Supporters sing Congratulations to pop legend as he leaves High Court
LIFELONG fans supported Sir Cliff Richard throughout his High Court battle against the BBC.
Yesterday there were cheers of joy and a rousing rendition of one of the star’s most famous numbers as he won his privacy battle.
Fans sang his 1968 song Congratulations outside court, much to the star’s delight.
As he left court with his legal team Sir Cliff seemed visibly moved as they sang a refrain of the singer’s hit.
He said he was too emotional to talk in detail, adding: “I hope you’ll forgive me.”
The song was one of his 14 UK number one singles in Britain. It was the UK entry in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1968 where it reached second place.
Maria Darling, who runs the Shoulder To Shoulder With Sir Cliff supporters’ group, said she and other fans were elated with the outcome
The 57-year-old, from Hatfield, Hertfordshire, said: “It was the right outcome and, in our eyes, it was the only possible outcome.
“It is for anyone who is wrongly accused, who wouldn’t be able to do what Cliff has done.
“For him to take a stand, knowing how stressful and how hard it was going to be to do what he has done, I think is absolutely fantastic. He is part of what is great in Great Britain.”
Ms Darling set up the group, which now has more than 1,400 members, in the hours following the police raid on the singer’s home in 2014.
Dubbed Britain’s Elvis Presley early in his career, Sir Cliff is the only singer to have topped the UK singles chart in five consecutive decades, from the 1950s to the 1990s.
After hits including Living Doll and Summer Holiday, he was knighted by the Queen in 1995.