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Sir Cliff slams radio airplay snub

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

The 71-year-old - whose Christmas single Millennium Prayer topped the charts in 1999 despite scant airplay - has been barred from the playlist of new service Absolute Radio 60s.

The station - which launches on November 22 and describes itself as "Home of The Beatles, Stones and Motown" - claimed Sir Cliff's songs were not cool enough to make the cut.

DJ Pete Mitchell said: "His songs don't fit the cool sound of the swinging sixties we're trying to create on our new station.

"We believe timeless acts of the decade that remain relevant today are The Beatles, The Stones, The Doors and The Who, not Sir Cliff."

However, the Summer Holiday singer said: "What they're doing is they're lying to themselves, and more importantly they're lying to the public.

"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."

He added: "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."

The new station is a sister service for Absolute Radio.

Sir Cliff - who is currently promoting his new DVD, Cliff Richard The Soulicious Tour Live At The 02 - revealed that despite the furore surrounding his last festive song, he would be happy to bring out another Christmas track.

Source: music.uk.msn.com
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