quippe | Entries tagged with paul o’grady

The 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.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

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.

The Blurb On The Back:

Birkenhead, 1973. The eighteen-year-old Paul O’Grady get ready for a big Saturday night out on the town. New white t-shirt, freshly ironed heads, looking good. As he bids farewell to his mum, who’s on the phone to his auntie, and wanders off down the street in a cloud of aftershave, he hears the familiar cry” ‘Oh, the devil rights out tonight, Annie. The devil rides out!’

The further adventures of Paul O’Grady - following on from the million-copy-selling At My Mother’s Knee - are, if anything, even more hilarious and outrageous than what has come before. As Paul struggles to get to grips with unexpected fatherhood and bereavement, he searches high and low for a job that lasts and somehow finds himself getting married in the process. Work takes him from an abattoir to a children’s home, from a hospital to a nightclub, and from penthouse to pavement. Along the way, he takes his first Savage steps on stage, tastes the exotic delights of Manila and invades Plans …

To say that The Devil Rides Out is action-packed is an understatement. Its extraordinary cast of characters includes lords and ladies, the legendary Vera, a serial killer, more prostitutes than you can shake a stick at and drag queens of every shape and size. Wickedly funny, often moving, and searingly honest, Paul’s tales of the unexpected will make your jaw drop and your hair stand on end. And you’ll laugh like a drain.

The Devil Rides Out - one hell of a read!

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Paul O’Grady was a comedian, actor, TV presenter, chat show host and British national treasure. The second in his autobiographical quartet charts 1973 to 1980 as he deals with his father’s death, becomes a father, bounces between jobs, marries a lesbian, struggles to find a partner, travels internationally and starts to develop Lily Savage within the London drag scene. Told with O’Grady’s biting wit, it’s sad, thoughtful, horrifying and honest.

The Blurb On The Back:

In this first volume of his multi-million-selling autobiography, Paul O’Grady tells the story of his early life in Birkenhead that started him on the long and winding road from mischievous altar boy to national treasure. It is a brilliantly evoked, hilarious and often moving tale of gossip in the back yard, bragging in the corner shop and slanging matches on the front doorstep, populated by larger-than-life characters with hearts of gold and tongues as sharp as razors.

At My Mother’s Knee features an unforgettable cast of rogues, rascals, lovers, fighters, saints and sinners - and one iconic bus conductress. It’s a book which really does have something for everyone and which reminds us that, when all’s said and done, there’s a bit of savage in all of us …

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Paul O’Grady was a comedian, actor, TV presenter, chat show host and British national treasure. Warm, hilarious, horrifying and heartbreaking this is the first in his autobiography quartet, charting his life in Birkenhead from birth to his late teens and his relationship with his working class, Catholic parents and aunts. This 2018 reprint featured a new introduction by O’Grady where he says he’s softened some of the depictions of his family.