Cilla Black funeral: Poignant memories of 'fabulous' star

More than 300 friends and family members attended the Requiem Mass in Liverpool

TV star Paul O'Grady and pop star Sir Cliff Richard have delivered tributes to Cilla Black at the entertainer's funeral in Liverpool. Robert and Ben Willis, two of the star's sons, also spoke during the Mass.

They recalled the Cilla they knew - and here are extracts from the speeches they gave at St Mary's RC Church.

Paul O'Grady

I've been asked to speak about Cilla on numerous occasions, but I never thought I'd be doing it now, at a time like this, because I firmly believed that Cilla was indestructible and that I'd most definitely go first.

She loved life. If you said to me, think of one word about Cilla - one word - laughter. That's all we did. We just laughed constantly. We got into a lot of trouble I'll admit, but we laughed while we were doing it.

I remember her losing her keys and getting wedged in a window in Barbados with me holding her ankles. When the neighbours came out she shouted, "Surprise surprise!".

'Thanks for all the fun, thanks for all the laughs': Paul O'Grady and Cilla Black, pictured in 2014

It's so right that she's come home today because she was a true daughter of London... of Liverpool... sorry Cilla... a true daughter of Liverpool because Scottie Road was never too far away, neither was Paddy's Market.

I don't forget the humiliation of being in Gucci's on Madison Avenue in New York with Cilla haggling over the price of a coat, which I desperately wanted. Cilla said, "If you want it Paul, we'll get it." She said to the guy, "There's a mark on this." I'm going, "I can't see a mark." And then she said the classic line: "What will you do for readies?"

I loved her dearly. She was just such a great friend. So I don't know what I'm going to do really - the light went off a couple of weeks ago and it hasn't gone back on yet. I'm just going to miss her so much.

Cilla, I would just like to say thanks for all the fun, thanks for all the laughs - and as I always used to say to her - ta-ra girl, I'll see you on life's highway.

Sir Cliff Richard

I cannot think of Cilla in the past tense. It just seems outrageous. There are certain people that you believe somehow they'll always be there, and of course she's been taken from us.

I think the way to get past all this is to think of all the things that were fabulous about her. Just being driven here was a fabulous experience. You forget how much people loved her.

It wasn't just that she was a fabulous pop singer. She took the country by storm, and many other countries in the world too, because she became our greatest TV presenter probably of all time.

I feel really privileged that I met her and got to know her as a friend. The one thing that hit me originally was that she was a woman of commitment and dedication. Our industry sometimes doesn't have that. That's probably why people come and go so fast. She had the determination and above all she had the gift - she was able to do what she set out to do.

My memories of Cilla are going to be very happy ones. I have a faith and therefore I don't think anything happens by accident. I know there's something else. I know all our souls will be united together. Cilla, this is just a hiccup in our relationship, and we will see you again and I'm looking forward to that time.

Robert Willis, son

We are here today to mourn the loss of a wonderful lady who had touched all our lives and brought joy and laughter to so many of us.

More importantly, we're here to celebrate the life of my mother and your dear friend Miss Cilla Black. She celebrated life in the living of it. Her pure enthusiasm, self belief and wonderful sense of humour made being with her a privilege and a pleasure.

To hear her laugh - and to laugh with her - was simply a beautiful experience that all of us have shared. She was a natural who loved to entertain.

Her God-given talent and determination made her a trailblazer in the fields of music and television. She set the bar high and it's still there.

My mother loved and was incredibly proud of her family. She did have a very private side, but that enabled her to be the public person she was. This private side, away from the showbiz spotlight, was very much down to my father Bobby. He always said: "We don't work for the business - we make business work for us."

The life and the love they shared made her complete. They were two working class kids who grew up together and achieved the impossible. When he died, life for her was never really as sweet. Bobby was her soulmate and now they are together forever.

Today she has returned home. She was indeed a daughter of Liverpool. Now the circle is complete.

Ben Willis, son

Mum was always young at heart. I think this was one of the reasons so many people loved her dearly.

Dad shielded her from so much, allowing her to keep many childlike qualities. He really was her world. In many ways after he passed she was forced to grow up for the first time - but even then she only grew up a little.

She loved being a star. She lived to entertain and make people happy. But she also valued her privacy greatly. Even though mum was a star for over 50 years, she was always happy to laugh at herself.

Mum's death was such a shock to everyone but I for one take some solace at least in knowing that it happened in one of her most favourite places in the world - her sun terrace in Spain.

She was doing one of the things she loved most - sunbathing and listening to music, which was, after all, her first love.

With a razor sharp mind, she kept a strong sense of humour throughout her life. Fiercely proud, determined and driven, she refused to compromise. She achieved so much. She will be missed by so many.