortly after news of her death was announced on Monday.
He wrote: “My dearest Olivia, you made all of our lives so much better. Your impact was incredible.
“I love you so much. We will see you down the road and we will all be together again.”
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