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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Entertainment
Megan Howe

Cliff Richard, 84, admits 'I could be dead next year' as the music legend shares sad update ahead of new tour

Sir Cliff Richard has revealed he might have to take a step back from touring as he admits that “I might be dead next year”.

The 84-year-old pop icon, who has enjoyed a career spanning seven decades and sold over 250 million records, admitted that it is now “very wearing”.

“The thing I would have to give up probably at some time is touring,” he told Coast Radio, according to The Mirror.

“It's very wearing, and you never know when you wake up in the morning whether your voice is still there.”

When asked if his upcoming Can’t Stop Me Now tour in New Zealand, Australia and the UK could be a farewell tour, Cliff said he did not know.

“I might be dead next year. So I don't even think about it anymore. It’s one of those things. As I get older, maybe I'll become less able to perform, so I can't say,” he said.

Looking back on his performances and famous dance moves, Cliff said “I used to move around a heck of a lot”, noting how he had around eight dancers he would dance with.

While he continues to dance now, Cliff admitted he “does not want to be an 85-year-old guy trying to be 18”.

The Ocean Deep singer said he would keep an open mind about his performances and consider paring them down for comfort.

“I'm going to see when I get to rehearsals, to just say: ‘Let's talk about maybe doing two songs where you come and join me out front. And while we're singing something like “Do You Want To Dance” we do a few steps like that?’,” he said.

Cliff Richard, born Harry Rodger Webb in 1940, adopted his stage name when he helped found The Shadows.

The band shot to fame in 1958 with their No 2 single “Move It” and their fifth record “Living Doll” reached No 1 in the British charts in 1960.

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