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Still Standing
Still Standing
Nov 16, 2024 1:35 PM

Author:Paul O'Grady

Still Standing

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.' *****

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

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.

—— Sunday Telegraph

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

—— Independent on Sunday

Funny, forthright and sharp as a knife ... O’Grady writes just as he speaks, with comedic barbs coursing through the pages

—— Daily Mirror

Meik Wiking reveals how you can turn your home into a snug sanctuary, no matter your space or budget

—— Your Home
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