LONDON: Cilla Black, the 1960s pop star championed by The Beatles who became one of Britain’s best-loved television presenters, died on Sunday in Spain, media reports said.

The 72-year-old, whose real name was Priscilla White, was found at her home near Marbella, the Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mirror newspapers reported, quoting Spanish police.

Big hearted and full of laughs, the working-class redhead from Liverpool was a fixture on British television screens for more than 50 years, known just by her first name.

She started out working in the cloakroom at the Cavern club, where fellow Liverpudlians The Beatles were first spotted, before taking to the stage as a singer herself.

The band championed Black and introduced her to their manager Brian Epstein, who signed her.

Black released her first single in 1963 and the following year had two Number One hits, “You’re My World” and “Anyone Who Had a Heart”. She went on to release 14 albums. In 1968 she began hosting her own television talk show, beginning a broadcasting career that saw her present some of Britain’s most popular programmes over half a century.

Published in Dawn, August 3rd, 2015

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