Sir Cliff Richard has revealed he has a duet version of We’ll Meet Again that he recorded with Dame Vera Lynn stashed away somewhere.
Vera, known as the Forces’ Sweetheart and who died aged 103 on Thursday, made the song an anthem as she kept Britain’s spirits up during the Second World War.
And paying tribute to her talent, pop veteran Cliff recalled sharing a stage with her on VE Day in 1995.
He said: “She was just terrific and I remember when it was all over, we went backstage and met some of the Royal Family.
I said, ‘Vera, do you warm up your voice before you sing?’ ‘Oh,’ she said, ‘darling, no, I don’t have time for that, I just open my throat and it comes out like that’.
“I don’t think I ever saw her actually do a concert but I worked with her and we sung on the same stage. I did record We’ll Meet Again with her but it’s still in the banks, the troughs, somewhere hidden away. We didn’t get to use it yet.”
Speaking to LBC’s Nick Ferrari, Cliff described Dame Vera as “a wonderful, wonderful person and a great individual, like The Queen”.
The 79-year-old added: “A great individual to look up to. I don’t know whether I can speak for everybody in Britain but I think most countries need something they can look towards and aim at, she’s one of those icons.
“Sometimes I feel we throw around things like the word ‘legend’ and ‘icon’ almost too freely. With the passing of Vera, you’re reminded, oh my goodness, you know.
“These people that were the remnants of the folks that survived [the war] were reaching out to her.”
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