Cilla Black
Priscilla Maria Veronica White OBE (27 May 1943 – 1 August 2015), better known as Cilla Black, was an English singer and television presenter.
Cilla Black
1 August 2015 (aged 72)
- Singer
- television presenter
- actress
1963–2015
4
Vocals
- Parlophone
- EMI
- Towerbell
- Columbia
- Virgin
Championed by her friends the Beatles, Black began her career as a singer in 1963. Her singles "Anyone Who Had a Heart" and "You're My World" both reached number one in the UK in 1964. She had 11 top 10 hits on the UK Singles Chart between then and 1971 and an additional eight hits that made the top 40. In May 2010, new research published by BBC Radio 2 showed that her version of "Anyone Who Had a Heart" was the UK's biggest-selling single by a female artist in the 1960s.[1] "You're My World" was also a modest hit in the U.S., peaking at No. 26 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Along with a successful recording career in the 1960s and early 1970s, Black hosted her own BBC variety show, Cilla (1968–1976). After a brief time as a comedy actress, she became a prominent television presenter in the 1980s and 1990s, hosting hit entertainment shows such as Blind Date (1985–2003), Surprise Surprise (1984–2001) and The Moment of Truth (1998–2001). In 2013, Black celebrated 50 years in show business. ITV honoured this milestone with a one-off entertainment special which aired on 16 October 2013, The One and Only Cilla Black, featuring Black herself and hosted by Paul O'Grady.[2]
Black died on 1 August 2015 at the age of 72, after a fall in her holiday villa in Estepona, a town in Spain. The day after her funeral, the compilation album The Very Best of Cilla Black (2013) went to number one on the UK Albums Chart and the New Zealand Albums Chart; it was her first number one album. In 2017, a statue of Black commissioned by her sons was unveiled outside the Cavern Club's original entrance.
Early life[edit]
Black was born Priscilla Maria Veronica White in the Vauxhall district of Liverpool on 27 May 1943, the daughter of Priscilla Blythen (1911–1996) and John Patrick White (1904–1971). She grew up in the Scotland Road area of Vauxhall. Her maternal grandfather, Joseph Henry Blythen (1883–1966), was born to Irish parents in the Welsh town of Wrexham; all of Black's great-grandparents were also Irish.[3][4] She was raised in a Roman Catholic household and attended St Anthony's School in Scotland Road.[5][6] She later attended Anfield Commercial College, where she learned office skills.[5][7] Determined to become an entertainer, Black gained a part-time job as a cloakroom attendant at Liverpool's Cavern Club, best known for its connection with the Beatles. Her impromptu performances impressed the Beatles and others. She was encouraged to begin singing by a Liverpool promoter, Sam Leach, who booked her first gig at the Zodiac Club on Duke Street, where she appeared as Swinging Cilla, backed by the Big Three. She later also became a guest singer with the Merseybeat bands Rory Storm and the Hurricanes and Kingsize Taylor and the Dominoes. Meanwhile, she worked as a waitress at the Zodiac coffee lounge, where she met her future husband Bobby Willis. She was featured in an article in the first edition of the local music newspaper Mersey Beat by the paper's publisher, Bill Harry, who mistakenly referred to her as "Cilla Black" rather than her real name. She subsequently decided to keep the name.[8]
Music career[edit]
Before August 1967[edit]
Black signed her first contract with longtime friend and neighbour Terry McCann, but this contract was never honoured as it was made when she was underage (the age of majority was then 21) and her father subsequently signed her with Brian Epstein.[7]
She was introduced to Epstein by John Lennon, who persuaded him to audition her. Lennon was encouraged by his Aunt Mimi to introduce Black to Epstein. Epstein had a portfolio of local artists but initially showed little interest in her. Her first audition was a failure, partly because of nerves, and partly because the Beatles (who supported her) played the songs in their usual vocal key rather than re-pitching them for Black's voice.[9]
In her autobiography What's It All About? she wrote:[10]
Politics[edit]
Black was at one time a staunch supporter of the Conservative Party and publicly voiced her admiration for Margaret Thatcher, stating in 1993 that Thatcher had "put the 'great' back into Great Britain" during her 11 years as prime minister from 1979 until 1990—despite the widespread unpopularity of Thatcher and her government in Black's native Liverpool. In April 1992, she appeared on stage at a Conservative Party rally and made prominent calls for the party's re-election under the leadership of Thatcher's successor John Major, who went on to win the election.[56] However, in a 2004 interview with The Guardian, Black said that she was "apolitical".[57] The Liverpool Echo also quoted her as saying, "As for the politics thing, I'm not a Conservative."[58]
In August 2014, Black was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian expressing their hope that Scotland would vote to remain part of the United Kingdom in September's referendum on that issue.[59]
Personal life[edit]
Black married her manager, Bobby Willis, at Marylebone Town Hall in January 1969; they were married for 30 years until he died from cancer on 23 October 1999.[60]
Death[edit]
On 1 August 2015, at the age of 72, Cilla Black died at her holiday home in the Spanish town of Estepona.[61] A spokesperson for the High Court of Justice in Andalusia suggested that an accident may have been a contributing factor in Black's death.[61] Following the results of an autopsy, her sons confirmed that she had died from a stroke following a fall in her home.[62] A pathologist's report confirmed that Black had suffered a subarachnoid haemorrhage after falling backwards and hitting her head, presumably on a terrace wall. It was believed she had not been found for at least four hours.[63]
In 2014, she had stated that she wanted to die when she reached 75, as her mother, who suffered from progressive osteoporosis, had lived to 84 and her final years were difficult.[64] According to a friend, she had recently said that she was approaching death, complaining of failing eyesight and hearing as well as arthritis.[65] Black had been suffering with rheumatoid arthritis for years and was in "considerable agony" towards the end of her life.[66]
In the days following her death, a book of condolence was opened at the Liverpool Town Hall.[61] Then-Prime Minister David Cameron stated, "Cilla Black was a huge talent who made a significant contribution to public life in Britain. My thoughts are with her family."[67] Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Sheridan Smith, Holly Johnson, Cliff Richard, and Paul O'Grady were among friends and colleagues in the entertainment industry who expressed their sorrow at Black's death. Comedian Jimmy Tarbuck, who had been a friend for decades, said, "She was the girl next door that everybody loved and would have loved as a daughter, a daughter-in-law."[68] Songwriter Burt Bacharach said, "It will always be a most special memory for me of recording her on Alfie in Abbey Road Studios in 1965." Broadcaster Noel Edmonds said that she "captured the hearts of the British people" because "she was our Cilla—there were no airs and graces".[69]
Black's funeral service was held on 20 August 2015 at St Mary's Church, Woolton. Tom Williams, the Roman Catholic Auxiliary Bishop of Liverpool, led the service; Cliff Richard sang at the service and Paul O'Grady gave a eulogy.[70] Spoken tributes, prayers and readings were made by Black's sons Robert and Ben, Jimmy Tarbuck and Christopher Biggins. The Beatles song "The Long and Winding Road" was played as the coffin left the church.[71] She was buried in a private ceremony at Allerton Cemetery in Allerton on the same day.[72]
On 21 August 2015, the day after her funeral, The Very Best of Cilla Black (2013), a compilation album of her most popular songs in her career, went to number one on the UK Albums Chart. It was Black's first number one album.[73]
Black's headstone has been the target of vandalism on several occasions. In 2015, thieves stole a bronze plaque inscribed with her name from the site, and in 2020, Black's gravestone was vandalised with graffiti.[74]
