Sir Cliff Richard "sealed himself off from the world" after the sex abuse allegations, according to veteran DJ Mike Read.
The 75-year-old singer songwriter, who has been battling an ongoing court case for two years after the South Yorkshire police raided his Berkshire mansion on live television without permission, was forced to put his "life on hold" whilst the false claims made against him were being investigated.
Speaking about how Cliff coped during the "ghastly" time to The Mirror Online, the close friend of the ‘Devil Woman’ hitmaker said: "The strain has been extraordinary for him.
"He put his life on hold for the past two years. He sealed himself off from the world.
"It was a ghastly thing to happen but finally he can now put it all behind him."
And Mike has admitted the musician is "not made of rock" and will still be wounded by the allegations, but hopes the artist will "move on".
He said: "Cliff’s a strong character but this ordeal would effect the strongest person.
"He’s not made of rock, he’s still human. He has his faith and he’ll move on from this."
The ‘Summer Holiday’ actor – who was never arrested or charged – has recently cleared of all charges made against him and has been proved "innocent", and Mike is looking forward for Cliff’s return to the music industry and seeing his friend focus on "what he does best".
Speaking about the music legend’s future, he said: "He can concentrate on his music. He’s got his album coming out. He can get on with what he does best."
And Cliff has done exactly that, and is set to release his 101st album, which will be released on November 11.
Cliff’s forthcoming LP will feature Cliff’s duet with late music legend Elvis Presley on ‘Blue Suede Shoes’, his new debut single ‘Move It’, ‘Just… Fabulous Rock ‘n’ Roll’, as well as versions of several classic tracks including ‘Roll Over Beethoven’, ‘Great Balls of Fire’ and ‘Sweet Little Sixteen’.
Sir Cliff Richard ‘sealed himself off from the world’ after sex abuse allegations
