When he made the purchase it was announced that several rooms in the Arora International Hotel would be Cliff-themed. He notably sang Congratulations, a song that's become wildly famous as it's associated with birthdays and special occasions - although it's actually about falling in love. The Living Doll singer is listed as donating money to eight charities, but with his enormous wealth and good nature it is likely he has donated to many more. Cliff Richard - why did he change his name?
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When asked in the late s, he said: "It's untrue. People are very unfair with their criticism and their judgements. I've had girlfriends. But people seem to think that if a bloke doesn't sleep around he must be gay. Marriage is a very special thing to me. I'm certainly not going to do it just to make other people feel satisfied. Richard was involved in a campaign to extend copyright on sound recordings in the UK from 50 to 95 years, and extend the number of years on which a musician can receive royalties.
The campaign was initially unsuccessful and the UK copyright on many of Richard's early recordings expired in In , following another campaign, copyright on sound recordings was extended to 70 years after first publication to the public for works still in copyright at that point. This means Richard's recordings between and are out of copyright in the UK, but those from will be in copyright until In his autobiography, Richard wrote that his views on certain issues are less judgemental than when he was younger.
He called on the Church of England to affirm people's commitment in same-sex marriage. He wrote: "In the end, I believe, people are going to be judged for what they are.
It seems to me that commitment is the issue, and if anyone comes to me and says: 'This is my partner — we are committed to each other,' then I don't care what their sexuality is. I'm not going to judge — I'll leave that to God. Another compilation album, Love The Album was released on 12 November Richard has openly complained about the lack of commercial support he receives from radio stations and record labels.
He spoke about this on The Alan Titchmarsh Show on ITV in December , pointing out that while new bands needed airplay for promotion and sales, long-established artists such as himself also relied upon airplay for the same reasons.
He also noted that s radio stations did play his records and that this went some way to help sales and maintain his media presence.
I'm in a Rock 'n' Roll Band! In , Richard received a Portuguese Order in which he was appointed Commander of the Order of Prince Henry ComIH , this in recognition of his 40 years of personal and business involvement in that country. Richard finished No. Richard went to Nashville, Tennessee for his next album project in , employing a writers' conclave to give him the pick of all new songs for the album Something's Goin' On.
The Shadows had decided to re-form for another tour of the UK. It was not to be their last tour together though, as they would re-form once again for a final tour five years later in In an interview with David Frost in , Richard said that his many good friends have prevented him from feeling lonely and he has always got someone he can talk to.
Richard has been a family friend of the Northern Irish broadcaster Gloria Hunniford for over 40 years. When Hunniford's daughter Caron Keating was diagnosed with breast cancer and chose to keep her illness private from the public, Richard was among a small close circle of friends who knew of Keating's condition. Richard's next album, in , was a covers project, Wanted, followed by another top ten album, Cliff at Christmas. The holiday album contained both new and older recordings, including the single "Santa's List", which reached No.
In , Richard said: "John now spends most of his time looking after my properties, which means I don't have to. John and I have over time struck up a close friendship. He has also become a companion, which is great because I don't like living alone, even now. In , controversy again arose regarding radio stations refusing to play his releases when EMI, Richard's label since , refused to release his song, "The Millennium Prayer", having judged that the song did not have commercial potential.
Richard took it to an independent label, Papillon, which released the charity recording in aid of Children's Promise. The single went on to top the UK chart for three weeks, becoming his fourteenth No.
Richard said that his faith in God was tested in after the murder of his close friend, the British television presenter Jill Dando. He said: "I was really angry with God. It shook me rigid that someone as beautiful, talented and harmless could have been killed. He said of Dando's murder: "It is very difficult to understand and I find it all very confusing.
In , Chris Evans, the then breakfast show host on Virgin Radio, vowed he would never again play a record by Richard, stating that he was "too old". In June , British disc jockey Tony Blackburn was suspended from his radio job at Classic Gold Digital for playing records by Richard against station policy. The head of programmes, Paul Baker , sent an e-mail to Blackburn stating that Richard "doesn't match our brand values.
He's not on the playlist, and you must stop playing him. Classic Gold managing director John Baish later confirmed Blackburn's suspension from the show.
In , he led the Wimbledon Centre Court crowd in singing during a rain delay when asked by Wimbledon officials to entertain the crowd. On 17 June , Richard was appointed a Knight Bachelor invested on 25 October , becoming the first rock star to be so honoured.
When asked in if he had ever considered the possibility that he might be gay, he responded: "No. All that counts is what your family and friends know and they all trust and respect me. What the people outside think, I have no control over.
Simply titled The Album, it debuted at No. In , the compilation The Hit List was released, meanwhile in the background, Richard was concentrating on bringing the musical Heathcliff to the stage. Richard has also supported numerous UK charities over many years through the Cliff Richard Charitable Trust, both through donations and by making personal visits to schools, churches, hospitals and homes for special needs children. Richard's passion for tennis, which was encouraged by his former girlfriend Sue Barker , also led him in to establish the Cliff Richard Tennis Foundation.
The charity has encouraged thousands of primary schools in the UK to introduce the sport, with over , children taking part in the tennis sessions which tour the country. The Foundation has since become part of the charitable wing of the Lawn Tennis Association.
Later in , a live album titled From a Distance: The Event was released. It compiled highlights of the previous year's "The Event" show, and provided two live tracks as singles, "Silhouettes" UK No.
The album itself reached No. In , Richard demonstrated that radio stations were refusing to play his music when he released a dance remix of his forthcoming single "Can't Keep This Feeling In" on a white label using the alias Blacknight. The single was featured on playlists until the true artist was revealed. Richard then released the single under his own name as the lead single for his album Real as I Wanna Be, with each reaching No. In May , Richard released his th single, "The Best of Me", becoming the first British artist to achieve the feat.
The single peaked at No. It was also the lead single from the UK top ten album Stronger. In June, he filled London's Wembley Stadium for two nights with a spectacular titled "The Event" in front of a combined audience of , people. Richard concluded his thirtieth year in music by achieving a UK Christmas No.
It was the best-selling UK single of , shifting , copies. The album was certified quadruple platinum, becoming Richard's first to be certified multi-platinum by the BPI since it introduced multi-platinum awards in February In , Richard's nephew Philip Harrison spent the first four months of his life in a children's hospital suffering from serious breathing problems.
Richard later helped to raise money for the hospital in east London and said that his nephew "had a terrible time but the hospital saved his life. In , Richard reached No. Along with the song, the recording contained comedy dialogue between Richard and the Young Ones. That same year Richard opened in the West End as a rock musician called upon to defend Earth in a trial set in the Andromeda Galaxy in the multi-media Dave Clark musical Time. In August , Richard was involved in a five-car crash in torrential rain on the M4 motorway in West London.
Richard's car was a write-off as another car swerved and braked hard. Richard hurt his back in the accident but was not seriously injured.
Police called for a cab from the accident scene so that he was able to perform that night in the "Time" musical. After the show, Richard said: "I'm lucky to be here". He said that his seatbelt had prevented him from flying through the windscreen. In , after Richard's romance with Barker had ended and she began dating tennis player Stephen Shaw , Richard said that he was still a friend of Barker.
He said: "We have a mutual respect for each other and that means a lot to me. Richard first met Barker in , when she was aged Their romance attracted considerable media attention after Richard flew to Denmark to watch her play in a tennis match and they were later photographed cuddling and holding hands at Wimbledon.
In an interview in February , Richard spoke of the possibility of marriage with her. He said: "I'm seeing Sue, the only girl I want to see at the moment and if marriage comes on the horizon, I shall relish it. He said: "It's not vital to get married and it's not vital to be a father. But I would like to settle down and have a family one day.
Although he has never married, Richard has rarely lived alone. For many years he shared his main home with his charity and promotion schedules manager, Bill Latham , and Latham's mother. In , Richard described them as his "second family". Latham's girlfriend, Jill, also lived at the house in Weybridge, Surrey, with them for a time.
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