Sir Cliff Richard, 80, has revealed he was persuaded not to hire a medium following his dad Rodger Webb’s death. He admitted he was desperate to speak to his dad, who tragically died when the singer was just 21-years-old after suffering from lung disease.
However, bass player Brian “Licorice” Locking warned Sir Cliff against the idea, as he was concerned it would offend God.
Cliff opened up about his heartbreaking loss in his autobiography The Dreamer: “Every day, I missed dad so much. While in Australia, I had seen an advert for a medium. I mentioned that I was thinking of finding a medium to try to talk to dad.
“Licorice was horrified. ‘That’s a terrible idea!’ he told me. ‘Do you realise how dangerous it is? It is expressly forbidden in the Bible!’”
Brian then read the singer a passage, which said that anyone who consults a medium is “detestable”.
READ MORE… Sir Cliff Richard: Singer’s ‘secret early relationship’ exposed
Her name was Delia Wicks, someone who the star performed “a little routine with” on-stage before he “gave her a kiss” at the end of his song.
Addressing why he kept the romance hidden from the public spotlight, Cliff explained: “She was a great girl and we were close but, as ever, we had to keep a low profile so that the press wouldn’t find out about us, spill the beans and dismay my fans.”
After filming The Young Ones, Sir Cliff and The Shadows were sent on a “short, freezing tour” of Scandinavia.
During his absence, Cliff sent Delia postcards from every town they visited, but revealed that he was about to “meet a girl who would make an even bigger impression on me”.
The duo became close during a summer season at the opera house in Blackpool.
The woman who he met was an “extremely beautiful” 19-year-old dancer named Jackie Irving, whose parents ran a nearby B&B.
Sir Cliff recalled: “We hung out all of the time at the shows and in our spare time. Jackie was such a good laugh and, of course, a great person to go dancing with!”
Although his relationship with Delia had not officially ended at the time, he admitted she was “dropping out of my life”.
He divulged: “We had never been ‘committed’ anyway, so I didn’t feel I was doing anything wrong in seeing Jackie.”
