Lulu

Many Americans view Lulu as a fleeting sensation thanks to her evocative 1967 chart-topper “To Sir, With Love,” a bittersweet single that never saw an exact repeat on the U.S. lists even though three further releases cracked the Top 40. Across the Atlantic, however, the vocalist born in Scotland had already notched several successes before Columbia paired that same song as the B-side of “Let’s Pretend.” Her powerful, adaptable delivery and bright outlook helped her sustain a long-running presence across pop recordings, television, theater, and film. Highlights of that endurance include a 1974 U.K. Top Three cover of David Bowie’s “The Man Who Sold the World,” the 1981 U.S. Top 20 entry “I Could Never Miss You (More Than I Do),” and a 1990s British revival capped by her featured turn on Take That’s chart-topping “Relight My Fire.” The 2002 duet with Ronan Keating—a rendering of Bob Seger’s “We’ve Got Tonight” drawn from her Top Five collaboration set Together—reached number four at home. In 2015 she issued her fifteenth studio collection, Making Life Rhyme. After appearing in a West End production and touring once more with Take That, she contributed to the 2020 Bee Gees documentary How Can You Mend a Broken Heart.

Born Marie McDonald McLaughlin Lawrie on November 3, 1948, in Glasgow, Scotland, she was the eldest of four children and displayed an early passion for singing. At age four she performed publicly for the first time at a Coronation party. Following numerous talent-competition appearances, she joined the local combo the Gleneagles at fourteen. The group soon became regulars in Glasgow and Edinburgh clubs; one evening in 1962, manager Marion Massey spotted them and recognized special promise in their magnetic frontwoman. Massey took the reins, rechristened Marie as Lulu, and renamed the band the Luvvers. A 1964 Decca contract followed, and Lulu & the Luvvers’ exuberant reading of the Isley Brothers’ “Shout” climbed to number seven on the British singles chart. Additional successes—“Can’t Hear You No More,” “Here Comes the Night,” and “Satisfied”—plus steady broadcast and concert work prompted Melody Maker to crown Lulu Britain’s most promising newcomer of 1965.

She parted from the Luvvers in 1966 to launch a solo career, signing with Columbia (the British EMI affiliate) and linking with producer Mickie Most, whose résumé already included the Animals, Donovan, and Jeff Beck. Extensive touring ensued, including a groundbreaking visit to Poland that made her the first British female performer to appear behind the Iron Curtain. Her screen debut arrived in 1967 with the coming-of-age film To Sir, With Love, in which she portrayed student Babs, guided toward maturity by Sidney Poitier’s teacher. The picture succeeded on both sides of the Atlantic, and her heartfelt theme recording topped the American Hot 100 for five weeks; back home, Columbia oddly relegated it to B-side status behind “Let’s Pretend.” Stateside momentum prompted a reissue of “Shout,” which vied for attention with the new single “Best of Both Worlds,” the latter ultimately peaking at number 32. Meanwhile in Britain, “The Boat I Row,” “Let’s Pretend,” and “Love Loves to Love, Love” all scored strongly. Brief tabloid attention followed her innocent romance with Monkees singer Davy Jones during the group’s U.K. visit; she later recalled, “very innocent—nothing untoward happened. It faded almost as soon as it had blossomed.”

In 1968 Lulu headlined her own television series, which ran under several titles—including Lulu’s Back in Town, Happening for Lulu, and It’s Lulu—until 1975, while British hits such as “Me the Peaceful Heart,” “Boy,” and “I’m a Tiger” kept arriving. She married Bee Gees member Maurice Gibb in 1969, though the union lasted only four years. That same year she represented England at Eurovision with “Boom Bang-a-Bang,” securing victory and a number-two U.K. placing. Switching U.S. labels to Atco, she cut New Routes at Muscle Shoals with Duane Allman on guitar. A 1970 British television special, Cucumber Castle, united her with the Bee Gees, Blind Faith, Spike Milligan, and Eleanor Bron and later achieved cult status. Another Atco album, Melody Fair, yielded the U.S. hit “Oh Me Oh My (I’m a Fool for You, Baby).” In 1974 she recorded the theme for the James Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun and cut a Bowie-produced version of “The Man Who Sold the World” on which the songwriter played saxophone; the single returned her to the U.K. Top Three. Years afterward she confirmed a short-lived romance with Bowie. A disco-tinged 1975 single, “Take Your Mama for a Ride,” made modest noise, and she wed hairdresser John Frieda the following year; the couple had a son before divorcing in 1991.

Her final U.S. chart entry to date, “I Could Never Miss You (More Than I Do),” arrived in 1981. Domestic fortunes remained quiet, yet she maintained visibility through television, concerts, radio, and stage work, starring in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Song and Dance and a Guys and Dolls revival. The 1993 album Independence sparked a British comeback with four charting singles, among them the Bobby Womack duet “I’m Back for More” and the title track. Her collaboration with Take That on “Relight My Fire” topped the U.K. chart, and she penned “I Don’t Wanna Fight,” a subsequent hit for Tina Turner. Guest spots on Absolutely Fabulous, appearances alongside Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders, and a 1996 made-for-television sequel to To Sir, with Love, kept her in the public eye.

An OBE honored her contributions in 2000. Two years later the duets collection Together—featuring Paul McCartney, Elton John, Sting, Cliff Richard, and others—reached number four, matching its extracted single “We’ve Got Tonight” with Ronan Keating. She published the autobiography I Don’t Want to Fight in 2002 and the beauty guide Lulu’s Secrets to Looking Good in 2010. Returning to Decca after nearly five decades, she released Making Life Rhyme in April 2015 amid ongoing television and radio commitments. She appeared in Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie in 2016, portrayed Dorothy Brock in a 2018 West End revival of 42nd Street, and joined Take That for a three-month tour in 2019. In 2020 she participated as an interviewee in the documentary The Bee Gees: How Do You Mend a Broken Heart.