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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Entertainment
Kate Lally

Cilla Black's real name, Beatles connection, and husband of 30 years

Cilla Black was a singer and TV presenter from Liverpool.

She hit the big time in the 60s with her number one singles Anyone Who Had A Heart and You're My World.

Her music success catapulted her into the limelight and she had a glittering career spanning 50 years.

READ MORE: Dermot O'Leary slips up over plans 'to marry' Alison Hammond

Cilla is best known to many as the presenter of Surprise, Surprise and Blind Date.

She died at her home in Spain aged 72, in August 2015.

Here we take a look back at her remarkable life, which began on Scottie Road in 1943.

Cilla Black was actually christened Priscilla White, and she grew up near Liverpool's docks.

She said her upbringing was a safe and happy one.

Her “mam” worked in St. Martin’s Market selling second-hand clothes and her dad worked on the docks.

As new genres of music flowed into the port of Liverpool from America, Cilla quickly spotted a new scene happening.

She took part time jobs in clubs like the Cavern and the Zodiac, and was quick to accept any singing opportunities.

Her first paid performance was at the Zodiac, with The Big Three - Liverpool's best band at the time.

Cilla was also famously close with the Beatles in the 60s, and she was one of the first female artists to be signed by their manager, Brian Epstein.

While Cilla was waitressing at the Zodiac, she met a man named Bobby Willis, who worked at Woolworths.

Wanting to impress her, he told her he was an established record producer.

They dated before marrying on January 25, 1969.

During their relationship, Brian Epstein wanted to sign Bobby to his record label.

In 2014, Cilla said: "Bobby could sing and he could write songs – he sang very much like Johnny Mathis actually. But he wasn’t a natural performer."

Bobby had written Shy of Love, the B-side to Cilla's 1963 debut Love of the Loved, and he continued to write many more songs for her.

Cilla added: "Bobby was offered his own recording contract. Brian genuinely wanted him to sign. He was a good looking boy, a natural platinum blond.

“But I made him say no. There was only room for one ego in our relationship – and this ego had landed. I knew it couldn’t work. So he had to choose. I felt terrible about it, but...”

Bobby later supported Cilla after Brian's death, and Bobby took over as her manager.

The pair had three children together Robert, Ben and Jack.

They also had a daughter called Ellen. However, she sadly passed away two hours after her birth due to complications.

Cilla and Bobby were married for 30 years, until his death in October 1999.

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