Still Standing: The Savage Years

The third installment of rollicking adventures from Britain's best loved entertainer THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 'Funny, forthright and sharp as a knife . . . O'Grady writes just as he speaks.' Daily Mirror 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. Readers love Still Standing- 'Paul makes you feel like he's chatting to you as a friend. The stories are bold, honest, sometimes hilarious, sometimes very sad.' ***** 'This had my crying, nervous and laughing out loud. I would expect nothing less from the fabulously honest Paul O'Grady.' ***** 'He writes as he speaks, entirely from the heart . . . with his usual warmth, care, concern and honesty, a brilliant read.' *****

About the Author :
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. 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 - are all Sunday Times bestsellers.

Review :
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. Paul O'Grady's life has already filled two excellent volumes... Still Standing is another enjoyable and colourful read. Honest, funny and supremely readable. I absolutely loved it. O'Grady has a playwright's ear for dialogue, and his salty descriptions of raucous gigs in rundown pubs are a rude delight. Magnificent … makes for colourful reading. The Toxteth riots, the rise of Thatcherism and the scourge of Aids… are all here, described with real fury and grief. The Birkenhead wit tells not only of his life but that of his creation, Lily Savage... O'Grady has such an eye for a story and for dialogue that even those who aren't interested in the finer details of geisha wigs can't fail to be engaged Funny, forthright and sharp as a knife ... O’Grady writes just as he speaks, with comedic barbs coursing through the pages