Sir Cliff Richard says he is taking a break from music but has no plans on hanging up his microphone for good.
The music legend, 81, says he loves having the option to pick and choose if and when he plays gigs now, almost 65 years since first hitting the big time.
“I don’t know if I ever want to retire. I don’t mind stopping,” he said.
“Stopping would mean that I could absolutely change my mind any time I wanted to, or phone my office and say, ‘Can you get us a couple of nights at the Royal Albert Hall?’
“So, retiring is not in my vocabulary, but stopping is good for me – I can work whenever I want to, if I want to.”
Cliff has recorded more than 50 studio and live albums throughout his career, setting a new benchmark for popularity, and becoming a Sir in 1995.
He said: “There are two achievements – both of them I couldn’t have expected. The first is receiving the knighthood from the Queen. It wasn’t on my radar.
“Those titles were given to businessmen, politicians, actors. But a rock and roll singer? Nah,
it couldn’t happen.
“The second one is the Official Charts Record of a top five album in eight consecutive decades. Is anyone else going to be able to do that? I’ve just got my fingers crossed that my record is not broken in my lifetime.”
Cliff has duetted with many stars over the years but says one of his most cherished people to work with is his good friend Olivia Newton-John, 73.
And he said he marvels at how she stays so positive despite repeated bouts of cancer.
Cliff said: “She’s always on an ‘up’. She’s one of the most stalwart people I have ever met because she doesn’t like referring to her cancer as a battle.
“She says, ‘I’m just getting rid of something I don’t want’.”
