1943: Cilla was born Priscilla Maria Veronica White on May 27, 1943 in Liverpool, where she grew up. With the encouragement of her family, she was soon performing at talent shows and local gatherings. In her early teens she died her brown hair reddish-orange, a shade which she kept for the rest of her life.

1958: She left school with the recommendation, “Priscilla is suitable for office work”, and took a secretarial and shorthand course. She landed a job as a typist at a construction company – but also got a part-time job as a cloakroom attendant at the famous Cavern Club in Liverpool, where the Beatles regularly played.

Cilla with the Beatles in 1968
Cilla with the Beatles in 1968 (Robert Dear/AP)

The singer quickly impressed the Beatles and others with her talent, when she gave impromptu performances at the Cavern. At this time, she also worked as a waitress in the Zodiac coffee lounge, where she met her future husband and manager Bobby Willis.

Cilla was introduced to Brian Epstein by John Lennon, who persuaded him to audition her. In September 1963, Brian signed her up as his only female client.

Cilla Black
Cilla Black in 1964 (PA)

1963: Her debut single, Love Of The Loved, written for her by Lennon and McCartney, was a relative failure, reaching just number 35 in the UK Singles Chart.

1964: Fortunately, her second single, the Burt Bacharach-Hal David composition Anyone Who Had A Heart, shot to Number One and became the biggest-selling single by a female artist in the history of British popular music.

This launched her on an extraordinarily successful pop career, with 20 consecutive Top 40 hits on the British single and EP charts, including 11 British Top Ten singles and two consecutive Number One singles in 1964.

Her hits included You’re My World, Alfie, and Step Inside Love. Cilla’s pop career continued until the end of the 1960s, by which time she was an internationally-acclaimed star.

Cilla Black and Cliff Richard in 1968 (PA)
Cilla Black and Cliff Richard in 1968 (PA)

1967: Only days before his premature death, Brian had engineered Cilla’s switch to television, where her girl-next-door image found great appeal. Her own variety show for the BBC regularly commanded staggering audiences of 22 million and ran for eight years.

1969: Cilla married Bobby – twice: once at a registry office, and later at a church. Bobby put aside his own offer of a recording contract in order to manage his wife’s career.

1985: Cilla started presenting her signature show, Blind Date, which ran until 2003. Three singletons of the same sex were introduced to the audience, and then were questioned by a single of the opposite sex, who would have to choose a date without being able to see the contestants.

Though Cilla wished her Blind Date matches a, “Lorra lorra luck”. Three couples went on to marry in the history of the show.

She also presented Surprise! Surprise! (1984-1999), where she arranged surprises for members of the public and granted their long-held wishes, and Moment of Truth (1998-2001), a game show where family members had to learn tricks and perform them on the show in order to win prizes for their whole family.

1997: At the height of her television success, Cilla was awarded an OBE.

Cilla Black gets a kiss from husband Bobby Willis after receiving her OBE
Cilla Black gets a kiss from husband Bobby Willis after receiving her OBE (John Stillwell/PA)

1999: Bobby, to whom she was married for over 30 years, died of lung cancer at the age of 57. The two had reportedly never spent more than four nights apart during their entire marriage. Cilla never got over losing her husband, saying of the time after his death, “Without Bobby I felt so alone”. Even 15 years later, she cried on air while discussing her late husband.

2001: She performed as the ageing stripper from the musical Gypsy at the Royal Variety Performance, with pals Paul O’Grady and Barbara Windsor.

2003: After 18 years, she quit her signature show, Blind Date, saying she didn’t want it to become a “chore”. Her final show went on air as she celebrated her 60th birthday.

2005: Her autobiography What’s It All About? became a best-seller.

2014: Sheridan Smith starred in Cilla on ITV, a drama about the star’s rise to fame. Cilla herself was impressed by the performance, though found it a little odd: “It’s a strange experience seeing other people recreating your life”.

But she also gave her approval: “I read the script and absolutely loved it. It’s really a love story between Bobby and I, which also focuses on my pop career.”

2015: Cilla died at the age of 72. Tributes poured in from friends including Paul O’Grady, Cliff Richard, Joan Collins, Barbara Windsor, Paul McCarthy and Ringo Starr.