Paul O’Grady suffered along with his coronary heart for years earlier than his early demise, aged 67, in March 2023. He even predicted that he would die earlier than his shut buddy, Cilla Black, regardless of her being 12 years his senior. He even had some large plans for the Scouse legend to be concerned in his funeral.
The Lily Savage star’s good buddy and long-time producer, Malcom Prince, has shared Paul’s ideas when he learnt that Cilla had died – simply seven weeks after they final partied collectively. The Blind Date host suffered a subarachnoid haemorrhage after falling backwards and hitting her head and died aged 72. In his new guide, Not the Identical with out You, Malcom shared: “One of many final instances I noticed the 2 of them collectively was at a celebration for Paul’s sixtieth birthday in June 2015, held on the Blueprint Café in Butler’s Wharf, minutes from Paul’s London pied-à-terre. In a spacious room overlooking the River Thames and Tower Bridge, Paul’s family and friends gathered to want him effectively alongside a powerful visitor checklist from the world of leisure.
The writer added: “Cilla was there too, however at 72 she was a shadow of her former self. She regarded frail and walked slowly across the room, escorted by her son Robert. I used to be upset to see her on this method, and I do know Paul was too. He did have a dance along with his buddy that night time, their final, and she or he died simply 7 weeks later at her vacation house in Spain.”
Talking of Paul’s shock, Malcolm continued: “On 20 August 2015, Paul attended the funeral of Cilla Black at St Mary’s RC Church in Liverpool.
“He gave a touching and humorous tribute through which he declared, ‘I firmly believed that Cilla was indestructible and that I’d go first, the state of my coronary heart. In actual fact, we mentioned my funeral at size, me and Cilla, and she or he had a serious position in it which concerned a mantilla and lilies.’”
Paul suffered along with his coronary heart for years earlier than it led to his demise. He suffered his first coronary heart assault in 2002, aged 47, and described it as a “life-changing expertise”.
In Not the Identical with out You, Malcolm tells the tales that Paul didn’t get to share himself. It’s a treasure trove of anecdotes and recollections, all drawn from Malcolm’s in depth assortment of personal recordings and interviews with the people who knew Paul finest.
It’s a shocking account of the person behind the icon – the person identified to his pals as ‘Savage’ and to the general public, in lots of much-loved guises.
This excellent guide tells never-before-heard tales of the much-missed nationwide treasure, that includes the nice and the nice of the leisure world, his unlikely friendship with the Queen, his departure from the BBC, and a ghost story of two thrown in for good measure.
Paul O’Grady – Not The Identical With out You is offered from bookstores from November 6.
