Lulu says she doesn't speak, let alone 'shout', before noon

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Scottish pop singer Lulu is about to embark on what will be her final tour, but don’t expect to hear a peep from her before midday.

The musician, actor and TV star born Marie McDonald McLaughlin Lawrie rose to fame in the mid-Sixties, aged 15, with her cover of “Shout” by the Isley Brothers and has since enjoyed a career encompassing a string of hit records, a Eurovision win, and a James Bond song.

Her farewell tour is titled “Champagne for Lulu”, after a famous line uttered by Jennifer Saunders’ character Eddie in an episode of Absolutely Fabulous that Lulu cameoed in.

Lulu, who will be joined by “special friends” during shows in Aberdeen, Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham and London this month, has revealed that she takes her performances very seriously, and plans to rest her voice until the afternoon of each show.

“I don’t speak before 12 noon,” she told the BBC. “I can understand why you think I’m lying. But no, I’m very disciplined.

“I exercise my voice, all that stuff. I watch my diet. And I don’t speak before 12 noon when I’m on tour. It’s not a big deal. I’ve done total silence for weeks.”

So while she might encounter someone who makes her “want to shout”, Lulu won’t even whisper before 12pm on show days.

“I try not to come out of my room until 12,” she said. “It makes it easier. I take care of my instrument. It allows me to sing.”

It seems that her forthcoming tour has put Lulu in a reflective mood, as she spoke about her time representing the UK at Eurovision in 1969, where she came first in a four-way tie with France, Spain and the Netherlands thanks to her performance of “Boom Bang-a-Bang”.

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Five years later, she was heard performing “The Man With the Golden Gun” for the Bond film of the same name, starring Roger Moore in his second outing as 007.

Reflecting on her career spanning seven decades, Lulu said she never expected to have made it this far.

“To be honest with you, if when I was 15 years old and someone would have suggested I’d be doing a farewell tour at 75, I’d have said, ‘You are having a laugh.’

“I think to be living at 75 is an achievement, and to still be able to sing.”

Lulu emphasised in her interview that she still plans on singing and recording music, and also wants to do more acting, after recently starring in the 2024 comedy Arthur’s Whisky opposite Diane Keaton, Patricia Hodge and Adil Ray.

Her latest studio album, Making Life Rhyme, was released in 2015 to positive reviews.