Sir Cliff Richard is taking a break from music but insists he has no plans to retire yet.

The singer, 81, says he likes the freedom of working whenever he chooses and would like to be less strict with his plans in the future.

He told the Mirror: ‘I don’t know if I ever want to retire. I don’t mind stopping.

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Looking forward: Sir Cliff Richard, 81, is taking a break from music but insists he has no plans to retire yet (pictured 2019)

‘Stopping would mean that I could absolutely change my mind any time I wanted to, or phone my office and say, “Can you get us a couple of nights at the Royal Albert Hall?”

‘So, retiring is not in my vocabulary, but stopping is good for me – I can work whenever I want to, if I want to.’

Sir Cliff, who was awarded his knighthood in 1995, has an epic back catalogue which includes more than 50 studio and live albums.

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Born to perform: The singer says he likes the freedom of working whenever he chooses and would like to be less strict with his plans in the future (pictured 2018)

The star said he never expected to receive an OBE from the Queen, thinking they were given to ‘businessmen, politicians, actors’ and not a ‘rock and roll singer’.

He added he was also shocked to have a top five album in eight consecutive decades, with the star saying he hopes nobody breaks his record in his lifetime.

Sir Cliff’s music career began when his father bought him a guitar at the age of 16 and he later joined band The Drifters.

In 1958, he had a solo hit with his song Move It and has since sold 250million records.

Sir Cliff Richard says he may do one more Christmas calendar

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Icon: Sir Cliff’s music career began when his father bought him a guitar at the age of 16 and he later joined band The Drifters

He previously said he never thought he would have a long career, telling Woman’s Own: ‘At 18, my management said, ”We are going to start a pension for you,” and I was like, ”C’mon!”’

Despite his perennially youthful appearance, Sir Cliff has said he felt more like ‘Rip Van Winkle’ than ‘Peter Pan’ following his legal battle with the BBC after coverage of his house being raided by the Yorkshire police was aired in 2014 following a historical child sexual assault allegation which he later did not face charges for.

‘One of the hardest things to live up to has been the Peter Pan of Pop,’ he said in an interview with Richard Arnold, published in Woman’s Own magazine to mark his birthday.

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‘When I went through my troubles with the South Yorkshire Police and the BBC, I remember waking up and thinking, “What happened to Peter Pan? I look like Rip Van Winkle.”

‘Again, it’s part of the learning process. I would rather have learned things like that in a different way, but I had to go through it.

‘I’ll never forget it but I’m past it. If it doesn’t kill you, it will make you stronger and I do feel stronger. I feel freed.’

Last year he embarked on the 13-date The Great 80 Tour to celebrate his 80th birthday, with the dates being postponed from 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

He released his last album Music… The Air That I Breathe in 2020.

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Making music: Last year he embarked on the 13-date The Great 80 Tour to celebrate his 80th birthday and released his last album Music… The Air That I Breathe in 2020 (pictured 2020)