COULD Sir Cliff Richard ever see himself retiring or calling time on performing?

“I think I’d only ever consider it if my voice was to give up on me,” says the 72-year-old singer, Britain’s most successful recording artist, with 260 million record sales worldwide and more than 60 Top Ten hits in Britain.

This summer, Sir Cliff will be on the road for Midsummer Nights – Still Reelin’ & A’Rockin’, a series of shows supported by the Military Wives Choir. The series begins at Harewood House, near Leeds, on June 1 and takes him to two county cricket grounds, two castles and two more country houses, en route to Hampton Court Palace, London.

“Performing puts a lot of pressure on the vocal cords, so if I ever thought I couldn’t give my fans the show they deserved, I’d stop singing,” he says.

“But there have been many greats who sang until the end, and I would consider myself very lucky if I get to do what they did. I’m still fit and able and I toured Australia in February. In fact, we filmed the concert in Sydney Opera House for a DVD release in November.”

Post-Australia, Sir Cliff is recording an album of rock’n’roll hits before his June tour, for which he has chosen such locations as Warwick Castle and Hampton Court.

“With every show I like to add a little something different to keep it exciting and fresh,” he says.

“Britain is steeped in so much history and many of the places I am performing at are treasure houses of England. It’s an honour to be able to perform at these venues, which add an extra dimension for me and the fans. I’m especially looking forward to performing at Warwick Castle, which I’m told was built by William the Conqueror. Bet he never thought he was creating such a great concert venue.”

Sir Cliff has so many hits from which to choose for his summer set list, but put him on the spot and he “doesn’t necessarily have a favourite”. “I love performing all those classic hits,” he reasons. “It’s the reason my summer concerts will be all the good-time songs from the past six decades.

“If I was pushed, I’d say I’ll always have a soft spot for Summer Holiday. It’s a song that’s survived the decades and really encapsulates a forgotten era of the classic Summer Holiday film. It was wonderful to film, we had so much fun. “But then there was Devil Woman and We Don’t Talk Any More, not to mention Living Doll, Miss You Nights; when you have been given so many wonderful songs to sing it really is hard to pick just one.”

Through those six decades, one piece of early advice has stuck with Sir Cliff. “It was wise and sensible advice from my dad that I remember to this day. ‘If you don’t make it,’ he said, when we were in danger of being carried away by all the initial madness, ‘there’s still a life to be lived’. That was such timely, sound, feet-on-the-ground advice,” says Sir Cliff.

“Just a little later came his other timeless wisdom. ‘If you really want this,’ he said, soon after our success with Move It, ‘then give it your all’. I’ve been doing that ever since.”

Picking out his fondest memory from his career so far, Sir Cliff says: “Without a doubt, receiving a knighthood for services to music and charity. At first when I got the letter I couldn’t believe what it was saying. I think I ended up laughing for a good while out of sheer shock. But then, when I read it again, I realised it was actually happening. And what an honour.

“It gives me that added incentive to keep going for my fans – as I’m sure it was they who lobbied for me – which is why this summer will be a great time to get the dancing shoes back on.”

Sir Cliff is fit and raring to go with his summer shows. “I’m very fortunate to have good health,” he says. “I lead a very active lifestyle and I think that’s the key to being happy within yourself. My faith also keeps me level-headed and able to look at things rationally. So as far as my quality of life goes, I’d say the effort I put in to eating healthily and keeping fit has paid off.”