When I go out, it's to have a good time, not to find a man.
— Cilla Black
I would have loved to have cracked America. When I tried, I got homesick. Then, when I was in New York, my nanna died, and I just wanted to come home.
Having a biopic made is very flattering.
I've had days when I go in my bedroom for 24 hours at a time. I call them my Cilla Black days, and they're literally black days. It's like the old Boomtown Rats song 'I Don't Like Mondays.' You just want to shut the whole day down.
There's a whole generation out there who don't know that I was a pop singer in the early days.
I just thank God when I wake up every day.
I am falling apart. My hand is falling apart. I can't shake hands. I had arthritis, and I had an operation for it.
Back when I was helping put the swing into the swinging '60s, I used to hang out with Cathy McGowan. We'd be doing 'Ready Steady Go!' on T.V., and Biba used to make our dresses. We'd be in the flat in Cromwell Road on Friday night, just before the live show, and they'd still be sewing.
I'm very quiet off stage.
I'm quite subdued, believe it or not. I switch it on for the camera.
I wouldn't mind being a talent show judge if it didn't run for too long.
I helped make the Sixties swing, and I'm very proud of that.
It's no fun getting older. I might be wearing beautiful diamond earrings, but they can't take away the pain of losing my hearing.
It's a business, and I'm a product. Terrible, isn't it?
I love books and the latest autobiographies. I'm a Gemini and love being with people, but then again, I love my own company, which is when I read most.
Really, I'm trying to retire. It's just nobody will let me!
I loved everything about show business, meeting the stars, the whole ambience. I was living every young kid's dream. I was told a pop singer's life was three years, but I was still making money seven years later.
I don't want to live beyond the age of 75. That would be a good point to bow out. I don't want to go on for ever.
On my gravestone, I want 'Here lies the singer,' not 'Here lies the T.V. presenter'.
I've had a blessed life. I've pulled back from trying to control my destiny and gone back to accepting whatever fate has in store for me. I live for today because I don't know what'll happen tomorrow.
It's true what they say: 'You don't appreciate what you've got until it's gone.' I miss love. I miss being looked after.
I don't want to be a burden on anybody.
I don't see why I should be a dame for just doing what I always wanted to do.
I've got a bike in the lounge that I watch Coronation Street on. I never had to watch my weight until I had the children, but with the bike, I'm fine.
There's nothing going into my mouth that's not wrapped.
I love cookery programmes.
I intend to grow old very disgracefully.
Anything which interferes with my social life is a no-no.
It's hard to watch your life unfold, and sad. Life changes.
I'm a 'never say never' girl. Frank Sinatra retired four times. He kept coming back. But there are people in our business who want to die on stage. Literally. I don't want to do that.
I always believed I would be a star.
I rarely stay in hotels because I have friends all over the world.
I never liked miming.
I can't say I'm surprised I was successful. I was determined - and I got it.
I was reading about an age pill that has been developed which they claim will make you live longer. That is not for me.
T.V. found me. I was offered jobs. It came in handy when I started having babies. Just one night's work, and then I could go home. I loved 'Surprise Surprise', but it was hard work. 'Blind Date' was a doddle by comparison.
I'm a Roman Catholic. Or was. I was brought up that way and used to say my prayers every night, but I don't pray to God any more. I might use the usual phrases I picked up from my parents, 'Oh, if God spares me next year...' or 'Please God...' but they're only phrases.
I've got lots of great friends in show business, and that's all they are. Great friends. I'll never marry again - what's the point? I had the best. I've got friends all over the world, and that's enough for me.
'Blind Date' was my lifeline. It was 90 minutes when I could forget about everything, forget about the world.
You see on 'Britain's Got Talent' and 'X Factor,' they all wear ear plugs. But I could not hear myself when I wore them. So that is where the strong voice came from.
The first time I went to Abbey Road and put those headphones on, I discovered I had two voices. I no longer had to shout in the studio, but I can't knock the Cavern or the other clubs because they gave me my strong voice.
My idea of baking is buying a ready-make cake mix and throwing in an egg.
You couldn't give me any more confidence than when I was on T.V. because I was in control, but I wasn't in control in my private life.
Who wouldn't fancy Brian Epstein? He was tall and handsome and had money and class.
In the Sixties, you needed talent to make it.
Its rock n' roll that has done my hearing in.
It is when I am on stage that I feel most comfortable. It is my home. It is the only thing I have known since I was a kid.
If I can't eat the meal in a restaurant, and the waiter asks, 'Is everything all right, Madam?', I tell them that I'm on a diet.
After Fergie and Prince Andrew honeymooned at Le Touessrok in Mauritius, Bobby, my late husband, and I were first to stay in their suite. We enjoyed the benefits - all the spoils and the special luxuries. We practically had our own private beach, and it was most romantic.
Turning 70 was a real shock. I thought, 'I'm on the last lap now.'
