Cliff Richard performs live. CREDIT: Jo Hale/Redferns/Getty

Cliff Richard has said he is “learning reggae” for a new version of ‘The Lord Is My Shepherd’, which he plans to release as a Christmas single.

The singer, 86, is set to record a new take on the Bible psalm alongside Chris Eaton, who wrote his 1990 UK Christmas Number One single ‘Saviour’s Day’. It’ll likely form part of a festive album in 2027.

“I’ve never sung reggae before, but Chris is really good at it. He’s phrased it like that, so I’m learning reggae,” Richard explained during a conversation at the Rose Theatre in Kingston, London, last weekend (via The Telegraph ).

“He’s written me Number Ones at Christmas, and his new song is based on one of the psalms. I can’t sing it yet as I’ve not learnt it. But it goes, ‘ The Lord Is My Shepherd… ’ and it’s reggae.”

Some music fans have ridiculed and criticised Richard for his forthcoming pivot into reggae, with one saying that it “sounds so wrong”.…