Lulu

Marie McDonald McLaughlin Lawrie OBE (born 3 November 1948), best known by her stage name Lulu, is a Scottish singer and songwriter most known for the 1960s international hit record "To Sir, With Love".

A native of Glasgow, Lulu shot to fame at the age of fifteen with her version of "Shout!", delivered in a raucous and extremely mature voice. Her backing group were called "The Luvvers", but after several more British hits she left the group to become a solo artist.

In 1966, Lulu toured Poland with the British rock and roll band The Hollies, making her the first British female singer to appear live behind the Iron Curtain.

In 1967 she made her debut as a film actress in To Sir, with Love, a British vehicle for Sidney Poitier. She had a major hit with the film's title song, which shot to No. 1 in the United States (in the U.K., it was released only on the B-side of Let's Pretend, a much less successful hit). In the meantime, she continued with a thriving pop career in the U.K. and several television series of her own. On 29 March 1969, she represented the United Kingdom by performing the song "Boom bang-a-bang" at the Eurovision Song Contest, and was joint winner with the representatives of Spain, the Netherlands and France—there had never been a draw before, and the rules were altered to prevent it ever happening again.

In the same year, Lulu married Maurice Gibb of the Bee Gees in a ceremony in Gerrards Cross. Their careers forced them apart, and they divorced, childless, in 1973. Lulu then married her hairdresser, John Frieda, and remained with him for twenty years until another divorce. They had one son, Jordan Frieda. She became interested in Eastern mysticism and joined Siddha Yoga Meditation.In 1974 she performed the title song in the James Bond movie The Man with the Golden Gun. After that, her singing career waned, but she remained in the public eye, continuing to act. In 1987, she played Adrian Mole's mother on television, and in the 1990s she made a comeback, guesting on the cover version of the Dan Hartman song "Relight My Fire", with Take That. The single reached number one in the British charts. She also appeared as herself in 2 episodes of the hugely popular BBC television programme Absolutely Fabulous.

In 2000 she was awarded an OBE by the British Government. Her 2003 autobiography is called Don't Wanna Fight No More after a hit song she wrote for Tina Turner. In 2002 her gold album Together was a collection of duets with the likes of Elton John and Paul McCartney. In 2004 she released the album Back on Track and went on a UK-wide tour to celebrate 40 years in the business. In late 2004, Lulu became the host of her own 2-hour radio show, on BBC Radio 2, playing an eclectic blend of music from the 1950s to the 2000s, all having to do with the influence of songwriting. In 2005, Lulu released "A Little Soul In Your Heart", a collection of Motown Soul Covers and Soul classics, which entered the UK charts at #28.She has more recently appeared in the BBC's reality TV show Just The Two Of Us in 2006 as a judge. Find out more about one of my favorite UK artist at: http://www.luluofficial.com/

Research info gathered at: www.allmusic.com


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