Memories of Paul O’Grady, and our first meeting in a pub cellar

Absolutely devastating news about Paul O’Grady this morning, he was a comic genius, a legend and a pal.

With the sad, sad news of Paul O’Grady’s passing, thought I’d share a few memories.

When I first met Paul O’Grady (then going by the name Paul Savage) in the mid-Eighties, he was better known as his alter-ego, the ‘blonde bomb-site, Marxist sex kitten, mother of two and former Miss Pears 1957, that was Lily Savage.

Later, he would also become known as Roxanne, Sgt Roach's transvestite informant in The Bill, and later still, much later, he would drop the drag and become a star in his own right.

Going back to that early interview, however, his first for a national magazine and one that took place following an uproarious Scottish debut in the cellar of Edinburgh’s Laughing Duck in the wee small hours of the morning, here’s how he recalled the origins Liverpool's loudest shoplifter.

“I was a social worker at the time, and by night I was in a drag act called The Playgirls. Eventually I realised that turning up for work in the morning with a hangover, and having to visit some old lady, who was very ill, while I was still covered in glitter from the night before just wasn't fair.”

That early interview 📸©️Líam Rudden Media

Remembering his transition from social worker to club entertainer, he explained it came about by chance when the compere of a club in which he was working, failed to appear.

“The boss asked if I would stand in, and after about ten whiskies I agreed,” he said, before revealing how he adopted the name Lily Savage.

“One night while I was working in the club I was invited to a party aboard a ship in the dock. It turned out to be a Chinese ship called the Wang Fu or something. Anyway, I stayed at the party until the next morning - not doing anything mind, just enjoying the party, but when I got back to work everyone was calling me Shanghai Lil, and it just stuck.

“Savage was my mother's maiden name. I wanted a name to match the character, you know, the kind of woman who'd work in a market selling vegetables. Lily Savage seemed to be a perfect description for that ‘I'm-having-no-messing’ kind of woman.”

From that first meeting, we went on to become good pals, catching up whenever he was in Edinburgh or I was in London and occasionally, unexpectedly in the likes of Blackpool. Every meeting came with a story - most were hilarious but not for retelling here.

What a trooper. What a legend. Sleep well, pal. You’ll be missed.

©️Líam Rudden Media 2023