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. The young Liverpool entertainer, an altar boy from Irish Catholic Birkenhead, becomes the acid-tongued and outrageous drag queen Lily Savage, and moves from gay pubs to national television, creating something of a British comic institution en route (O'Grady's caustic drag character was a world away from safer predecessors such as Danny La Rue). Lily later became a regular on This Morning, took over the bed on The Big Breakfast and presented Blankety Blank, but has now retired.

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! I have been a fan of Paul O'Grady for a long time, I think he's fantastic and funny without even trying to be. Biography: 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. 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. 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.What I received was an interesting and not surprising amusing tale of Paul's early life growing up in Birkenhead that was certainly light entertainment. At My Mother's Knee" features an unforgettable cast of rogues, rascals, lovers, fighters, saints and sinners - and one iconic bus conductress. It's a life that includes, varyingly, stints in an abbatoir, as a social worker, in a high-class Mayfair brothel, and traipsing down to London to chase his dreams.

I found it interesting to find out about life in Birkenhead for Paul O'Grady, as it's an area I know. Paul's remarkable childhood and early life is littered with a dizzying cast-list of rogues, rascals, lovers, fighters, saints, and sinners.I am the same age as Paul so it was very interesting to compare where I was at in my life when he was describing his life. I have always felt different and alien to this world before I even knew of these labels, before I knew they applied to myself and how I identify. At My Mother's Knee features a cast of rogues, rascals, lovers, fighters, saints and sinners - and one iconic bus conductress. 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. 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.

Paul, of course, went on to further success presenting his chat shows on Channel 4 and ITV, For the Love of Dogs and Animal Orphans on ITV, and his weekly show on BBC Radio 2, inter alia. 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).In his own uniquely acid tongue, Paul O'Grady traces the hilarious tales of life in Irish Catholic Birkenhead that took him from a virtuous altar-boy ("my first drag") to Britain's best loved entertainer. I wanted to read his whole story, I admire and respect the important work he does now, especially with my love of animals, and the part of his life story I read was okay, but not his life story. I found this to be an entertaining read, I knew he had a colourful background he is frank and honest and you can see where Lily came from, his family is interesting,the women are strong, powerful and compassionate stubborn creatures who are every bit as colourful as our Paul, the men hold a prehapes quieter place, but are none the less as inportant, it was interesting reading about his feelings and confusion about his sexuality,a recommend but possibly for fans only - cant wait for the sequel!