CILLA BLACK

Cilla Black was born Priscilla Maria Veronica White on May 27, 1943 and was an English singer, television presenter, actress and author. Cilla Black was determined to make it as an entertainer, even getting a part-time job as a cloakroom assistant at legendary Liverpool club The Cavern in 1963, and her random, impromptu performances caught the eye of The Beatles with whom she became chums with.

Cilla’s career got off to a flying start when John Lennon introduced her to The Beatles’ manager Brian Epstein and he managed to secure her a recording contract with their label. Cilla made her debut Top 40 chart appearance in October 1963 with Love Of The Loved, its follow up Anyone Who Had A Heart would become Cilla Black's first Number 1 single in February 1964 and went on to become the best-selling single of the 1960s by a female solo artist. Anyone Who Had A Heart returned to the Official Chart decades later in 2014 as a result of  2014 ITV drama Cilla, based on the singer's life starring Sheridan Smith, the song flew back into the charts reaching Number 47.

The Burt Bacharach-penned Anyone Who Had A Heart was the first of two consecutive Number 1 hits for Cilla; You're My World climbed to the top of the Official Singles Chart in May 1964. Cilla’s association with The Beatles saw her record several Lennon/ McCartney compositions as well as two specially written songs by George Harrison.

Beginning her broadcasting career in the late 1960s with her own TV show, the theme of which Step Inside Love was specifically written for her by McCartney, Cilla also hosted the popular shows Blind Date and Surprise Surprise, making her one of the most beloved household faces on television in the mid-1980s and 1990s. She was awarded an OBE for services to entertainment in the 1997 New Year Honours list.

Cilla Black died of a fall following a stroke on August 1, 2015 at her holiday home in the Spanish town of Estepona. Cilla Black’s only UK Official Albums Chart Number 1 was the posthumous compilation The Very Best of…