Songfacts®:

• In August 2014 police raided Cliff Richard's Berkshire home in response to an allegation of historical sexual abuse. The BBC was criticized for its coverage of the search, which featured live reports as it happened. The Crown Prosecution Service later announced there was "insufficient evidence" and the singer was never arrested or charged. Richard subsequently sued the BBC and South Yorkshire Police and a court ruled in July 2018 that his privacy had been infringed and ordered the broadcaster to pay damages.
  
  This song, based on the turmoil that Richard went through, was released a month after the court case had finished. It was penned by Terry Britten and Graham Lyle, the songwriters behind the 1985 Grammy winner of Song of the Year and Record of the Year "What's Love Got To Do With It." (Britten also co-penned Richard's 1976 hit "Devil Woman").
• Richard has said he spent the two years of his life between the police raid and CPS' acquittal in a state of turmoil where he "couldn't sleep or think about anything." This tune finds him singing about redemption in the face of adversity.
  
  "I chose 'Rise Up' as the title track because, after the bad period I went through in my life, I've managed to rise up out of what seemed like a quagmire," Richard told the BBC (yep, the same BBC that he sued!), "I love the lyric, 'They're never gonna break me down, they're never gonna take me down, they know I'm gonna rise up feeling stronger.' It is always great to sing lyrics you can feel and I really felt those words."
• The song was premiered on BBC Radio 2, which surprised many because it was inspired by Sir Cliff's privacy case against the broadcasting company.