Kate Whiting talks to the Peter Pan of Pop as he celebrates half a century in the music industry

WE ALL have a Sir Cliff Richard moment. Whether it was watching him cheering up the Wimbledon crowds in the rain, wrapping up presents along to his Christmas tunes or crooning "We’re all going on a summer holiday" in August, Sir Cliff has always been there.

In fact, he’s been there for the last 50 years – the only UK act to chart in five consecutive decades since his 1958 debut, Move It, shot to No 2.

Last month Cliff reunited for the first time in years with his former backing band, The Shadows, for the 80th anniversary of the Royal Variety Performance and later this year they will all be hitting the road, calling in on Liverpool to play the Echo Arena on October 7, a gig for which tickets are already selling fast.

He’s also celebrating his 50 years in showbiz with the launch of his Time Machine Tour DVD.

The years have been very kind to Cliff, now 68, and, appearing at the Royal Variety Performance, he still looked every bit the pop star as he did when he fist appeared at the age of 20 when it was still known as the Royal Command Performance.

"I still call it the Royal Command – I like the idea of a Royal Command, with The Queen saying ‘you will be there’," says a chuckling Cliff of having a royal family.

Of course, Sir Cliff is no stranger to royalty. He has met Her Majesty on numerous occasions over the years, including, of course, the time she made him a knight at Buckingham Palace.

"I have even met her privately, I got invited once to have lunch at the palace and there were only 12 people," he says.

"She’s far more up-to-date about things than people think. The fact she doesn’t walk through Tesco doesn’t mean she doesn’t know what’s happening. She really does know and she talks about the drug situation and what’s happening in Zimbabwe. She’s very enlightened."

As for Cliff and The Shadows’ royal reunion, the idea came about as part of Cliff’s 50 years in showbiz anniversary celebrations.

"It was obvious that, if The Shadows and I could get together, that would be the icing on the cake because we started together 50 years ago. The other three all live in different areas and do different things, but we finally got together and we can do it," he says.