ALWAYSBACK

CILLA BLACK R.I.P. 1943-2015
Singer and TV star Cilla Black, who enjoyed a 50-year showbusiness career, has died in Spain on August 1, 2015. She was 72. The singer and TV presenter was sunbathing on the balcony at her villa in Estepona, Spain when she fell and hit her head. She was knocked unconscious by the fall and subsequently died of a stroke. Championed by The Beatles, she began her career as a singer in 1963, and her singles "Anyone Who Had a Heart" (1964) and "You're My World" (1964) both reached number one. Along with a successful recording career in the 1960s and early 1970s, Black hosted her own eponymous variety show, Cilla, for the BBC between 1968 and 1976. After a brief time as a comedy actress in the mid-1970s, she became a prominent television presenter in the 1980s and 1990s, hosting hit entertainment shows such as Blind Date (1985­2003) and Surprise Surprise (1984­2001). Black was a staunch supporter of the Conservative Party during the 1980s and publicly voiced her admiration of Margaret Thatcher, stating in 1993 that Thatcher "put the Great into Great Britain". In memory, Paul McCartney said: "Such a shock to hear about Cilla's passing. She was a lovely girl who infected everyone with her great spirit. From first meeting her as a cloak room girl at the Cavern in Liverpool, to seeing her many times since, she always had a fun-loving dignity that made her a great pleasure to be around." - BBC/wikipedia