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quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
Lilian Maeve Veronica Savage, international sex kitten, was born on the steps of The Legs of Man public house, Lime Street, Liverpool on a policeman’s overcoat. Her mother, the lady wrestler Hell Cat Savage, had no such luxuries as gas and air. She just bit down on the policeman’s torch and recovered afterwards at the bar with a large pale ale …
Paul O’Grady shot to fame via his brilliant comic creation, the blonde bombshell Lily Savage. In the first two parts of his bestselling and critically acclaimed autobiography, Paul took us through his childhood in Birkenhead to his first, teetering steps on stage. Now, in Still Standing, for the first time, he brings us the no-holds-barred true story of Lily and the rocky road to stardom …
Paul pulls no punches in this tale of bar-room brawls, drunken escapades and liaisons dangereuses. And that’s just backstage at the Panto … Along the way, we stop off at some extremely dodgy pubs and clubs, and meet a collection of exotic characters who made the world a louder, brighter and more hilarious place. From the chaos of the Toxteth riots and the Vauxhall Tavern Raid, to the mystery of who shot Skippy and the great chip-pan fire of Victoria Mansions, Paul emerges shaken but not stirred.
Paul O’Grady was a comedian, actor, TV presenter, chat show host and British national treasure. The third in his autobiographical quartet charts the 1980s as he hones Lily Savage in Northern clubs (dragging Vera with him), overseas and London’s gay clubs and searches for love in all the wrong places. But tragedy isn’t far away as HIV starts to bite and O’Grady suffers more loss closer to home that even his sharp wit struggles to see the humour in.
If you are a Lily Savage fan then this is definitely a book that you need to read because O’Grady spends a lot of time talking about the development of the character and the time it took to become established. What really comes through is the work hard work he put in, which included working in clubs up North (the scenes where he takes Vera with him are hilarious - particularly one story where they were working in a club with strip acts and Vera is treated to an eyeful of something unexpected) and taking jobs overseas. He wasn’t raking in the money but he did learn a lot about how to work audiences and who he was as a performer. I won’t lie, it is a little frustrating that he can’t give you a formula for how he came up with Lily’s savage (no pun intended) put downs but equally I can well believe that he doesn’t know that himself given that his mouth clearly had an instinct of its own.
O’Grady had a knack for being in the right place at the right time and I was particularly interested in his account of being in Toxteth during the riots, not least because he clearly had a taste for danger and little concern for his personal safety. He also has a great knack for telling a story (something that has come through all of the books here) and has no fear of calling out his own bad behaviour. It still surprises me how ready O’Grady was to throw fists and get stuck into fights given that his TV persona was so laid back but you also get a sense of how down to earth he is, talking about how during his chat show years, he wanted guests who interested him and he could have a natter with rather than people who were stars for stars sake.
The spectre of HIV inevitably makes an appearance here and although O’Grady does not dwell on it, his discussion of people he lost and a scene set in a hospital is genuinely moving. Also moving is the developments within O’Grady’s own family as they start to fall unwell. I was genuinely saddened by his account of his Aunt Chrissie who was such a vibrant presence in the earlier books. Also bittersweet is his mother’s story as she continues to move on from the death of her husband and tries to keep her son on the straight and narrow. I was genuinely upset at her death before he could tell her of his role in TV series THE BILL and I thought it was very brave of him to reveal his own failings and reluctance to tell her and the regret he felt about it.
One thing that I was not expecting was that O’Grady seems to have originally wanted to stop his autobiography with this one. That does make sense because he goes into his relationship with Brendan Murphy, which was clearly stormy and I understand that he didn’t want to go more into it. However, given that there is a fourth book OPEN THE CAGE, MURPHY! I am very much looking forward to seeing what made him change his mind and what he has to say about it.
The Verdict:
Paul O’Grady was a comedian, actor, TV presenter, chat show host and British national treasure. The third in his autobiographical quartet charts the 1980s as he hones Lily Savage in Northern clubs (dragging Vera with him), overseas and London’s gay clubs and searches for love in all the wrong places. But tragedy isn’t far away as HIV starts to bite and O’Grady suffers more loss closer to home that even his sharp wit struggles to see the humour in.
Lilian Maeve Veronica Savage, international sex kitten, was born on the steps of The Legs of Man public house, Lime Street, Liverpool on a policeman’s overcoat. Her mother, the lady wrestler Hell Cat Savage, had no such luxuries as gas and air. She just bit down on the policeman’s torch and recovered afterwards at the bar with a large pale ale …
Paul O’Grady shot to fame via his brilliant comic creation, the blonde bombshell Lily Savage. In the first two parts of his bestselling and critically acclaimed autobiography, Paul took us through his childhood in Birkenhead to his first, teetering steps on stage. Now, in Still Standing, for the first time, he brings us the no-holds-barred true story of Lily and the rocky road to stardom …
Paul pulls no punches in this tale of bar-room brawls, drunken escapades and liaisons dangereuses. And that’s just backstage at the Panto … Along the way, we stop off at some extremely dodgy pubs and clubs, and meet a collection of exotic characters who made the world a louder, brighter and more hilarious place. From the chaos of the Toxteth riots and the Vauxhall Tavern Raid, to the mystery of who shot Skippy and the great chip-pan fire of Victoria Mansions, Paul emerges shaken but not stirred.
Paul O’Grady was a comedian, actor, TV presenter, chat show host and British national treasure. The third in his autobiographical quartet charts the 1980s as he hones Lily Savage in Northern clubs (dragging Vera with him), overseas and London’s gay clubs and searches for love in all the wrong places. But tragedy isn’t far away as HIV starts to bite and O’Grady suffers more loss closer to home that even his sharp wit struggles to see the humour in.
If you are a Lily Savage fan then this is definitely a book that you need to read because O’Grady spends a lot of time talking about the development of the character and the time it took to become established. What really comes through is the work hard work he put in, which included working in clubs up North (the scenes where he takes Vera with him are hilarious - particularly one story where they were working in a club with strip acts and Vera is treated to an eyeful of something unexpected) and taking jobs overseas. He wasn’t raking in the money but he did learn a lot about how to work audiences and who he was as a performer. I won’t lie, it is a little frustrating that he can’t give you a formula for how he came up with Lily’s savage (no pun intended) put downs but equally I can well believe that he doesn’t know that himself given that his mouth clearly had an instinct of its own.
O’Grady had a knack for being in the right place at the right time and I was particularly interested in his account of being in Toxteth during the riots, not least because he clearly had a taste for danger and little concern for his personal safety. He also has a great knack for telling a story (something that has come through all of the books here) and has no fear of calling out his own bad behaviour. It still surprises me how ready O’Grady was to throw fists and get stuck into fights given that his TV persona was so laid back but you also get a sense of how down to earth he is, talking about how during his chat show years, he wanted guests who interested him and he could have a natter with rather than people who were stars for stars sake.
The spectre of HIV inevitably makes an appearance here and although O’Grady does not dwell on it, his discussion of people he lost and a scene set in a hospital is genuinely moving. Also moving is the developments within O’Grady’s own family as they start to fall unwell. I was genuinely saddened by his account of his Aunt Chrissie who was such a vibrant presence in the earlier books. Also bittersweet is his mother’s story as she continues to move on from the death of her husband and tries to keep her son on the straight and narrow. I was genuinely upset at her death before he could tell her of his role in TV series THE BILL and I thought it was very brave of him to reveal his own failings and reluctance to tell her and the regret he felt about it.
One thing that I was not expecting was that O’Grady seems to have originally wanted to stop his autobiography with this one. That does make sense because he goes into his relationship with Brendan Murphy, which was clearly stormy and I understand that he didn’t want to go more into it. However, given that there is a fourth book OPEN THE CAGE, MURPHY! I am very much looking forward to seeing what made him change his mind and what he has to say about it.
The Verdict:
Paul O’Grady was a comedian, actor, TV presenter, chat show host and British national treasure. The third in his autobiographical quartet charts the 1980s as he hones Lily Savage in Northern clubs (dragging Vera with him), overseas and London’s gay clubs and searches for love in all the wrong places. But tragedy isn’t far away as HIV starts to bite and O’Grady suffers more loss closer to home that even his sharp wit struggles to see the humour in.
