MFP - 5215

LULU

Side 1: Let's pretend - I'm a tiger - Love loves to love love - You and i - To Sir with love - Match

Side 2: The boat that i row - Boom-bang-a-bang - Without him - Me, the peaceful heart - Boy - Dreary days and nights

Marie McDonald McLaughlin Lawrie, OBE, (born 3 November 1948) best known by her stage name Lulu, is a Scottish singer, songwriter, actor, model, and television personality who has been successful in the entertainment business from the 1960s through the 2000s.

From the green, green land that is Scotland emerged one of Britain's most enduring female vocalists and celebrities, the ever youthful Lulu. Born Marie McDonald McLaughlin Lawrie on November 3rd 1948, Lulu hails from Lennoxtown, Glasgow and began her early steps towards stardom at the age of four, when she began singing publicly. But from a confident young girl was to surface a pop singer with a career spanning four decades, becoming one of the most recognised artists in her home country and selling millions of records around the world.

Lulu started her career at 15 years of age singing in Glagow clubs with a group of six male musicians. She was soon spotted by her manager-to-be, Marion Massey, and brought south to record. Renamed 'Lulu And The Luvvers' the group did a remake of the Isley Brothers US hit 'Shout', a record that had failed to have any chart impact in the UK. Aided by an appearance on BBC TV's 'Top Of The Pops' the vivacious 15 year old's first disc rapidly became a top ten hit.

Despite the importance of her first single, all her most successful work that followed was downbeat in comparison, mostly ballads. However, although she soon began recording without 'The Luvvers', she lost none of her youthful charm. Besides her records, her personality enabled her to gain other stage work and she proved herself to be a competent actress. Her first big role was in the movie 'To Sir With Love' which starred Sidney Poitier. She also sang the theme which proved highly successful in the USA where it reached #1. However, inexplicably, 'To Sir With Love' was demoted to the 'B' side of 'Let's Pretend' in the UK.

After that career high, further hits ensued into 1968, including top ten, and ominously titled, hit I'm A Tiger. The BBC signed Lulu for not one but two TV series, similar to fellow sixties starlets' Cilla Black's, Sandie Shaw's and Dusty Springfield's successful shows, Lulu's Back In Town and Happening To Lulu. These shows were a combination of musical numbers and slapstick comedy, proving popular among the television viewing public.

In 1969, shortly after her marriage to Maurice Gibb, she undertook the UK entry in the Eurovision Song Contest- a fraught activity for any established star. She actually won the contest though tying for first place with no less than three other entries. Unlike many of her contemporaries, Lulu's popularity as a singer and entertainer continued unabated through the 1970s and 1980s though her rate of hits slowed compared with the 1960s. Her marriage to the 'Bee Gee' did not last and she married again during 1976.

She re-recorded 'Shout' during 1986 and again reached the top ten with it, doubtless picking up a new set of younger fans. More recently, Lulu has also shown herself to be an accomplished songwriter; her most successful piece being the Tina Turner hit 'I Don't Want To Fight Anymore'. Although the pace of her career has slowed down somewhat since she was fifteen, Lulu still makes occasional TV and musical stage appearances.

In 2000 Lulu was awarded an Order of the British Empire (OBE) for her contribution to the entertainment industry.

(info various, mainly www.45-rpm.org)