Fans of legendary British rocker Sir Cliff Richard - known for his appearance at Billy Graham rallies after his conversion experience - have been warned about imposters pretending to be the world famous pop star as he plans to visit Oceania later this year, 2025.
Richard, still going strong despite turning 85 on Oct. 14, is looking to visit Australia, New Zealand and then back to the UK for his “Can’t Stop Me Now Tour” in November and December.
However, his website team warned people about fraudsters known to contact fans and masquerading as the veteran singer, who has sold more than 21 million singles in the UK since the 1950s.
“It has come to our attention that there are people from time to time purporting to be Sir Cliff on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook who have befriended fans and in some cases then tried to trick them into handing over money,” said the website post.
“PLEASE NOTE [sic], Cliff has never had a Twitter account and does not Tweet or use Instagram. Any account on Twitter or Instagram using his name is not official, is not related to Cliff and are not Cliff’s thoughts.”
The warning carried an additional pointer to “be very careful using social media.”
“The only official online accounts are the www.cliffrichard.org website and https://www.facebook.com/sircliffrichard/. Sir Cliff would never contact fans personally via social media,” added the post.
Richard, known for hits such as “Living Doll,” “Some People,” and “Summer Holiday,” and the former frontman for The Shadows rock group, has vocalised his faith in Jesus at different times in his career.
The late evangelist Billy Graham invited Richard to speak at rallies with him on more than one occasion. In a tribute after Graham died in February 2018, Richard called the American minister the “most honorable and honest of men.”
“His faith was obvious and I found him inspiring to be with. His rallies were always moving and enlightening and he presented a ‘hope’ to many who didn’t know that one existed,” said Richard.
“Monarchs, presidents and prime ministers admired him. We have lost someone special and we will greatly miss a unique human being.”
Last December (2024), Richard looked back at those years when he accompanied Graham at evangelistic rallies, during a televised interview for National Health Service (NHS) Mildmay Hospital, entitled, “A Conversation of Faith and Legacy: Sir Cliff Richard OBE and Canon Roger Royle.”
Richard recalled feeling “terrified” when Graham first invited him to a rally, just two weeks after the pop star went to bed one night and spoke to Jesus for the first time. He knew of the Bible verse where Jesus says he stands at the door and knocks (Revelation 3:20).
“I laid in bed and I didn’t pray in those days but I said, ‘Okay, I know what I believe now. I will trust in you if you will stand beside me. I want to take the step. I am opening the door.”
Graham read about Richard’s conversion and contacted him for the rally. In the interview, Richard defended Graham against critics who said the rallies were over emotional.
“He did not emotionalise. He just said, ‘look if anything I have said is interesting please come and speak to the people [ministry team] at the front to ask questions.’ I was very impressed by him.”
