Framed! Sir Cliff Richard

Everyone loves a bit of Cliff, the ever-living Peter Pan of pop just seems to keep on going and this month sees the release of a new single with the word 'What!' in it rather too much.

What can we learn from the man who was once the UK equivalent to the King himself (Elvis) in both image and popularity? Well in terms of his eye furniture, not a lot.

Once upon a time the young one was the height of cool with his aviator sunglasses and the classic optical version.

All through the 70s and 80s (think Top Gun and the aviator perhaps at the peak of its power) Sir Cliff was there, soldiering on.

But then something happened, Cliff still looked 22 but he became about as unpopular as his version of the Lord's Prayer (yes, I know, it got to number one).

Now I'm currently on my summer holiday (honeymoon actually) in Greece and as everyone will tell you, the aviator is back in fashion.

If you thought it was popular in Blighty, then over here you can't move for the classic pilot frame - on the ferry over to one of the islands I can only describe it as an aviatathon. To be seen in anything else could possibly be rude.

So what about poor old Sir Cliff, this should be a golden moment for you, a time when you can regain some cool. But no, what's this you've recently been spotted wearing? An oval frame with photochromic lenses? Oh dear, oh dear. How, erm, practical.

What astounds me so much is the lack of attention some celebrities give to their eyewear. Cliff, for example, has the right clothes, the slender figure, healthy hair, the perfect complexion, along with a good media persona.

For much of his career Cliff avoided specs, but when he did wear them they enhanced his look. When he did Eurovision back in 1968, he donned a pair of Buddy Hollyesque acetates.

In his Devil Woman phase, he slipped into his famous aviators. But now, when he can't avoid his need for vision correction, he seems to have forgotten what a cool pair of bins can do.

All it would take is a simple Ray-Ban and perhaps a nice Lindberg (without the reactor light lenses) for Mr Richard to achieve a retro cool.

Oh and perhaps he could do a remix of Summer Holiday as well. I liked that one.