‘I wanted To be elvis!’

Sir Cliff reveals what life and showbiz has taught him…

On… growing up

‘We had a fairly good life even though we were poverty-stricken. When Dad died [when Sir Cliff was 21] I suddenly became the breadwinner. mum was very proud and Dad was, too, but he missed the best of things.’

On… heroes

‘I wanted to be elvis. He was a big inspiration for me and for our generation; he kicked it all off. When I was starting out, people thought I was the answer to elvis. They didn’t realise that elvis was not a question!’

On… the early years

‘Having The Shadows [his backing group] with me was immeasurable. When we were young, we could barely believe that we would grow to be 60 let alone have a career of 60 years.’

On… privacy

‘It’s difficult to go somewhere public and not be recognised. I’ve been around so long. I like the word “enigma”. I don’t see why people should know everything about you. you only tell people what you want them to know.’

On… his fans

‘Fortunately, my fans have grown up with me and stuck with me. It means a great deal with what I have been through. I’m incredibly grateful. They have kept me running. I hope I have never let them down at any time.’

On… his new music

‘I haven’t released an original album for 14 years. I thought those days were behind me. But for me, and a number of artists, our age is a plus because we’ve done it before and we still want fame. you can’t kill ambition.’