Lulu is celebrating a six-decade career with a tour and book release, ‘If Only You Knew’. Laura Boyd was a good fit to introduce the event, and the pair enjoyed a tangible chemistry while discussing a range of issues around the two personas concerning pop icon Lulu and “wee Marie” from Glasgow.
Growing up in the city’s East-End was tough, but she described the warmth of working-class community life. Coming from a sometimes violent and alcoholic home has taken its toll at different stages of life. Thankfully, she was able to generate raw and soulful power with her voice, which would soon transport her into the company of The Beatles who she thanks for giving her career a boost when Lennon and McCartney named her first single ‘Shout’ as their favourite song of the moment.
During an early recording session, she “blew the ribbon” during a session with Bowie and Elton John producer Gus Dudgeon. Around the time she signed to Decca records she describes the period of her teens when travelling back and forward from Glasgow to London with plenty of humour and surrealism. We soon get a taste of the power in her voice when “the wee belter from Glasgow” performs a number of tracks from her vast career, including Eurovision winner ‘Boom Bang-a- Bang’, Bond theme ‘The Man With The Golden Gun’ (1974) and ‘To Sir With Love’ where she discussed her role in the groundbreaking 1967 film alongisde Sidney Poitier.
It’s later in life when she talks about her own silent struggle with alcoholism and an accompanying battle with shame coming from a culture where everything was kept quiet. With it being well over a decade since her last drink, she decided the time was right to discuss it while raising further issues around mental health. There are some extremely dark moments, and you can literally feel a sense of catharsis in the air. As a “high functioning alcoholic”, she admits she was unable to stop drinking but continued her career without being discovered even by close friends and family. A highlight was a live performance of The Man Who Sold The World where the 76-year-old sang a virtual duet with David Bowie, later revealing details of their working relationship and a late-night liaison which she admitted to not remembering aside from the morning after. What she does remember made for an entertaining evening, but at the same time, she took the audience to places many in her position would fear to tread.
If Only You Knew is out now.
Photos Richard Purden
Photos Richard Purden
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