Singer and TV presenter Cilla Black dead at 72

British singer and TV presenter Cilla Black has died aged 72. Black, who was semi-retired, appears to have died of natural causes.

British Prime Minister David Cameron paid tribute to the entertainer describing her as; “a huge talent who made a significant contribution to public life”.

Born Priscilla White, the singer’s first job in the entertainment business was as the coat check girl at Liverpool’s The Cavern Club.

She later became a singer enjoying support from the club’s most famous band -The Beatles. John Lennon and Paul McCartney penned her first record ‘Love of the Loved’.

Today Paul McCartney said he was shocked to hear that Black had died.

“Such a shock to hear about Cilla’s passing,” said Sir Paul McCartney. “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.”

The singer chose her stage name after a critic accidentally called her Cilla Black instead of Cilla White. While her first song wasn’t a massive hit, her recording of ‘Anyone Who Had a Heart’ saw her gain a number one record. She went on to have hits through out the 1960’s and ’70s.

In 1968 Black began working as a TV host. She would become a regular face on British TV hosting game shows throughout the 1980, ’90s and beyond. ‘Blind Date’ and ‘Surprise Surprise’ were two of the well known shows she hosted.

Black died at her holiday home near Marbella in Spain.

OIP Staff

An earlier version of this article contained an image that was incorrectly assumed to be Cilla Black. It was an image of the actress Sheridan Smith playing Cilla Black. We are exceptionally stupid sometimes.