Cilla Black
- Profession: TV Personality
- Place/Date of Birth: Liverpool, 27 May 2020
Black told The Sun: "I walked into her room and before I had even sat down she said, ’You are frightened and excited. Bobby says that is OK - you are doing the right thing.’ "I hadn’t given her any idea of why I wanted to see her."
Cilla Black’s audience to pick - 17/12/02
Blind Date viewers are to become matchmakers for a one-off live special of the show in which they choose the dream couple. Viewers and the audience will phone and text the Cilla Black show to pair people up for the special in January.
Programme bosses are hoping to tease viewers in the days leading up to the New Year show by letting them see the six choices.
The pickers will be in blissful ignorance as they are holed up in a remote location to stop them finding out who will be on the show.
Cilla meets a President! - 10/12/02
Our Cilla Black and the Duke of York escorted Bill Clinton to a stunning winter ball at Knowsley Hall.
The hosts of the ball were Lord and Lady Derby and it was in aid of the NSPCC. Mr Clinton, a champion of child welfare, agreed to be the keynote speaker at the event.
The 850 guests paid up to £300 for a ticket to this charity event and mingled with celebrities like Gerry Marsden, Coronation Streets Johnny Briggs and other stars. They had comedian Tom O’Connor as their compere for the evening and The Counterfeit Stones provided the music. There was even a fashion show! But lots of speakers also stressed the importance of the charity - so there was a serious side to this fun event too.
Make Me Proud - Cilla! - 12/11/02
According to reports - Cilla is set to host a new show called Make Me Proud that is to be ITV’s replacement for Blind Date.
Make Me Proud has been described as ’Faking It meets Star for a Night’, and will feature ordinary people who believe they have a secret talent that can be worked upon to impress their friends and family.
Blind Date has been flagging in the ratings and now only attracts 5.4 million viewers, unlike it’s heyday when it attracted audiences of up to 17 million.
Cilla is planning to take time off our screens in order to write her memoirs, but this new show proves that she has no intention of giving up her entertainment Queen crown just yet.
Blue Cilla - 15/10/02
Cilla Black is teaming up with Blue to relaunch her pop career. "They’ve promised to be my backing singers on one or two tracks on my new album," said Cilla. "We’re good friends now. I got invited to Antony’s party and Duncan’s mother’s house-warming." Courtesy of Heat Magazine
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At the age of 20, Cilla had progressed from a student to a full time Dictaphone typist. However, her sheer drive to become famous left her feeling dissatisfied, dreading the fate of being labelled as just another girl suitable for office work. She wanted more from life and could regularly be found in her lunch hour escaping to the trendy haunts of The Cavern. She’d hang coats earning five bob an hour enjoying the limelight of getting to sing on stage. At night she’d also break free from the constraints of office work to serve coffee at The Zodiac where she met her boyfriend and husband to be Bobby Willis.
As a singer she has released 14 studio albums, in addition to 2 successful Greatest Hits packages and 37 singles, many of which have charted worldwide. During the sixties she managed to sustain her place at the forefront of the British music scene, having one of the most impressive starts for a female solo artist which included 17 consecutive Top 40 triumphs!
Cilla Black made her debut on the British single charts with one of the first songs given to her by her peers John Lennon and Paul McCartney. The single Love of the Loved made a modest impression on the UK charts when it was released in September 1963 marking her debut as a professional singer. In a matter of months this was to be overshadowed by her next two ballads You’re My World and Anyone Who Had a Heart which in 1964 hit the #1 spot, each becoming million selling singles and launching her into the international pop arena.
In 1964, Cilla had switched to the big screen, making a cameo appearance in Gerry & the Pacemaker’s movie Ferry Cross the Mersey. She was even invited to add her vocals to the soundtrack, recording the song Is it love?
Brian Epstein her manager, friend and the man instrumental for moulding such a versatile artiste died after a tragic overdose accident. It was feared Cilla’s career might have suffered but with her man Bobby already being so integral in her decision-making, he seamlessly became her personal manager. On January 25th 1969 the devoted couple became husband and wife at Marylebone Registry Office in London. One more elaborate ceremony followed on the 6th of March at the Roman Catholic Church, Liverpool.
In 1970 she gave birth to her first son, Robert John Willis [born July 26 1970]. Sons, Benjamin (April 30 1974) and Jack (October 20 1980) were soon to follow. In 1983, the year of her twentieth anniversary in showbiz, EMI Music decided to launch a spectacular campaign to re-issue her biggest selling singles on The Very Best of Cilla Black.
This generated much interest in her and thus in May 1984 Surprise, Surprise was broadcast, captivating leagues of avid followers who embraced the show’s warmth and emotion. Blind Date a dating show followed, it was a massive success, making Cilla an icon of modern TV.
Sadness hit Cilla’s life when hubby Bobby was diagnosed with lung and liver cancer. He had been discreetly undergoing chemotherapy in North London, eventually discharging himself and showing some positive signs of recovery. However, he was to take a turn for the worse and passed away in October 1999, aged 57.
The ’Cilla Mafia’ - Dale Winton, Paul O’Grady and long-time friend Christopher Biggins - were there for her during the aftermath of her hubby’s death, and the group have since become as likey to appear on Heat’s gossip pages as Jordan.
Since sensationally quitting Blind Date live on air in 2003 Cilla says that she may well not appear on TV again, explaining that presenters should be youthful and fun...’who wants to see people like me on TV. I don’t!’
March 2007