At My Mother's Knee...And Other Low Joints: Tales from Paul’s mischievous young years

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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. And the Elephant and Castle, pub, I heard the Peter Skellern song about it years ago but I couldn't make out the words so I didn't know exactly how rough the pub was until I read Pauls books. Personally I do not want to read four books to catch up with his life story, too many books to read. 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.

At My Mother's Knee features an unforgettable cast of rogues, rascals, lovers, fighters, saints and sinners - and one iconic bus conductress. Likeable and occasionally entertaining though Mr O'Grady might be - this book is certainly not 'hilarious' and ultimately just. 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!In parts laugh-out-loud funny but also at times very poignant, this is a marvellous evocation of a Catholic working class upbringing in the 1950s through to the mid-70s.

Told with pathos, love, empathy, and naturally, biting humor, the story of Paul O'Grady is that of everyman, everywoman, and inevitably, every drag act ever. 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. I read this when it first came out when I was a lot younger because I loved him off the telly since I was a small child! His four volumes of autobiography - At My Mother's Knee, The Devil Rides Out, Still Standing and Open the Cage, Murphy - are all Sunday Times bestsellers.O'Grady was variously a boxer, a civil servant, a conman and even a cat burglar - all of these failed careers are on display here, as is a surprisingly pungent picture of the Liverpool nightclub scene. At My Mother's Knee features a cast of rogues, rascals, lovers, fighters, saints and sinners - and one iconic bus conductress.

At My Mother's Knee and Other Low Joints is an entertaining autobiography from someone who really does have a life that is worth writing about. 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. I am partial to a biography now and then as a change to my psychological crime novels and this one ticked the box. I enjoyed this first instalment of his life story, it's written in an almost conversational, rambling style with the author going off at lots of interesting tangents. 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.He tells it as it was, rather than in his TV voice - and I like the TV voice so it just didn't make me want to carry on. 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). He also appeared in the comedy sitcom Eyes Down (2003–2004) and presented several travel documentaries.