During his stop in Malta, platinum pop singer CLIFF RICHARD spoke to Lisa Gwen Baldacchino in an interview with The Times TV Guide.
Decked in a pair of jeans, a skinny-T and a twinkle in his eye, Sir Cliff Richard has a gentle demeanour hardly revealing of his 123 single hits or his pop star status.
Sir Cliff arrived in Malta on May 19, ahead of an exclusive dinner and concert held the following night at the Excelsior hotel.
After the dinner, for which there were only 300 tickets, the 70-year old singer performed some of his all-time favourite hits and was consequently presented with the Palma D'Oro Peace Award of Assisi for his charity work.
"An award of this kind, related more to your lifestyle than your career, is very fulfilling," admitted an ever-humble Sir Cliff, while relaxing on the balcony of his hotel suite only a couple of hours after his arrival in Malta.
His last visit to the island was some 30 years ago, and although he confessed that "I don't remember it being so full of buildings," he was quick to add that "the skyline is beautiful... I'm looking forward to seeing all the lights come on later".
On the subject of awards and titles, Sir Cliff explained "When I received my knighthood in England... I won't say I was embarrassed, but I was a little bit careful, because there are many artistes in Britain who have done wonderful things, and I was the first one to receive the knighthood. But I was happy that it was for my charity work, so then I could look at Paul McCartney, Elton John and everyone and not feel embarrassed to receive it before they did, because it was nothing to do with music."
"But to go anywhere and to receive an award is terrific. The knighthood, the peace award... There's very little we can do to achieve peace on the planet. In a way music goes some of the way, but if you listen to some of the music we are presented with these days it's very aggressive, it's not very peaceful. I've always said to my fans that every single time that we speak of peace, that we think of peace, that we pray for peace, we are one step closer to peace."
Sir Cliff explained how he was currently "in the middle of making an album. This year, I'm working with David Gest. I've already done 11 songs and I'm going back to New York to finish the album [this week]. I'm very happy with it. I've sung with people like Candi Staton, Denise Williams, The Temptations, The Stylistics... It's been a very big project for me and I finish it hopefully in about two weeks' time and of course at the end of the year I will present it in Britain on stage. This is a wonderful opportunity for me. We're doing 10 concerts in Britain. And maybe, next April... I think I may be going to Vegas. That will be fun!
"I sing with Percy Sledge," he proceeds in a quasi whisper which reveals the admiration for the R 'n' B and soul singer. "You know," momentarily breaking into song, "When a Maaaaaan – everybody knows When a Man Loves a Woman. And Denise Williams, everybody knows [again singing] – Let's Hear it for the Boys – but I'm gonna sing with them. So I'm very, very happy and I hope they'll get the excitement from me and buy the tickets..."
In actual fact, Sir Cliff's fans started queuing and camping out for October's Soulicious Tour a week ahead of May 15 – the day tickets went on sale. After 53 years in the music industry, how does this make him feel?
"Our industry is about being loved and about giving yourself to the audience, so when I read that sort of story, I think to myself, wow that has happened almost every time I go on tour. There are groups of fans who will stand outside the box office, sometimes spend two weeks waiting.
"There was one time in the Royal Albert Hall there were 200 fans outside for nearly three weeks and it was January, so I used to send people down to feed them breakfast. But it's a very wonderful feeling to think that after all these years they are still so loyal..."
Sir Cliff has been described as "Britain's all-time greatest hit-maker", as the "ultimate pop star" who can boast as many as 123 single hits, placing him ahead of any other UK band or solo artist. But what were the greatest milestones of his career so far?
"The first big highlight was the first record, titled Move It, in 1958. I will always remember it as being special. In fact, John Lennon said that before Move It, there was nothing. But the first No. 1 was also a moment for me. I had to wait five records before I had a No. 1 and I'll always remember that feeling. I was doing the London Palladium TV show, the Shadows and I were singing, after we finished, the master of ceremonies Bruce Forsyth, came on and said 'ladies and gentlemen, Cliff Richard has sold one million copies and here's the gold disk,' so I remember that with great warmth.
"Then there was The Young Ones, the movie. I made that movie in 1961 I think, and only four years before I was still in school, so they're wonderful moments. My career is full of them. We don't talk anymore, Congratulations... they are all big moments."
Sir Cliff was recently quoted as having expressed the desire to record with Lady Gaga. However, the British performer denied such a statement, saying "No I never said that I wanted to perform with Lady Gaga. When I did the press conference to talk about my Soulicious album, Lady Gaga was mentioned, and well I said we'll never get her hats into the studio. I made a big joke. Of course I'd love to sing with everybody, but I didn't say I want to sing with Lady Gaga, although she is a really good singer".
Talking in general about younger, emerging artistes Sir Cliff felt "sorry for them because they will never have what we had. More than one million, sometimes for one record. It's a different culture, but I think maybe it'll come around again once the internet is policed correctly so that people must pay for what they take. At the moment I'm happy that I started when I started. Because I sold more than probably close to 300 million records in my career. And that's really without America. So I'm very happy with life and I like the fact that I can still make records even though we have to make special projects like the Soulicious album.
"The next album I'd like to do though, if Lady Gaga doesn't mind waiting a bit," he jokes, "is a country album, there's so much good Rock 'n' Roll coming from Country, and it's got beautiful ballads, so I might try and do Country next."