"There are two things I don't like about you - your face. So why don't you shut both of them&qu...
"There are two things I don't like about you - your face. So why don't you shut both of them" Felicia (Priscilla Queen of the Desert)
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Unlike any other autobiography I’ve read, Cilla Black's has something very different – a message. Usually, a “star” plans on writing an autobiography. They seem to forget that they’re in their early twenties, and have nothing to say, but they still go ahead with it, for the money. Cilla could have written an autobiography at any time in her forty years career, but she didn’t, and that just proves that she’s in it for the fun; not the money.
And she mentions that numerous times in the book. “I’d have done it all for nothing”, she kept repeating herself, and I believe she would. She enjoyed it so much, and that shone through in the book, that she’d have gone up on stage and expected nothing. Nothing. The money was just an added bonus, and the papers knew she was a millionaire before she knew herself.
And as I’ve already mentioned, the book has something many doesn’t – a message. Whilst others go on about how much they’re loved by everyone, how many fans, and money they have, Cilla guides us through her life, and answers the question – what’s it all about? That being also the title of one of her past songs, and her book, it’s quite a riveting question; and an even more riveting answer!
Born Priscilla White, brought up in one of Liverpool’s most poverty-stricken, catholic roads, and no past experience in singing – only on her kitchen table – Cilla didn’t sound the perfect person for a young ambitious manager to employ, but luckily Brian Epstein saw her true talent, and took her on.
After years of wishing and hoping, living in a small flat with “me man” and “me dad”, the young Catholic girl from Scottie Road had made it. She’d made it big! She’d even got two number ones and things could only get better; and
boy, did they get better!
The things Cilla have experienced are the things you only hear about. You know when you hear a story, and you think, “That can’t be true!” Well, either Cilla has experienced it in some way, or knows someone who has. And what’s even better about it is, that she doesn’t brag about it. Whether it’s meeting the Queen or meeting any royalty, to do this day she takes it in her stride, and although not rude, is very laid back.
What struck me a few pages into the book was how much Cilla treasured those early years. Not necessarily those early years when she was hitting the top of the charts, or meeting the Queen, but the times in Liverpool, in the Cavern, when an ordinary young girl was enjoying herself. It comes through in the book that she enjoyed those years after she’d left school. The days of the early Beatles, Jimmy Tarbuck, and all of the others, who were as unknown as her, just enjoyed themselves with a cup of coffee. No money, but plenty of laughs.
And that’s what leads me to believe that Cilla has the best of friends from her past. Sure, she’s picked up a few friends along the way, but her husband and all her closest friends she knew before we knew them; before they got famous, are the best. She still has numerous parties today , and the oldies still turn up, just like the old days in the Cavern. The times when they laughed, and cried with laughter. It’s touching to see such friendships, and Cilla obviously appreciates them.
Her early career was really outstanding. The things she did were just amazing, and how she ever fitted them into twenty years, let along 10 years in the sixties, I’ll never know. She never seemed to stop working. But it wasn’t like work; it was like watching the telly. It was her love. The love of her life, after Bobby, and she enjoyed it, and she’d have stopped if she didn’t.
She was a very innocent person, and it really comes through. You get to know three people – Cilla White; Cilla Black and Cilla Willis. All three are different in their ways. Ms White is very innocent. She likes being ignorant, and that’s her thing. She’s a home bird, and loves and adores her family. Ms Black is an entertainer. She won’t let you leave a room you’ve both been in without raising at least a smile on your face. And finally Mrs Willis; the Mother and Wife. Mrs Willis is very much like Ms White, but much more loving. Much more glamorous. Much more Cilla.
Usually in an autobiography, there’s a “scandal”. Look at Ulrika’s; look at the stir that caused? Cilla doesn’t have anything, really. OK, she talks about very personal things, but we already knew the history to them. What’s It All About, for me, shows that life doesn’t always need to have been led with Sex, drugs and rock’n’roll, it just needs to have been led. No Secrets. No Scandal. Not necessarily No Good!
People tend to think because you’re famous, nothing bad happens to you. Money can prevent anything bad from happening, and you can buy ANYTHING you want. Sure, you can buy anything you want, but you can’t prevent anything bad from happening. I don’t think the Grim Reaper will accept a bribe. And that is what is dealt with wonderfully in the book. Cilla shows us she’s a normal person, but describing her grief she had to deal with after her beloved manager Brain Epstein, John Lennon, Frankie Howerd, Linda McCartney, her beloved baby daughter who was born dead, her Father, her Mother and her husband Bobby all died.
Bobby and her had met years before, even before her career set off. They were something even more special than just husband and wife. They were friends. The best of friends. Bobby was a brilliant manager to Cilla, and had been all of her career, and suddenly he’d gone. She must have gone through torture. He never left her side. When she woke up, he was there. When they went on holiday, he was there. When she was filming a TV programme, he was there egging her on, and supporting her. When she went to sleep, he was there. Then, suddenly, he wasn’t there. He’d gone.
I think that’s what touched me most. The fact that Cilla had been loved so much, and then it was gone. What helped her the most, though, was Bobby’s support. He told her to go to work even when he was days from death. And she did. Some people critisced her for that. What right have they? If she hadn’t have gone to work then, when would she have gone back? The last thing Bobby wanted was for her to be sitting at home grieving for him, eating ice cream, and watching This Morning. She had to go back to work, to go back to normal. To get back to normality.
The “gay mafia”, as she calls them, Dale (Winton), Paul (O’Grady) and Christopher (Biggins) are her closest friends. Each in their own way make her laugh, and I think without them, her grieving would have been much lonelier, and much worse. It just shows you what sort of person Cilla is. She’s sexty (we’re not allowed to call it sixty!) and she’s still out in Heaven (a famous bar) dancing away until 5:30 am. What a woman!
♦ Writing Style ♦
Most autobiographies aren’t written wonderfully, just acceptable, and Cilla’s is the same. It’s not badly written by a long way, but when I picked up the book I didn’t expect it to be wonderfully written, and the best literature since Emily Bronte, I just accepted memoirs of her life, written down, in no special way, so she could share it with others.
Most of the time she’ll just give us different stories that last about 2-3 pages, sometimes less, and then others, like the death of Bobby, she’ll go into more depth with, and spend about 20 pages talking about it. At times there are uses of short sentences that are really effective and add to the atmosphere of the book at that time. There are places that are really touching, and you think, “Hey, that was quite good!”
All in all, the writing is good. But in an autobiography it doesn’t have to be great, because if it’s going to be magical, it will be with all the stories. The writing won’t make it anymore magical! Luckily Cilla has enough to fill 400 pages of joy with, and there isn’t a paragraph that isn’t exciting. I enjoyed it almost as much as Wuthering Heights, my favourite book, and that is saying something!
Not only is the book something to treasure forever, but also it’s something you’ll want to lend to everyone. Not because you want to brag about it, but because the magical moments should be shared, whether she’s talking about her wild nights in the sixties, or the norties, they’re both as funny and precious as each other. A truly remarkable woman who I’ll always admire for what she’s done and been through. This isn’t only Cilla’s autobiography; it’s Ms White, Ms Black, and Mrs Willis’ too!
Oct 14th, 2003
(Feb 10th, 2004)
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