Sir Cliff Richard has criticised the 21-century culture of music downloading, saying the quality of an MP3 “is not the same” as a CD.

Sir Cliff, who is this week striving to become the first artist to top the singles chart for six consecutive decades, said he preferred listening to music on CD.

"I like putting six CDs in the machine and playing them for two or three days," he told the BBC.

"The 12" vinyl album was the best because you could read [the sleeve] without getting a magnifying glass."

The 67-year-old singer added: "I like the human aspect of music. It's all getting a little bit too technical now, too easy; you don't do anything now

As previously reported, Sir Cliff is relying on the “support” of his fanbase to help make his single ‘Thank You For A Lifetime’ number one.

High-street chain Woolworths has decided to postpone its recent decision to stop selling singles to help the singer.

(by Jason Gregory)