Sad Farewell to Paul "Lily Savage" O'Grady.

A sad farewell to the much loved British television presenter, actor, and comedian Paul "Lily Savage" O'Grady who has passed at the age of 67  “unexpectedly but peacefully” on Tuesday evening which was confirmed by his husband Andre Portasio Ourtia.

Born in Birkenhead in 1955 on the Wirral, to a working-class Irish immigrant family/ In 2015, he told a reporter that despite his wealth, he still felt “very much” working-class, saying, “I know that probably sounds strange. Mentally, I still am. I’m still thinking, have I got the rent for Friday?”

His mother’s maiden name was Savage, which inspired his act. So did other female relatives and clients he met during his early career as a social worker. He performed as Lily in a solo show that ran for eight years at South London’s famed Royal Vauxhall Tavern and became renowned for speaking out about LGBT rights, notably the Aids crisis, police harassment and Section 28. He combined warm compassion with outrageously spiky wit – a rare combination that stood him in good stead throughout a glittering, eclectic career.

 Rather than dressing in Hollywood-style super-glam like most drag acts of the era, O’Grady consciously made Lily a streetwise everywoman. “I gave her cheap clothes, visible roots, a tattoo and a lovebite,” he later recalled on Michael Parkinson’s chat show. “Her heels were scuffed and she had holes in her tights. She was a divorced ex-prostitute with two children and a fondness for booze and drugs. Next thing I knew, she was on primetime telly. What happened there?”

O'Grady took his deliciously naughty foul mouthed Lily from pubs to peak time television. All in an age when homophobia was the ‘norm’! He helped break those barriers down, as an activist  while lending his  voice  to those to scared to come out.

After  O’Grady killed off Savage in 2005, claiming Lily had “seen the light, taken the veil and packed herself off to a convent in France”. Thereafter he took centre stage as himself. As the host of the Paul O’Grady Show and Paul O’Grady Live he could be just as caustic as Savage.

In 2010 he provoked complaints to Ofcom for attacking the new coalition government during Paul O’Grady Live. “Do you know what got my back up?” he told his ITV audience. “Those Tories hooping and hollering when they heard about the cuts. Gonna scrap the pensions – yeah! – no more wheelchairs – yeah! ... I bet when they were children they laughed at Bambi when the mother got shot.”

In a 2018 interview with The Guardian, O’Grady stated that he was “ashamed” of the state of the country under the Tories, particularly in regards to the underfunding of the National Health Service (NHS). He also expressed his belief that the austerity measures implemented by the government had caused unnecessary hardship for many people.aul O'Grady never compromis

O’Grady also criticised the Conservative Party’s stance on issues such as Brexit, climate change and LGBTQ+ rights. In a 2017 interview with The Independent, he accused the Tories of “destroying the country” and said that he would “rather eat a wasp” than vote for them.

In 2019, O’Grady made headlines after he accused Prime Minister Boris Johnson of being a “buffoon” and a “complete and utter disgrace”, after Johnson made comments about Muslim women wearing burqas. O’Grady also accused the Conservative Party of deliberately stoking racial tensions for political gain.

While some criticized O’Grady for his political activism, many of his fans applauded him as a national treasure for using his platform to speak out on issues he was passionate about. O’Grady’s comments on the Tories are just one example of his willingness to use his voice to effect change and hold those in power to account. accountable, proving .to be more effective in opposition to the viciously cruel Tories than the brown nosed subservient Starmer and his treacherous Blairtes ever could.

An iconic trailblazer,passionate campaigner and  fantastically funny observer of real life who laughed with us cried with us and offered support to those who had no voices at all, he remains a national treasure admired by many because he never compromised  his beliefs for anyone, while breaking down  barriers for gay rights and mainstream acceptance.

He should be remembered as a fiercely defiant gay man whose  righteous fury against the establishment should remain a battle cry for us all.  My thoughts go out to his loved ones, his family and his friends,.

Rest in Peace Paul "Lily Savage"  O'Grady.