EVEN before she walked on to the stage of the Glasgow Alhambra to sing Auld Lang Syne, Cilla Black was in tears.
It was Saturday, May 24, 1969, the finale of the last ever concert at the iconic venue on the corner of Waterloo and Wellington Streets – and it was almost too much for the Liverpudlian star as she led the audience, its arms linked, in a chorus of the famous song.
But Cilla was a superstar and a true professional – as the Evening Times reported the next day, she gave it her all.
“The effervescent Liverpudlian lass made it a memorable evening,” said the reviewer. “She was at her bubbling best, a swinger who made the youngsters scream with delight and their parents yell for more.
“She is a complete natural, the lass next door – if you happen to live in Liverpool – but a lass with star quality written all over her.”
Cilla loved Glasgow and Glasgow lived Cilla.
She played the city several times over the decades. in April 1968, she appeared at the Alhambra as part of the venue’s Startime season.
The Evening Times reported the next day: “Cilla Black, the long-legged Liverpool lass, looked like a slightly out-of-season rhododendron when she appeared at the Alhambra ... - but what a triumphant night it was for the likeable, personality-packed singer.
“She bubbles with personality and her candour makes her so engaging that the packed audience is on her side right from the start.
“In her Liverpool accent, which is as deep and thick as the Mersey, she invites her audience – ‘Come on, looves, sing’. They do – and my goodness how they loove her.”
In September 1975 she was back in Glasgow, the first act to benefit from a brand spanking new sound system installed at the King’s Theatre. The Evening Times reported that she had given a fantastic performance in what was to be a short tour around the country before she took a break to have a baby.
Cilla started singing in 1963. Her singles, Anyone Who Had a Heart and You’re My World, both reached number one in the UK in 1964. She had a string of hits, and became famous for her telly shows too – Cilla, a variety show which ran in the late 60s and 70s, Blind Date and Surprise, Surprise.
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She sadly died in August 2015, at the age of 1972. .
Many Glasgow Times readers got in touch to share their memories of the star’s appearances in the city. Superfan Colin Maclean told us how he had seen Cilla perform on numerous occasions and has followed her career throughout his life, starting from when he was taken to see her by his mother as a child.
Cilla even announced Colin’s engagement to his late wife, Pauline, live on stage at her 1975 King’s Theatre concert.
After the final gig at the Alhambra in 1969, Colin says Cilla stayed “for about an hour after the show talking to her fans and after she would walk along to the Central Hotel, where she stayed, talking away to all the fans.”
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The Alhambra was demolished in 1971 and replaced with an office block.
Did you see Cilla in Glasgow? Get in touch with your memories and photos.
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