Sir Cliff Richard limits tour dates due to ‘strain’ of touring

Sir Cliff Richard doesn’t do long tours because of the “strain” on his vocal cords.

The 82-year-old music legend will embark on ‘The Blue Sapphire Tour’ next November, eight shows kicking off with a mini-residency at the London Eventim Apollo between November 6 and 12.

He said: “It’s not a very long tour. The heavy touring is a real strain, particularly on the vocal cords. You wake up in the morning hoping your voice will be OK for tonight so that’s a stressful thing, so I’m only doing about eight concerts next year and it’ll be fun. I like it and it’s nice to be in front of the public. It’s a mutual love.

“You’ve got to be a bit dignified when you’re 82.”

Cliff would never want to “retire” from music because he wouldn’t want to make a “comeback” if he decided to make a U-turn.

He explained: “Stop is a good word. I might stop one day. I don’t want to retire. Once you’ve retired you feel you’ve got to stay away and if you do want to do something it’s called a comeback. And every time I hear somebody has done a comeback I’m thinking they’ve run out of money.

“Recording is so much fun, if I could record every day of my life I would. It’s always a challenge because every time you do an album, there is something different about it.”

The ‘Devil Woman’ hitmaker has, today (25.11.22), released his first festive album in almost 20 years, and he was thrilled to record it at the same studio as his idols the Bee Gees.

He told Ken Bruce on BBC Radio 2 of his latest Yuletide collection ‘Christmas with Cliff’: “It’s a fun album and I hope people like it. Unusually, I used two producers because I wanted to have a dynamic… and they gave it to me. They were fantastic producers – different styles of music but connected because of Christmas.

“The backing tracks were done in LA and I put my voice on in Miami. I found a studio the Bee Gees used to use and I’m a big fan of the Bee Gees so I said, ‘Yeah, lets do it there’.”

The record has been released in the magazine format in a bid to get CDs back in supermarkets.

It comes with the full 13-track CD and a 20-page magazine “dedicated to the album and Cliff’s love of Christmas”, and is eligible in the charts.

Cliff said: “I have had many firsts in my career, but have never had an album released in a magazine format, it’s like Christmas has come early for me. Music means so much to us all and to ensure it is available to all no matter who they are or what age they are is important. This format has enabled me to share my love of Christmas and a few personal memories, so I’m delighted that I can share these with you in such a beautiful way.”