London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Sep 20, 2026

Sir Cliff Richard disputes claim rivals The Beatles ‘owned’ Abbey Road studios

Sir Cliff Richard disputes claim rivals The Beatles ‘owned’ Abbey Road studios

Sir Cliff Richard has shot down the suggestion that The Beatles ‘owned’ Abbey Road studios, insisting that he was the main man on the block.

All the way back in 1958, the legendary musician made waves with the release of his song Move It, which is widely regarded as being one of the first authentic rock and roll songs made outside the US.

As the swinging sixties came into play, The Beatles blasted onto the scene, marking the beginning of a rivalry between the band and the solo crooner.

On Friday’s Good Morning Britain, Sir Cliff, 82, spoke to presenter Richard Arnold about his new festive album Christmas With Cliff, as well as the early stages of his career.

‘I started when I was 17, recording Move It in the corner of studio two, Abbey Road, 1958, five years before The Beatles by the way,’ he recalled.

‘You don’t think that the decades are going to fly by the way they do, so for me… my feet really haven’t and I keep thinking, will anybody else do that?’


The singer looked back on recording at Abbey Road over 60 years ago

The Beatles were stiff competition

Touching on Sir Cliff’s mention of The Beatles, Richard pointed out: ‘You mentioned The Beatles of course. You used to have to battle with The Beatles to get a slot at Abbey Road studios of course.’

Implying that his rivalry with The Beatles is far from a distant memory, the musician responded: ‘Everybody thinks they owned Abbey Road, and they didn’t. I did. I just rented to them.’

In 1964, The Beatles made a global name for themselves after performing on The Ed Sullivan Show in the US.

Sir Cliff Richard soared to stardom as a teenager

Despite their rivalry, Sir Cliff and Sir Paul performed together at the Queen’s Jubilee concert in 2002 among many other stars


However, Sir Cliff was famously not pleased by the raving reception they received, previously saying: ‘It’s ridiculous! Has everyone forgotten me? What’s going on?’

In 2002, he performed at Queen Elizabeth II’s Jubilee concert alongside Sir Paul McCartney, with the concert also boasting performances from Queen and Sir Tom Jones.

Earlier this month, Stormzy beat Sir Cliff on the charts to achieve a third number one album.

Speaking about the chart battle with Stormzy, the singer said on GMB: ‘It’s always been competition with someone else, and if you’ve got the better record, then you’ve got it.

‘This is Stormzy’s album, I was looking at this. There are 12 tracks on his album. My album has 13 tracks!’ he also joked.


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Ed Sheeran Tour Faces Backlash After Macklemore Is Removed Over Pro-Palestinian Remarks
Vandalism of Traffic Cameras Intensifies Across Parts of England
Nearly 300 Evacuated as Fire Hits Grand Burstin Hotel in Folkestone
King Charles Warns AI Executives About Risks From Uncontrolled Technology
Church of England Apologises for Role in Historical Forced Adoption Practices
UK Debate Over Online Speech Intensifies After Arrest Figures Draw Scrutiny
Oxfordshire Village Holds Symbolic Independence Vote Over Asylum Accommodation Plan
Nigel Farage and Richard Tice Sue National Crime Agency Over Alleged Banking Data Leaks
Apple Introduces Stricter Age Checks for UK Accounts
BBC Cash Reserves Fall 66% to £125 Million as Broadcaster Restructures
McLaren Announces £500 Million UK Investment and Plans 1,000 Jobs
Green Party Wins Historic Gorton and Denton By-Election as Labour Falls to Third
Burnham Government Prepares October Budget Under Growing Fiscal Pressure
UK Energy Suppliers Pull Fixed-Price Deals as Wholesale Markets Turn More Volatile
Bank of England Holds Rates at 3.75% as Middle East Energy Shock Raises Inflation Risks
Addison Lee Founder Loses £20 Million UK Tax Tribunal Case
BrewDog Creditors Face Losses on About £190 Million of Debt
Harrods Seeks to Recover Abuse Compensation Costs From Mohamed Al Fayed’s Estate
Ed Davey Targets Reform UK as Liberal Democrat Conference Opens
Great Britain Retail Sales Rise 0.5% in August
NHS England Approves Life-Extending Treatment for Incurable Breast Cancer
Proposals to Limit NHS ADHD Diagnoses Draw Criticism From Patient Groups
Resolution Foundation Warns of Housing Cost Crunch for Low-Income UK Families
BBC Cash Reserves Fall to Decade Low as Annual Deficit Reaches £121 Million
Millisecond Software Error Triggered Major UK Air Traffic Control Disruption
Twenty Women Underwent Unnecessary Mastectomies During NHS Cancer Care
Sensitive UK Police Data Found Vulnerable to Access by Foreign Actors
British Steel Faces Renewed Pressure for a Long-Term Financial Plan
MPs Urge Government to End Thames Water Restructuring Talks With U.S. Hedge Funds
Andy Burnham Warns of Difficult UK Budget Choices as Inflation Returns to 3.1%
England Tightens School Food Standards With Restrictions on Deep-Fried and High-Sugar Foods
Oxfordshire Village Votes Symbolically to Leave UK Over Proposed Asylum Centre
Michael Marra Elected Leader of Scottish Labour
BBC Cash Reserves Fall Sharply as Financial Pressures Mount
George Osborne Calls for UK to Rejoin EU Customs Union
UK Explores Joining Canada-Led Global Defence Bank
Thirlwall Inquiry Highlights Management Failures Surrounding Lucy Letby Crimes
Parliamentary Committee Calls for New UK Law to Address AI Risks to Human Rights
UK Considers Giving Regional Mayors Greater Oversight of Water Companies
UK Opposition Presses Burnham for Stronger Response to Russian Security Threats
Reform UK Faces Scrutiny Over £72 Million in Donations as Political Finance Rules Tighten
Millisecond Software Failure Behind UK Air-Traffic Outage That Cancelled More Than 2,000 Flights
Bank of England Holds Interest Rate at 3.75% as Energy Prices Complicate Inflation Outlook
Burnham Warns of Difficult Choices in October Budget as UK Inflation Rises to 3.1%
Addison Lee Founder Loses £20.5 Million Non-Domicile Tax Case
BrewDog Creditors Face Heavy Losses After Collapse
Thirteenth Metropolitan Police Officer Dismissed Over Charing Cross Conduct
Oxfordshire Village Votes Symbolically to Leave UK Over Asylum Accommodation Plan
NHS Approves Life-Extending Treatment for Women With Incurable Breast Cancer
Software Defect Blamed for Major UK Air Traffic Disruption
×