Lulu: the star proves she’s still got much to shout about in this slick farewell tour
The title of Lulu’s 60th anniversary (and final) tour is a memorable line from the hit TV sitcom Absolutely Fabulous (which featured the Scottish singer in four episodes). In one of those episodes, the starstruck Edina (played by Jennifer Saunders) and Patsy (Joanna Lumley) famously, and frantically, order “champagne for Lulu!”
The show’s title references just one highlight from Lulu’s extraordinary, six-decade career. There could have been many others. She might, for instance, have mentioned the support given to her breakthrough song Shout by John Lennon and Paul McCartney in 1964 (when she was just 15 years old). Or she could have opted for winning the 1969 Eurovision Song Contest, representing the UK with Boom Bang-a-Bang (aged 19).
These milestones, among many others, were celebrated in an immaculately put-together show which combined live music with autobiographical chat, videos and photographs. In one touching moment early on, Lulu recalled the exhilaration of being asked, not only to perform in, but also to sing the theme song for the 1967 movie To Sir with Love starring the great African-American actor Sidney Poitier.
Dedicating the song to Poitier (who died in 2022), the singer said that, some 57 years on, she still feels honoured to have been involved in such a “groundbreaking, anti-racist film.” Like her other early career highs, she told us, the success of both film and theme song made her pinch herself: after all, she was just “a wee lassie” from the working-class district of Dennistoun in the East End of Glasgow.
Yet, as the fabulous set of songs Lulu selected for the show reminded us, she had only just got started. The decades to come would include The Man Who Sold the World, which David Bowie gave to her in 1974.
Lulu’s performance of one of Bowie’s truly great songs was a highlight of the show, not least because (thanks to some smart video and audio editing) it became a duet between her and the legendary English singer-songwriter (who passed away in 2016). Another touching moment came when she performed alongside a video of her 2002 TV duet with the late Bee Gee Maurice Gibb (the pair were married for four years in the early Seventies).
Supported by a fine backing band, she danced around the stage with the energy of a woman less than half her age. And, indeed, at 75, her voice has impressively retained its power and range.
Glasgow was the obvious place for Lulu to begin her final tour and it certainly is a fitting send-off. As she received multiple standing ovations, she seemed genuinely moved. Not bad, indeed, for a wee lassie from Dennistoun.
Touring until April 17: luluofficial.com
