Emotional scenes as iconic venue holds 'minute of applause' for Paul O'Grady

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

The London drag venue where Paul O'Grady found mainstream success honoured him with a 'minute of applause' after the TV personality died at 67.

Wednesday night’s show (March 29) at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern (RVT), in Vauxhall, saw Paul remembered as “one of the greatest drag artists the UK has ever seen” with minute of raucous applause for the TV star, instead of a typical minute of silence.

Paul died “unexpectedly but peacefully” on Tuesday evening (March 28), his partner, Andre Portasio, said in a statement. He rose to fame on the nightclub circuit as the witty, platinum wig-wearing Lily Savage – a name believed to have been inspired by his late mother. READ MORE: Paul O'Grady was 'laughing and so full of life' hours before sudden death, devastated friend says After touring the north of England with the character, he settled into a solo residency at the RVT, before transitioning to broadcasting and going on to host a number of popular television programmes.

On Wednesday, RVT host Michael Twaits told a packed out audience that Paul had been “an absolute legend of the community”. “Today we lost one of the greatest drag artists the UK has ever seen, and it is this building, this building was where it happened,” he said. “Eight years of doing solo shows… and also doing shows like tonight, introducing new talent to the LGBT+ scene.