Sir Cliff Richard slams new radio station for banning his songs

London: Sir Cliff Richard has blasted a new 1960s-dedicated radio station for banning his songs, and has accused the programme bosses of lying to the public by erasing him from history.

The 71-year-old legendary singer, who was a superstar by the dawn of the Swinging Sixties, has been barred from the playlist of Absolute Radio 60s. The station, which is scheduled to launch on Nov 22 described itself as “Home of The Beatles, Stones and Motown,” and claimed that Richard’s songs were not cool enough to make the cut. “His songs don’t fit the cool sound of the swinging sixties we’re trying to create on our new station,” the Daily Mail quoted presenter Pete Mitchell as saying. “We believe timeless acts of the decade that remain relevant today are The Beatles, The Stones, The Doors and The Who - not Sir Cliff,” he said. The singer then issued a furious riposted. “What they’re doing is they’re lying to themselves, and more importantly they’re lying to the public,” Richard said. “You cannot count me out. I sold more singles in the UK than The Beatles did, and more singles than any other artist on the planet, in Britain. “They can do that if they want to, there’s nothing I can do. “But what they’re forgetting is that The Beatles didn’t start it here - I started five years before the Beatles. “I don’t think that DJs should play only the things they like. “They should play what the public like, and if you’ve got a No1, it means your record is more popular than any other record in the charts, so you deserve airplay. “So, as I say, I don’t expect airplay, but I deserve fair play,” he added. ANI