[6][8] Determined to become an entertainer, Black gained a part-time job as a cloakroom attendant at Liverpool's Cavern Club, best known for its connection with the Beatles.

She was encouraged to begin singing by a Liverpool promoter, Sam Leach, who booked her first gig at the Zodiac Club on Duke Street, where she appeared as Swinging Cilla, backed by the Big Three.

She was featured in an article in the first edition of the local music newspaper Mersey Beat by the paper's publisher, Bill Harry, who mistakenly referred to her as "Cilla Black" rather than her real name.

Destroyed—and wanting to die—I struggled on to the end.But after seeing her another day, at the Blue Angel jazz club, Epstein contracted with Black as his only female client on 6 September 1963.

35 in the UK, a relative failure compared to the débuts of Epstein's most successful artists (the Beatles, Gerry and the Pacemakers and Billy J. Kramer with the Dakotas).

[17] Black belonged to a generation of British female singers which included Dusty Springfield, Helen Shapiro, Petula Clark, Sandie Shaw, Marianne Faithfull, and Lulu.

Black recorded much material during this time, including songs written by Phil Spector, Tim Hardin and Burt Bacharach.

The single wasn't critically well received, however; the Rolling Stones' manager Andrew Loog Oldham took out an advert in the Melody Maker to deride Black's efforts compared with the original.

[20] Being so closely associated with the Beatles, Black became one of a select group of artists in the 1964–65 period (the others being Billy J. Kramer & the Dakotas and Peter and Gordon) to record more than one Lennon–McCartney composition.

[10] Black's career in the United States, although enthusiastically supported by Epstein and his PR team, was limited to a few television appearances (The Ed Sullivan Show among them), a 1965 cabaret season at the Plaza Hotel in New York City, and success with "You're My World", which made it to No.

[23] For Bacharach's part, he said "... there weren't too many white singers around, who could convey the emotion that I felt in many of the songs I wrote but that changed with people like Cilla Black".

In a 1997 interview with Record Collector magazine, Black revealed she was asked to appear in the film The Italian Job (1969), playing the part of Michael Caine's girlfriend, but negotiations fell through between producers and her management over her fee.

[22] Epstein died of an accidental drug overdose in August 1967, not long after negotiating a contract with the BBC for Black to appear in a television series of her own.

Relations between Epstein and Black had somewhat soured during the year prior to his death, largely because she felt he was not paying her career enough attention and the fact that her singles "A Fool Am I" (UK No.

However, Black refused on the basis that Sandie Shaw had won the previous year's contest and that the chances of another British female artist winning were few.

[29] During 2006–07, Black's 1971 single "Something Tells Me (Something's Gonna Happen Tonight)" was used as the soundtrack to a new British advertising campaign for Ferrero Rocher chocolates.

Black was part of an all-Scouse cast assembled in this three-hour stage spectacular to mark the end of Liverpool's year as European Capital of Culture.

The show incorporated a number of Black's successes, which she performed live, including "You're My World", "Something Tells Me", "Step Inside Love" and "I Can Sing a Rainbow".

[31][32][33] On 7 September 2009, a total of 13 original studio albums (the first seven produced by George Martin) recorded by Black between 1963 and 2003 were released for digital download.

[39] The following year, ATV was commissioned to film six more plays as the initial series had accrued healthy viewing figures and remained constantly among the highest-scoring three shows of the week.

[40] In 2013 it was announced that Black was set to co-star in a new BBC sitcom Led Astray, alongside her friend Paul O'Grady — the pilot episode was recorded on 31 October 2013.

[42] According to Christopher Biggins's autobiography she "stormed back into the public consciousness with a barnstorming performance as a guest on Wogan in 1983, proving that we can all have second chances" and after her appearance, people were "desperately trying to find her the right comeback vehicle".

In 2006, Black took part in the BBC Wales programme Coming Home about her Welsh family history, with roots in Wrexham and Holywell.

Black paid homage to Blind Date with the return of its most popular contestants and saw her star in a special edition of Coronation Street.

[3] In 2014, Black was the subject of a three-part television drama series, Cilla, focusing especially on her rise to fame in 1960s Liverpool and her relationship with Bobby Willis.

[54][55] A documentary titled Cilla – The Lost Tapes aired on Wednesday 19 February 2020 on ITV, featuring previously unseen career and private family film.

[59] In August 2014, Black was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian expressing their hope that Scotland would vote to remain part of the United Kingdom in September's referendum on that issue.

[64] A pathologist's report confirmed that Black had suffered a subarachnoid haemorrhage after falling backwards and hitting her head, presumably on a terrace wall.

[63] Then-Prime Minister David Cameron stated, "Cilla Black was a huge talent who made a significant contribution to public life in Britain.

[81][82] "The sculpture shows a young Cilla performing one of her early songs and the design of her dress on the statue features images of her legendary career.