A LIFE LESS ORDINARY

THE BIGGEST REVELATIONS FROM THE SINGER'S GRIPPING TELL-ALL MEMOIR

-  Carolyn Hiblen

During a career spanning seven decades, Cher has become one of the world’s bestselling music artists. A Grammy and Billboard Icon Award winner with 100 million records sold worldwide, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year.

But there’s so much more to the artist born Cherilyn Sarkisian on May 20, 1946 in small-town El Centro, California.

In Cher: The Memoir, Part One (out now), the legend gets candid about her rise to fame, her tempestuous relationship with husband and singing partner Sonny Bono and his many betrayals.

BREAKING INTO THE UK

On the advice of Mick Jagger, Sonny and Cher headed to the UK in August 1965 with big ambitions. While their plan to launch their career there got off to a humiliating start – denied entry to the London Hilton by a desk clerk who took exception to their hippie clothing – Cher believes the experience launched them internationally thanks to the two reporters waiting when they walked out.

“‘Sonny, Cher, did the Hilton just kick you out?’ they asked. ‘Was it because of how you look?’” she recalled. “Photos of us being ejected from the Hilton were on the cover of the evening newspapers and everyone wanted first crack at us for interviews on their TV and radio shows.”