Sir Cliff Richard OBE is refreshingly bubbly, lovely and quick to laugh on the phone. He's spent 45 minutes in the gym this morning, played an hour and a half's tennis and says he's "got a fantastically loyal group of fans in New Zealand and can't wait to be here."
How old is he again? Oh, that's right 72 and is that important? Is it slowing him down? Heck, No. There's the Still Reelin' and A-Rockin' Tour South East Asian, Australian and New Zealand tour to prepare for in January and a new iconic rock album to record in April 2013. It will be his 90th. Sir Cliff Richard has had 123 hit singles.
"What's nice about it is that we're touring New Zealand in the summer so we'll go to the beach, play tennis and do the concert as the highlight of the day. When we toured the UK, it was winter and we all had colds and runny noses."
What can his fans expect? It promises to be a hit-packed event with all the old favourites as well as a few of the new ones.
"There's no way I can cut out songs like Wired for Sound, Devil Woman, Living Doll, Summer Holiday," Sir Cliff explains.
Will people sing along? "Everybody knows the middle of a lot of the songs and if they feel free to sing along, I love it."
Why do you think you have been so successful?
"It's hard to be self-analytical but generally speaking, I stuck with what I became known for. I stayed true to rock n' roll. A lot of people when they become successful want to cross over into other areas. For instance, one of my favourite artists Michael Bublé started off in jazz and crossed over into pop. I'm not necessarily better than anyone else. I've just stayed true to what I can do.
"I've had a fantastic career enjoyed every minute of it. I've been incredibly lucky."
How has his career spanned more than five decades? "You just roll with the times."
What attributes have got him to where he is today and what attributes would he like to be known for? "I did a concert once in Belfast in the time of the troubles. I planned to do a gospel concert with my band but the wives were so worried [about their husbands' safety], I went on my own. The next day there was a newspaper headline 'Rock n' Roll and God work really well together in the hands of one who loves them both'. I want that on my tombstone."
"Staying true to both my spiritual and rock n'roll self has been very beneficial to me. Journalists always ask me about my faith. When I became a Christian, people said ‘You could lose your fans', but whatever you do, if you are honest about it, people understand."
You're obviously pretty fit with a lot of energy and you look amazing, do you follow a particular diet and exercise regime and do anything special to look after your skin?
"I was always on diets until about six or seven years ago when I started an 'eating according to your blood type' regime. On top of that, if you are going to be performing in front of people you need to be relatively attractive so I exercise. So today for instance I've spent 45 minutes in the gym and played an hour and half's tennis. "
"Whenever I do television interviews, the make-up girls always suggest something that I go out and buy a gallon of. I try it all," he laughs.
Sir Cliff Richard's ‘Still Reelin' and A-Rockin' concert tickets are now on sale at www.ticketmaster.co.nz or 09 970 9700 for:
Saturday 26 January at Auckland Vector Arena
Monday 28 January at Wellington TSB Bank Arena
Thursday 31 January at Christchurch CBS Canterbury Arena
tisididi - 12 years ago
Sir Cliff and I are of the same age, and when I was working at a holiday camp in England in 1959 he was at the top of the hit parade with “Summer Holiday” – memories are made of this and it would be like a dream come true to see him in the ‘flesh’!