Sir Cliff Richard has many die-hard fans across the world. But few are as dedicated as Ray and Colette Williams, who have in the past spent two weeks camping outside a box office to get front-row tickets to his shows.

Now 84-year-old Ray and her daughter Colette, who run Sir Cliff's fan club in Sussex and Surrey, are staging a celebration party to mark the singer's 50 years in show business.

The party will take place at the Dorchester in London on September 27 next year. Ray and Colette have invited their hero and are desperately hoping he will attend the event.

This is the fifth celebration they have arranged for the star, two of which he has attended.

The pair, of Orchard Road, Horsham, have been fans of Sir Cliff since 1958 when his first single was released.

Next year the singer is embarking on a British tour and Ray and Colette have bought tickets to all three dates at Wembley - two nights in the front row and one night in the second.

Colette, 62, remembers the first time she heard Sir Cliff. She had been swimming with a friend and was sitting on her doorstep listening to the radio when Move It was played.

She said: "I stopped talking and just listened. I wanted to hear who this singer was."

Colette had been an Elvis fan but immediately changed her allegiance.

For her, Sir Cliff was the first English rock 'n' roll singer. She also believes he is worlds apart from The X Factor-style pop stars.

She said: "In Sir Cliff's day you really had to work on it and you had to have talent.

"Today you can go into a studio, your voice goes through a box and sounds perfect.

"People on The X Factor don't have to work for success. With Sir Cliff, he's just a perfectionist. You get a two-and-a-half hour show with no support act.

"He has been in the business now for six decades. He's had number ones in all the decades apart from this one."

Colette and her mother once organised tour buses for fans to follow Sir Cliff around the country to see his gigs. But now punters are banned from buying more than two front-row tickets each so the tours have stopped.

In the past, Ray and Colette have camped out in the street for two weeks to be first in the queue for tickets. Fans would set up tents and had to sleep there to secure their place.

Colette said: "We have slept in the street and we have travelled all over the place to see him - Dubai, the continent, all across England."

This time, Colette paid a taxi driver £100 to drive to Wembley to get her a wristband which gave her a queue number and time. Tickets also went on sale online but the site crashed because so many people tried to buy them.

Sir Cliff, who turns 68 next year, used to play large venues but has scaled down his touring.

Admission to the party at the Dorchester is £150. The price includes a four-course meal and live music from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.

There will also be a raffle and auction to raise money for the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation. Call Ray or Colette on 01403 266436.