— October 14, 1940: Born Harry Rodger Webb at Lucknow, India, to English parents. Moves to Britain at the age of seven.

— 1958: Adopts the stage name Cliff Richard and, with his backing band later called The Shadows, is signed by EMI to their Columbia label. Their first single, Move It, is released soon afterwards and becomes a hit.

— 1962-1963: Richard stars in the film musicals The Young Ones (1962) and Summer Holiday (1963), huge successes in Britain and beyond.

— 1966: Publicly declares his Christian faith in front of thousands of people at a London rally of American evangelist preacher Billy Graham.

— 1968: Runner-up at the Eurovision Song Contest with Congratulations, which goes on to be an enduring hit.

— 1973: In his second Eurovision appearance, he comes third with Power to all our Friends.

— 1995: Is the first British rock star to be knighted, becoming Sir Cliff Richard in honour of his charitable work.

— 2013: Releases his 100th studio album, The Fabulous Rock ‘n’ Roll Songbook.

— 2014: Police open an investigation into allegations of decades-old sexual abuse; it is closed after two years without charges ever being laid.

— July 18, 2018: Wins a privacy case against the BBC after it broadcast live on TV a police raid on his home over the sexual abuse allegations.