‘Boo the BBC’, Sir Cliff tells fans at his 78th birthday bash
‘Listen, I understand your feelings ... OK, let’s have another boo, then, to get it out of your system’
SIR CLIFF RICHARD has encouraged fans to boo the BBC at a Royal Albert Hall concert to mark his 78th birthday.
When the singer mentioned on stage that his new single had been chosen by the BBC in conjunction with his record company, the audience in London vented their anger at the corporation.
At first, Sir Cliff appeared taken aback and defended BBC staff, saying: “Listen, I understand your feelings.
“I have felt it many times myself. But I was only dealing with the top echelons of the BBC. The real BBC, the sound engineers, DJS and producers, have been nothing but kind to me.” However, when the audience still appeared angry, he said: “OK, let’s have another boo, then, to get it out of your system,” and they duly obliged.
Veteran entertainer Sir Cliff won a privacy case against the BBC after it televised a police raid on his home in 2014 in connection with unfounded allegations of sexual assault dating back more than 30 years.
Giving evidence in the High Court earlier this year, he described how seeing the footage had devastated him. “It was shocking and upsetting. My health suffered, both mentally and physically,” he said.
“I felt as though everything I had worked for during my life – trying to live as honestly as I could – was being torn apart. I felt forever tainted. I still do.”
Despite his ordeal, Sir Cliff has agreed to perform a concert at the BBC Radio Theatre next month, to be broadcast live on Radio 2.
He said he chose a single called Rise Up as the title track of his new album because “after the bad period I went through in my life, I’ve managed to rise up out of what seemed like a quagmire.”