On 17 June 1995, Richard was appointed a Knight Bachelor (invested on 25 October 1995), becoming the first rock star to be so honoured.

In 1996, he led the Wimbledon Centre Court crowd in singing during a rain delay when asked by Wimbledon officials to entertain the crowd.

In late 1990s, Richard and former EMI UK managing director Clive Black established the record label "Blacknight".
In 1998, Richard demonstrated that radio stations were refusing to play his music when he released a dance remix of his forthcoming single "Can't Keep This Feeling In" on a white label using the alias Blacknight.
The single was featured on playlists until the true artist was revealed.
Richard then released the single under his own name as the lead single for his album Real as I Wanna Be, with each reaching No.
10 in the UK on their respective charts.

In 1999, controversy again arose regarding radio stations refusing to play his releases when EMI, Richard's label since 1958, refused to release his song, "The Millennium Prayer", having judged that the song did not have commercial potential.
Richard took it to an independent label, Papillon, which released the charity recording (in aid of Children's Promise).
The single went on to top the UK chart for three weeks, becoming his fourteenth No.1 single.

Richard's next album, in 2001, was a covers project, Wanted, followed by another top ten album, Cliff at Christmas.
The holiday album contained both new and older recordings, including the single "Santa's List", which reached No.
5 in 2003.

Richard went to Nashville, Tennessee for his next album project in 2004, employing a writers' conclave to give him the pick of all new songs for the album Something's Goin' On.
It was another top-10 album, and produced three UK top-20 singles: "Something's Goin' On", "I Cannot Give You My Love", with Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees, and "What Car".

On 14 June 2004, Richard joined the Shadows on-stage at the London Palladium.
The Shadows had decided to re-form for another tour of the UK.
It was not to be their last tour together though, as they would re-form once again for a final tour five years later in 2009.

Two's Company, an album of duets released in 2006, was another top-10 success for Richard and included newly recorded material with Brian May, Dionne Warwick, Anne Murray, Barry Gibb and Daniel O'Donnell, plus some previously recorded duets with artists such as Phil Everly, Elton John and Olivia Newton-John.
Two's Company was released to coincide with the UK leg of his latest world tour, "Here and Now", which included lesser known songs such as "My Kinda Life", "How Did She Get Here", "Hey Mr. Dream Maker", "For Life", "A Matter of Moments", "When The Girl in Your Arms" and the Christmas single "21st Century Christmas", which debuted at No.
2 on the UK singles chart.

Another compilation album, Love... The Album was released on 12 November 2007.
Like Two's Company before it, this album includes both previously released material and newly recorded songs, namely "Waiting for a Girl Like You", "When You Say Nothing at All", "All Out of Love", "If You're Not the One" and "When I Need You" (the last was released as a single, reaching No.
38; the album peaked at No.
13).
On 17 June 1995, Richard was appointed a Knight Bachelor (invested on 25 October 1995), becoming the first rock star to be so honoured.
In 1996, he led the Wimbledon Centre Court crowd in singing during a rain delay when asked by Wimbledon officials to entertain the crowd.
In late 1990s, Richard and former EMI UK managing director Clive Black established the record label "Blacknight". In 1998, Richard demonstrated that radio stations were refusing to play his music when he released a dance remix of his forthcoming single "Can't Keep This Feeling In" on a white label using the alias Blacknight. The single was featured on playlists until the true artist was revealed. Richard then released the single under his own name as the lead single for his album Real as I Wanna Be, with each reaching No. 10 in the UK on their respective charts.
In 1999, controversy again arose regarding radio stations refusing to play his releases when EMI, Richard's label since 1958, refused to release his song, "The Millennium Prayer", having judged that the song did not have commercial potential. Richard took it to an independent label, Papillon, which released the charity recording (in aid of Children's Promise). The single went on to top the UK chart for three weeks, becoming his fourteenth No.1 single.
Richard's next album, in 2001, was a covers project, Wanted, followed by another top ten album, Cliff at Christmas. The holiday album contained both new and older recordings, including the single "Santa's List", which reached No. 5 in 2003.
Richard went to Nashville, Tennessee for his next album project in 2004, employing a writers' conclave to give him the pick of all new songs for the album Something's Goin' On. It was another top-10 album, and produced three UK top-20 singles: "Something's Goin' On", "I Cannot Give You My Love", with Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees, and "What Car".
On 14 June 2004, Richard joined the Shadows on-stage at the London Palladium. The Shadows had decided to re-form for another tour of the UK. It was not to be their last tour together though, as they would re-form once again for a final tour five years later in 2009.
Two's Company, an album of duets released in 2006, was another top-10 success for Richard and included newly recorded material with Brian May, Dionne Warwick, Anne Murray, Barry Gibb and Daniel O'Donnell, plus some previously recorded duets with artists such as Phil Everly, Elton John and Olivia Newton-John. Two's Company was released to coincide with the UK leg of his latest world tour, "Here and Now", which included lesser known songs such as "My Kinda Life", "How Did She Get Here", "Hey Mr. Dream Maker", "For Life", "A Matter of Moments", "When The Girl in Your Arms" and the Christmas single "21st Century Christmas", which debuted at No. 2 on the UK singles chart.
Another compilation album, Love... The Album was released on 12 November 2007. Like Two's Company before it, this album includes both previously released material and newly recorded songs, namely "Waiting for a Girl Like You", "When You Say Nothing at All", "All Out of Love", "If You're Not the One" and "When I Need You" (the last was released as a single, reaching No. 38; the album peaked at No. 13).
Cliff Richard