Still Standing: The Savage Years

Still Standing: The Savage Years

by PaulO'Grady (Author)

Synopsis

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 bombsite 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 police raid, to the mystery of who shot Skippy and the great chip pan fire of Victoria Mansions, Paul emerges shaken but not stirred. Still Standing will make you laugh and make you cry. Some of the stories might even make your hair curl. But it stands as a glorious tribute to absent friends and to a world which has now all but vanished.

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 448
Edition: Reprint
Publisher: Bantam
Published: 25 Apr 2013

ISBN 10: 085750102X
ISBN 13: 9780857501028
Book Overview: The third installment of rollicking adventures from Britain's best loved entertainer

Media Reviews
As a narrator, stroppy of tongue but melting of heart, O'Grady still charms and tickles. The comic scenes with his truly mythological mum ( the Madame Defarge of Tranmere ; Columbo in a flannelette nightie ; Eleanor of Aquitaine with a chip-pan ) can touch the hem of Alan Bennett's robe... Leaves most fiction and history of the era in the dust. -- Boyd Tonkin * Independent *
Paul O'Grady's life has already filled two excellent volumes... Still Standing is another enjoyable and colourful read. -- Roland White * The Sunday Times *
Honest, funny and supremely readable. * Sunday Express *
I absolutely loved it. * Alan Carr *
O'Grady has a playwright's ear for dialogue, and his salty descriptions of raucous gigs in rundown pubs are a rude delight. * Independent *
Author Bio
Paul O'Grady first came to fame in the guise of Lily Savage, and was nominated for a Perrier Award at the Edinburgh Festival in 1991. Lily later became a regular on This Morning, took over the bed on The Big Breakfast and presented Blankety Blank, but has now retired (reportedly). Paul, of course, went on to further success presenting his chat shows on Channel 4 and ITV, For the Love of Dogs and Animal Orphans on ITV, and his weekly show on BBC Radio 2, inter alia. His four volumes of autobiography - At My Mother's Knee, The Devil Rides Out, Still Standing and Open the Cage, Murphy - were all Sunday Times bestsellers.