Paul O’Grady – Not The Same Without YouMalcolm PrinceLabel: HarperCollinsDescription: Never-before-heard stories of the much-missed national treasure. Daily Express He was a campaigner a political advocate and a trailblazer. But most of all he was a friend. And I’d like to share that person with you. It’s more than two years since the much-loved entertainer broadcaster and national treasure Paul O’Grady died and yet his voice still echoes — in laughter in memory in the unshakeable affection of millions. In this deeply personal and revealing biography Paul’s longtime collaborator Malcolm Prince draws on two decades of friendship — and hours of private recordings — to tell the story of the man behind the icon: the sharp-witted fiercely loyal irrepressibly funny and deeply private individual known to his close friends as ‘Savage’ — and to the public in various guises as the prime time TV star the nation’s dog-loving agony uncle and a Sunday afternoon radio companion. Malcolm revisits the stages Paul made his own from the Royal Vauxhall Tavern to the London Palladium; the moments that shaped him; and draws on brand-new interviews with the people who knew him best including his daughter and grandchildren. This is a portrait not just of a gifted entertainer but of a complex fiercely loyal and endlessly curious man reflecting on a friendship built on shared laughter private rants righteous fury long phone calls and a healthy dose of gossip — and on a professional legacy that still feels astonishing in its range and resonance. Packed with warmth humour and never-before-heard stories NOT THE SAME WITHOUT YOU captures the full measure of a man who defied convention challenged institutions made mischief — and made us all feel like we were his best pal.
