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August 3, 2015

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Singer Cilla Black, 72, dies in Spanish home

Big-voiced British singer Cilla Black, a product of Beatles-era Liverpool who became a national treasure over a 50-year career in music and television, has died. She was 72.

Spanish police said yesterday that Black, who had a home in Estepona, southern Spain, died on Saturday. The cause was not immediately disclosed.

Black was born Priscilla White in Liverpool in 1943, and as a teenager worked in the cloakroom of the city’s Cavern Club, where she was spotted by The Beatles.

Signed by the Fab Four’s manager, Brian Epstein, she had a string of hits starting in 1964 with “Anyone Who Had a Heart” and “You’re My World,” both of which went to No. 1 in Britain.

She also had success with the Bacharach-David theme tune for the 1966 film “Alfie,” and recorded several Beatles songs, including “The Long and Winding Road.”

By the late sixties she was famous enough to be known by her first name alone, and hosted a BBC variety show, “Cilla.”

With her good cheer and tireless work ethic, Black was a TV natural. She became a fixture as the cheeky host of game show “Blind Date” and heartwarming-reunion program “Surprise Surprise.”

“She always felt like a friend in your living room,” TV executive Michael Grade told Sky News.

Black’s husband of 30 years, Bobby Willis, died in 1999. She is survived by their three sons.




 

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