For those not in the know, Cilla Black was an much beloved English singer, television presenter, actress and author.

Championed by her friends the Beatles, she began her career as a singer in 1963, and her singles 'Anyone Who Had a Heart' and 'You're My World' both reached number one in the UK in 1964. Black had eleven Top Ten hits on the British charts between then and 1971; and an additional 8 hits that made the top 40.

In May 2010, new research published by BBC Radio 2 showed that her version of 'Anyone Who Had a Heart' was the UK's biggest-selling single by a female artist in the 1960s. 'You're My World' was also a modest hit in the US, peaking at No. 26 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Along with a successful recording career in the 1960s and early 1970s, Black hosted her own variety show, Cilla, for the BBC between 1968 and 1976. After a brief time as a comedy actress in the mid-1970s, she became a prominent television presenter in the 1980s and 1990s, hosting hit entertainment shows such as Blind Date (1985–2003), The Moment of Truth (1998–2001) and Surprise Surprise (1984–2001).

In 2013, Black celebrated her 50 years in show business. British television network ITV honored this milestone with a one-off entertainment special which aired on 16 October 2013. The show, called The One & Only Cilla Black, featured Black herself and was hosted by Paul O'Grady.

Sadly, Cilla Black died on August 1st, 2015 after a fall in her villa in Estepona, Spain. The day after her funeral, the compilation album The Very Best of Cilla Black went to number one on the UK Albums Chart and the New Zealand Albums Chart; it was her first number one album.

This deluxe double CD set is the fourth release in a brand new series which re-issues the legendary Cilla Black’s original albums.

In this package, Cilla’s all-time favorite of all her albums SHER-OO!, from 1968, is paired with her 1978 disco fueled pop album and Cilla Black fans’ favorite MODERN PRISCILLA, which is released for the very first time on CD.

Both albums contain a wealth of bonus tracks with an incredible 21 bonus tracks in total across the package!

CD 1:
1. 'What the World Needs Now Is Love'
2. 'Suddenly You Love Me'
3. 'This Is the First Time'
4. 'Follow the Path of the Stars'
5. 'Misty Roses'
6. 'Take Me in Your Arms and Love Me'
7. 'Yo-Yo'
8. 'Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart'
9. 'Step Inside Love'
10. 'A Man and a Woman'
11. 'I Couldn't Take My Eyes Off You'
12. 'Follow Me'
Bonus Tracks:
13. 'All My Love'
14. 'Step Inside Love (Original Demo Version Featuring Paul McCartney on Acoustic Guitar) (Mono)'
15. 'Step Inside Love (First Take)'
16. 'M'innamoro (Step Inside Love - Italian Language Version) (Mono)'
17. 'I Only Live to Love You (Mono)'
18. 'From Now On'
19. 'What Good Am I? (Mono)'
20. 'Work Is a Four Letter Word (Film Version)'
21. 'Abyssinian Secret (Mono)'
22. 'Trees and Loneliness (Mono)'
23. 'There I Go (Mono)'
24. 'Time (Mono)'
25. 'Step Inside Love (Mono)'
26. 'Step Inside Love (Almighty 12" Definitive Mix)'

This first disc containing Sher-oo! was an album that Cilla herself was immensely proud of and has said that she adored making it and considered it to be her all-time favorite long play.

Indeed, it was whilst on holiday during the recording sessions for Sher-oo! that Cilla received the career defining news that manager and friend Brian Epstein had both gotten her her very own series on BBC Television, but that also he had also died from an accidental overdose.

Epstein had adored Cilla and was instrumental in changing her life by launching her career to the dizzy heights of superstardom and British icon.

Completing the sessions for the album, Cilla very much considered Sher-oo! to be her tribute to Brian. The final recording which needed to be reworked was ‘Step Inside Love’.

This was the signature tune for Cilla’s new BBC TV series and her album’s lead single as was written for Cilla especially by her friends Paul McCartney and John Lennon.

1968 was overall an extremely successful year for Cilla with her new BBC TV shows regularly commanding audiences of 22 million and both her lead single ‘Step Inside Love’ and new album Sher-oo! becoming Top 10 hits on the British charts.

As with her previous album, there is a mixture of '60s pop here, such as the wonderful, free flowing easy beauty of 'What the World Needs Now Is Love,' the upbeat infectious finger-snaps of 'Suddenly,' the gorgeous hipsway and brass band-backing of 'This Is The First Time' and standards such as 'A Man and a Woman (Un Homme Et Une Femme)' and the stand out chart stunners 'Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart' and 'Step Inside Love' all immaculately scored by George Martin.

This re-release of Sher-oo! notably includes amongst the bonus tracks, the four songs from Cilla’s 1967 EP Time for Cilla which showcase her innate ability to deliver both a soft and tender love song and an emotive power ballad.

Indeed, the bonus tracks allow for a deeper look into Cilla in that timeframe with the lead off being the lush 'All My Love (Solo Tu),' a simply show stopping 'M'innamoro (Step Inside Love - Italian Language Version),' the power of 'From Now On' and the love ballads 'Abyssinian Secret (Mono)' and 'Trees and Loneliness (Mono).'

CD 2:
1. 'Silly Boy'
2. 'The Other Woman'
3. 'Me and the Elephant'
4. 'Keep Your Mind on Love'
5. 'Putting It Down (To the Way I Feel)'
6. 'Sugar Daddy'
7. 'Opening Night'
8. 'Brooklyn'
9. 'I Couldn't Make My Mind Up'
10. 'Heart Get Ready for Love'
11. 'Love Lines'
12. 'Platform Rocker'
Bonus Tracks:
13. 'This Time I'm in It for Love'
14. 'If I Could Put You in My Song'
15. 'When You Walk in the Room'
16. 'I Wanted to Call It Off'
17. 'Songs'
18. 'Silly Boy (Paul Hulme Mix)'
19. 'Follow'

The second disc contains fan favorite album Modern Priscilla from 1978; her tenth studio album and her last for EMI.

Keeping up with ever changing musical tastes, producer Mike Hurst moved Cilla in the direction of the then popular disco style in an attempt to broaden her musical appeal. Cilla knew Mike from the early 1960s when he was a member of The Springfields with Dusty and Tom Springfield.

Modern Priscilla includes several ballads and a colorful array of up-tempo numbers – three of these were penned by Dominic Bugatti and Frank Musker who were the celebrated song-writing team behind disco anthems for The Three Degrees and Bonnie Tyler.

A pre-release teaser, the standalone disco infused single ‘I Wanted To Call It Off’ was released in July ‘77 and by December that year most of Cilla’s new album was completed.

Cilla did however return one last time to the recording studio in March 1978 when she gave two of her finest vocal performances of the decade on ‘Brooklyn’ and the hauntingly beautiful ballad ‘Songs’.

Indeed, this session turned out to be her final one under her EMI recording contract.

Bugatti & Musker’s catchy song ‘Silly Boy’ was chosen as the lead single for Cilla’s new album and was supported by performances on the BBC‘s Top Of The Pops and Cilla’s new TV special for Thames.

The final single to be released from the album was ‘The Other Woman,’ a perky upbeat, guitar-backed track that if you didn't know it was Cilla, well, you might never guess.

Overall, the album was split between disco numbers and ballads and for the most part keeps its head above water with great tracks such as the disco-thrilling 'Silly Boy,' the dancefloor sway of 'Keep Your Mind On Love,' the seductive 'Sugar Daddy,' and both 'Opening Night' and the guitar rocker 'Platform Rocker.'

The bonus tracks are a fun addition to the album, with both the Donna Summeresque 'I Wanted To Call It Off' and a stunning cover of The Searchers' 'When You Walk In The Room' leading the way.

'Silly Boy (Paul Hulme Mix)' is not much of anything compared to the original, whereas the ballad 'Songs' definitely stands out as being Cilla at her finest.

The album’s eye-catching sleeve was inspired by the work of Czech Art Nouveau painter and decorative artist Alphonse Mucha whose work Cilla adored.

This release, along with all the others in this Cilla Original Album Series is endorsed by its Executive Producer, Cilla’s son Robert Willis and comes with a 32 page booklet including extracts from a 2009 interview with Cilla, introductory essays about both albums and contemporaneous photographs from both the record company archives and the Cilla Black Estate.

Cilla Black @ Facebook!

Official 2CD Purchase Link

www.CillaBlack.com