Sir Cliff Richard’s recording career can be summed up as a staggering array of statistics that perfectly reflect his 57 years in showbusiness.

Since debut album Cliff in April 1959, he has released 46 studio albums, seven soundtracks, 35 compilations and 11 live albums.

Sir Cliff Richard in 1982
Sir Cliff Richard in 1982 (PA)

Sir Cliff is the only act to have had a number one single in the UK in five consecutive decades.

What’s more, alongside Elvis Presley, he holds the record for featuring in each of the first six decades of the UK Singles Chart (1950s-2000s).

Here we take a decade-by-decade look at some of the hits that have made him a record-breaker.

1950s

Song: Move It

Year: 1958

UK Singles Chart placing: Number two

Trivia: Called by Sir Cliff “my one outstanding rock and roll classic”, Move It has been described as the first authentic rock and roll record by a British artist.

1960s

Song: The Young Ones

Year: 1962

UK Singles Chart placing: Number one

Trivia: The title song to the 1961 film of the same name, The Young Ones spent six weeks as a chart-topper. In the 1980s, the song was appropriated as the theme to anarchic BBC Two comedy The Young Ones starring the late Rik Mayall, Adrian Edmondson, Nigel Planer and Christopher Ryan.

1970s

Song: We Don’t Talk Anymore

Year: 1979

UK Singles Chart placing: Number one

Trivia: At four million sales, this is Sir Cliff’s biggest selling hit worldwide. A music giant in the UK, he never made a major impact in the US.

1980s

Song: Mistletoe And Wine

Year: 1988

UK Singles Chart Placing: Number one.

Trivia: A Christmas number one, Mistletoe And Wine was the biggest selling hit of the year. It is also Sir Cliff’s only chart-topper of the decade.

1990s

Song: The Millennium Prayer

Year: 1999

UK Singles Chart Placing: Number one

Trivia: This song combined The Lord’s Prayer with the tune of Auld Lang Syne and smashed the chart despite very little airplay from radio stations. EMI, which had been Sir Cliff’s record label for 40 years, refused to release it so he took it to an independent label.

2000s

Song: 21st Century Christmas

Year: 2006

UK Singles Chart Placing: Number two

Trivia: Sir Cliff just missed out on breaking another record thanks to Simon Cowell. Leona Lewis, the winner of ITV talent show The X Factor, kept him off the top spot with her single A Moment Like This.

2010s

Song: I Still Believe In You

Year: 2014

UK Singles Chart Placing: Number 57

Trivia: A re-entry in 2014, I Still Believe In You reached number seven when it was originally released in 1992.