‘You have to plan your sin’: Sir Cliff Richard, 82, reveals the TEN foods he’s cut from his diet as evergreen singer details the key to staying young… 65 years after releasing his debut single
Sir Cliff Richard has revealed the ten food items he cannot eat due to strict dietary requirements as he celebrates 65-years in the music industry.
Despite the inevitability of ever-changing tastes and trends, the veteran star has enjoyed consistent success across every decade since the release of debut single Move It, in 1958.
And Sir Cliff, now 82 and currently promoting the release of his 159th UK single, credits an austere approach to food as a key factor in his longevity.
Opening up: Sir Cliff Richard has spoken to Boom Radio about the ten food items he cannot eat due to strict dietary requirements as he celebrates 65-years in the music industry
Discussing his Christmas diet with Boom Radio, the singer revealed he adheres to a Blood Type diet, an approach that recommends different eating plans depending on what blood type you are.
‘There are 10 things [I can’t have],’ Sir Cliff, who is blood type A, explained. ‘I can’t have dairy or wheat. No red meat. No crustaceans. No mangoes, papayas or bananas. No potatoes, tomatoes. No aubergine.
‘And you know, when you look at a list of foods that exist, giving up 10 of them is not that difficult.’
He added: ‘Tomatoes are probably the thing I miss most because some of the great curries I made with tomato puree. Some of the great pastas have tomatoes in them, but there’s so many different ways of having pasta.
Icon: Despite the inevitability of ever-changing tastes and trends, the veteran star has enjoyed consistent success across every decade since the release of debut single Move It, in 1958
Let’s talk: Sir Cliff, now 82 and currently promoting the release of his 159th UK single, credits an austere approach to food as a key factor in his longevity
‘I have to be careful when I’m choosing Indian food. But you know, I’m allowed to have a treat now and then.
‘But if I’m gonna have a treat, it’ll be a steak about four times a year, that’s all. But I look forward to the day. You have to plan your sin.’
‘So I know when I go back to Florida, I’ve already said to people, they say, where do you wanna go and eat? I said, we wanna go to the Capital Grill. I’m gonna have a steak. I want a steak. And you look forward to it. And you know what, it doesn’t make me sick. I’ll wake up the next day and I just go back to my regime.’
Strict: Discussing his Christmas diet, the singer revealed he adheres to a Blood Type diet, an approach that recommends different eating plans depending on what blood type you are
The singer believes his disciplined diet has helped him maintain his youthful vigour as he promotes new single Heart Of Christmas and its accompanying album, Christmas With Cliff.
He said: ‘I’m doing something right. I also take eight vitamins every day and 10 every other day. I keep saying to people one or two of them are keeping me alive, and I don’t know which ones they are, so I just take them all!’
The new album, released on November 25, is his first in almost two decades, and Sir Cliff admits he didn’t much encouragement to get back in the recording studio.
Appearing on The Chris Evans Breakfast Show with Sky on Monday, he said: ‘The record company requested a Christmas album. “And I thought, ‘well, I haven’t done one for years.” I didn’t realise it was nearly 20 years ago.
Disciplined: Sir Cliff credits his diet with a certain regime of eating a special diet and says he deprives himself of the things he loves to stay in shape
‘Next year is going to be my 65th year.’
Sir Cliff credits his diet with a certain regime of eating a special diet and says he deprives himself of the things he loves to stay in shape.
Clarifying that ‘”it’s not really a diet’, Sir Cliff said: ‘I just eat quite well these days, but I only eat what I’m supposed to eat.’
He said: ‘I have to give up certain things that I loved before, but there are so many vegetables and different things I can eat, that I do.’
Christmas With Cliff marks the legend’s first dedicated Christmas album in 19 years and will be been issued in chart eligible ‘magazine format’, for the first time in his eight decade career.
Featuring the full 13 track CD and a 20-page magazine dedicated to the album and Cliff’s love of Christmas, this unique chart eligible format brings albums back to supermarket shelves for the first time since they phased out CD’s from July 2021.
What a man! Sir Cliff credits his diet with a certain regime of eating a special diet and says he deprives himself of the things he loves to stay in shape, (pictures in the 60s)
Special: Sir Cliff will appear on BBC Two and iPlayer over the festive season for Cliff at Christmas – a one-off show where he’ll perform some of his Christmas classics