Richard's debut single "Move It", recorded with his equally successful backing band the Drifters (later renamed the Shadows) was written by original guitarist Ian Samwell.

For the first half of the 1970s, Richard struggled to achieve big hits, apart from his 1973 Eurovision Song Contest entry "Power to All Our Friends".

In 1979, Richard's single "We Don't Talk Anymore" became the highest selling record of his career achieving worldwide sales over 4 million.

From the late 1970s through the 1980s and into the 1990s Richard not only continued to have many top 10 hit singles, including the seasonal number one '"Mistletoe and Wine" and with Saviour's Day" in 1990.

"Living Doll" first topped the charts in 1959, then again 26 years later in a re-recording for the Comic Relief charity with the cast of British TV series The Young Ones.