Cliff Richard calendar falls off the Top 10

SIR Cliff Richard has suffered another blow this year as his traditional portrait calendar has fallen from Top 10 sales’ lists.

Although the calendar has been a guaranteed stocking filler for the singer’s fans over the last three decades, the collection of portraits fell to number 11 on online retailer Amazon’s list of best-selling celebrity calendars for the first time this year, while pop group One Direction maintained the number one spot.

Despite ups and downs in the pop charts, the 74-year-old singer had always found a constant source of success and income in his calendar with more than 1.5 million copies sold over the last 35 years.

Yet last year, Sir Cliff was pushed into second place by hugely popular boy-band One Direction, whose fans broke Richard’s record for calendar sales.

 Amazon’s Darren Hardy said: “Before 2011, no one could get near Cliff Richard at the top of the calendar but One Direction’s unrivalled popularity has seen them shoot to the top of the annual bestsellers’ list.”

Figures from Amazon reveal that Sir Cliff has been outsold so far this year by One Direction, fellow pop group, 5 Seconds of Summer, pop stars Cheryl Cole, Olly Murs, Robbie Williams and Kylie Minogue, Olympic diver Tom Daley, Hollywood star Benedict Cumberbatch and British actresses Michelle Keegan and Kelly Brook.

Since his £3.1 million Berkshire apartment was raided during an historic child sex abuse investigation and live footage of the police raid shown by the BBC, Sir Cliff’s reputation has suffered great damage although the singer strongly denied all accusations, claiming they were completely false.

Figures from Radio Monitor earlier this month showed that his airplay dropped by about 65 per cent over the last three months of the year.

Although the singer was interviewed by police under caution, he was not arrested or charged.

The so-called Peter Pan of Pop prompted complaints from fans when he suggested last year that he might end the tradition of his yearly calendar.

Sir Cliff acknowledged that time was catching up with him and said he had thought of stopping the calendars, commenting: “How many shapes can I pull with this body?”

The singer later back-tracked and appears relaxed and upbeat in the latest edition of his calendar, with pictures showing him enjoying a Summer Holiday lifestyle in Barbados, where he owns a home.