London, April 11: British singer Cliff Richard broke off his first serious relationship through a letter saying he had to put his pop career before any “lasting relationship”.
The singer was just 21 when he wrote to his girlfriend Delia Wicks saying he was “confused” but had come to make “one of the biggest decisions I’m ever going to make”, reports BBC News. The couple was dating each other for 18 months after meeting in London, where Delia was one of his backing dancers.
The letter has emerged following Delia’s death earlier this month from cancer, aged 71. Her brother Graham Wicks, 65, from Swillington, West Yorkshire, said she was left “devastated” by Cliff’s decision.
Cliff wrote: “Dear Dellia [sic], I know I haven’t written for a long time but I’ve been so confused in my mind about you and about myself. I’ve just had to make, probably, one of the biggest decisions I’m ever going to make and I’m hoping that it won’t hurt you too much.
“Dellia, I want you to try and understand the position I’m in. Being a singer I’m going to have to give up many things in life. But being a Pop singer I have to give up one very priceless thing – the right to have any lasting relationship with any special girl.”
He continued: “Dellia, you must find someone who is free to love you as you deserve to be loved, and is able to marry you. I couldn’t give up my career, besides the fact that my mother and sisters, since my father’s death, rely on me completely,” he wrote.
He concluded: “I have showbiz in my blood now and I would be lost without it. ‘D’, all I can say now is goodbye and don’t think too badly of me. Love, Cliff.”
–IANS