Lily Savage: A Sort of A-Z Thing Book

Many a peroxide bottle has been drained since Lily Savage last ushered her "Stars of the Future" onto the Illuminated Runway of Joy at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern, that select wine bar on London's South Bank. Those who saw her then knew it was only time before this supremely confident, achingly funny personality outgrew her gay audience. The sheer range of her success-- Sunday nights at the Palladium, Edinburgh Festival Perrier shortlist, The Big Breakfast, commercials, West End musicals, Blackpool summer seasons, her own BBC television show-- was what came as a surprise. And something of a letdown, as no format has given Lily the intensity of those early days. This is an all-purpose miscellany, but the gorgeous photos hark back to the vivid stage attire of yore, as Lily does everything from Wicked Stepmother to Marlene to her inimitable hangover queen ("the lovechild of Alice Cooper and Edith Piaf"). Savage also displays a way with words that approaches comedian Victoria Wood (for example, "the hottest June day on record since Henry II got heat stroke on a day trip to Canterbury and murdered some fella called Becket in a barny.") For some, Lily may have sold out, but there's enough here to keep all but the most bitter former fan happy. --Alan StewartRead More