Neville Shulman writes: I advised Cilla Black (obituary, Aug 3) for many years, particularly during the later times when she and Bobby continued working so much in harmony. Cilla was never at a loss for expressing herself strongly and being up front, but Bobby had the Liverpool savvy which made them a formidable pairing. To see the two of them sparring together was always exhilarating and clearly showed why Cilla had been able to achieve so much.
The three of us had regular lunches and one time we were discussing having another crack at launching her again in the US. Bobby was keen on doing this as I was, but Cilla said, “No thanks — they’ve lost me and now they can just stuff themselves