During an appearance on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, he said, “I was going to Australia and to New Zealand, and the promoter said, ‘Well, we need your insurance, so you need to be checked up for something’. They found that I had prostate cancer. But the good fortune was that it was not very old, and the other thing is that it had not metastasised. It hadn’t moved, nothing into bones or anything like that. And the cancer’s gone at the moment.”

He further said, “We really can’t tell with those sorts of things. But we need to, absolutely, I’m convinced, get there, get tested, get checked. I think we, as men, have got to start saying, we’ve got to be seen as human beings who may die of this thing.”

Sir Cliff Richard said he wants to work with the King to improve cancer screening for men across the country, after the King had spoken about his own cancer treatment last week. The King had stressed the importance of getting checked to catch cancer at an early stage. He said, “I’ve been involved with many charities over the years and if the King is happy to front it for us, I’m sure loads of people, I certainly would join him… If the King is listening, I think most of us would say ‘yeah – we’re available’.”

Sir Cliff Richard described the current lack of national screening as “absolutely ridiculous” by saying, “We all deserve to have the same ability to have a test and then start the treatments really early. It seems to me – I’ve only been for one year now in touch with cancer, but every time I’ve talked with anybody, this has come up, and so I think our government must listen to us.”

Earlier this month, Robert Smith from The Cure revealed the line-up for his run of Teenage Cancer Trust shows for 2026 – featuring artists such as Garbage, Wolf Alice, Manic Street Preachers, Chvrches, My Bloody Valentine, and many more.

The new lineup has a diverse range of artists who will draw different supporters in to help boost the fundraisers awareness. The addition of a comedy night aims to provide light through the darkness of the disease. The Cure legend has picked his favourite comedians and a line-up of incredible artists.

Tickets can be found here.

We’ve been overwhelmed by the support from all the incredible artists & celebrities who will be helping to raise vital funds for our music therapy on Tue 15 Dec for our Christmas concert #SingForNordoffRobbins https://t.co/yt5APxGrNs @HipgnosisSongs @LSEplc @openexc @YourSSE pic.twitter.com/Rqmq6Po9M0

— Nordoff Robbins Music Therapy (@NordoffRobbins1) December 10, 2020

The list of performers for the virtual concert includes Cliff Richard; Rod Stewart; Robbie Williams; Manic Street Preachers frontman James Dean Bradfield; Simple Minds; Neil Young; Tony Bennett; Kaiser Chiefs; Rebecca Ferguson; Freya Ridings; Jack Savoretti and soul songstress Mica Paris. There will also be appearances from Led Zeppelin troubadour Robert Plant, The Who’s Roger Daltrey and Coloradan pop-rockers OneRepublic.

The musical sets will be interspersed with traditional and topical Christmas readings from British stars of stage and screen. Speakers will include Bill Nighy; Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again and Rebecca star Lily James; actor, playwright and singer Kwame Kwei-Armah; Olivier Award winner Noma Dumezweni; and Freddie Fox.

Nordoff Robbins – founded in 1959 by Handsworth-born special education teacher Clive Robbins and American composer and pianist Paul Nordoff – helps provide therapy to music to those affected by life-limiting illness, isolation or disability. The charity works with  over 270 organisations across the UK; including schools, care homes, hospitals, mental health units, hospices, and neuro-rehab centres.

Previewing the gig this week, the charity’s Instagram page states: “Nordoff Robbins has been severely impacted by #COVID-19. Most of our fundraising activities have been cancelled, meaning we are expecting to lose over 50% of our income in 2020, putting music therapy at risk of stopping for the people who need it most. Our #SingForNordoffRobbins online Christmas concert will help raise vital funds for our music therapy.”

Host Nile Rodgers, the guitar behemoth behind the iconic sound of Chic and Sister Sledge, t0ld Music Week that he had a personal connection with the charity. He said “Nordoff Robbins music therapy is a charity close to my heart as I’ve witnessed the power of music first hand. I’ve seen how music connects with people all over the world in a way that nothing else can so when I heard that Nordoff Robbins were taking their annual carol service online, I jumped at the chance to host the event and to bring along some of my closest musical friends to help spread some Christmas cheer.”

The veteran hit-maker added “I know how hard this year has been for everyone, in particular charities. Because of the pandemic, Nordoff Robbins are expecting to lose much of their fundraising income. This means they are able to help less people, including children with autism who rely on music therapy for a sense of connection or those affected by life-limiting illnesses or disability – even though their services are needed now more than ever.“

Morrissey, now 55, had collapsed during a show at the Boston Opera House and was rushed to the Massachusetts General Hospital. He is being treated for ‘acute fever’ and blames his support act Kristeen Young who apparently confessed to have a “horrendous cold” before the tour – the symptoms of which were passed on to Morrissey.

Kristeen was then asked to leave the tour “for the good of all”, although Young claims that Morrissey’s allegations are incorrect and that her poor health was not the reason for her leaving the tour, but rather it was a 16 hour asthma attack. “I am very sorry Morrissey is not feeling well”, then went on to say she “will not tolerate stories being propagated about her health.”

Sir Cliff Richard had originally been offered to support Morrissey during his US tour, appearing at the Barclay Centre in Brooklyn, NYC on the 21st of June. Cliff claimed he had very little clue as to who Morrissey was, and also expressed that despite claiming nine top 30 hit singles in the US, he feels he is not as recognised so therefore was looking forward to the event, which has now been cancelled.