At My Mother's Knee...And Other Low Joints: Tales from Paul’s mischievous young years

Product Information

Lily later became a regular on This Morning, took over the bed on The Big Breakfast and presented Blankety Blank. Now, in his own unique voice, Paul O'Grady tells story of his early life in Irish Catholic Birkenhead that started him on the long and winding road from mischievous altar boy to national treasure. His amazing and riveting life story reminds us that there is, when all is said and done, a bit of savage in all of us. I mean no disrespect to Paul O'grady but this is what I imagine Jeffrey Archer aims for in his works of fictions and keeps failing at it.

I am partial to a biography now and then as a change to my psychological crime novels and this one ticked the box. At My Mother's Knee features an unforgettable cast of rogues, rascals, lovers, fighters, saints and sinners - and one iconic bus conductress. I laughed so hard reading this book that I cried, and the only criticism I have of it at all is that it ended, when I wanted it to go on and on. It was fantastic reading about Paul's life growing up and what he got up to as a child and then a teenager, he certainly had an eventful life up until he was 18.It's a book which really does have something for everyone and which reminds us that, when all's said and done, there's a bit of savage in all of us. Paul O'Grady first came to fame in the guise of Lily Savage, and was nominated for a Perrier Award at the Edinburgh Festival in 1991. Told with pathos, love, empathy, and naturally, biting humor, the story of Paul O'Grady is that of everyman, everywoman, and inevitably, every drag act ever. I only read it whilst a member of a reading group - the premise of the group being that members were encouraged to read books they might ordinarily never consider reading - thanks reading group!

At My Mother's Knee" features an unforgettable cast of rogues, rascals, lovers, fighters, saints and sinners - and one iconic bus conductress. I thought this was his life story, his autobiography, and was shocked when the book finished and he was only 18 years old ! This particular book covers his early life and his first jobs prior to entering the entertainment world and rather than been full of famous people with anecdotes it is loaded with humorous unknown characters that would easily fit in a Tom Sharpe novel. But O'Grady (like other comic performers such as John Cleese) realised that comic creations can have a limited shelf life, and reinvented himself as ‘Paul O'Grady’, coming out from behind the false breasts and towering wigs as a toned-down (but still camp), more audience-friendly TV presenter (wisely, he retained the abrasive voice and a Scouse accent that could be cut with a knife). I found it interesting to find out about life in Birkenhead for Paul O'Grady, as it's an area I know.I can't believe that by the end of the book he's only just reached the age of 18 and not yet got into show business. it’s only 1/4 of his biographies which feel may be a little overkill like i wish it had got more into his adult life but then at the same time he had so many stories to fill that you can see why he wrote so many. Paul's remarkable childhood and early life is littered with a dizzying cast-list of rogues, rascals, lovers, fighters, saints, and sinners. He did it all with a smile on his face, making a mental note to register the whip-smart one-liners that would later inform his star-studded path from the fringes of comedy to the heart of the British establishment, first as his own brilliant comic creation Lily Savage, then, triumphantly, as himself.