She’s a singer, actress and entrepreneur and has been in the business for six decades but as the star reveals her favourite role is simply being a gran

She may be just shy of 5ft 2 but there is no missing Lulu. Sweeping up the red carpet at the Scottish Fashion Awards dressed in a sparkling Chanel jacket and Ray-Ban aviator shades, she looked every inch the pop star she is and has been for the last 47, yes you read that correctly we did say 47 years.

At the age of 62 Lulu, real name Marie McDonald McLaughlin Lawrie, has had a career that few in the business can rival. She’s worked with the likes of The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Elton John and even Take That. She’s also made a film with Sidney Poitier and even won the Eurovision Song Contest at one point. But the most impressive thing about Lulu’s career is that it is still going strong. Recently, fellow Scot Lorraine Kelly asked her why, in fact how that’s been possible. She replied, “It’s all about the music for me. Everything else I do; keeping fit, trying to look as good as I can for my age is all because of the music.”

And look good for her age she most certainly does. When No.1 came face to face with her at the Scottish Fashion Awards there was very little to belie her years, which is precisely the way she wants to keep it. “The music business is all about youth,” she says matter-of-factly. “Whether you would like to or not, you have to address how you look. I try to look the best I can because if the occasion arises that I have to be standing next to Kylie Minogue I don’t want people asking, ‘Who’s that old bat?!’

Her secret to looking youthful has become one of the topics that she is asked about most often in interviews – it’s also become one of the most contentious. Whilst she has admitted to using Botox in the past (she says she quit the wrinkle freezing potion years ago) she is a little more cagey about having had any other surgery, much to the frustration of many a journalist. Ask her straight out and, typically, she’ll give the same stock answer that Madonna relies on, “I’m not against it, just against talking about it.” 

What she is more than happy to talk about is the anti-ageing range of skin products she has. Lulu’s Time Bomb, is an ever expanding offering of skin care covering everything from day creams and specialised wrinkle filler compounds, to eye make-up remover and cleanser and she’s involved in every step of its conception and production. “If I really do look good for my age I attribute it to the painstaking work that has gone into this range,” she reveals. “Time Bomb is the result of years of trying to find what products and ingredients make the biggest difference. We approached each problem area relentlessly and if I did not see results, it was back to the drawing board. I am convinced that my fine Scottish skin could easily look like an old dried prune right now if it were not for Time Bomb.”

Ah yes, that Scottish skin. Lulu may now live between London and America but speak to her and you can’t mistake that she hails from Scotland – sort of. Many column inches have been dedicated to her accent over the years so it’s not exactly breaking news to discuss it here, but believe us it merits some discussion. Years of living away from home have produced a sound that’s something of a Glaswegian/mid-Atlantic hybrid – not unusual for ex-pats who have set up home across the pond, but what makes hers very unusual is that she swings between the two in the same sentence! She’ll start off sounding like an all American gal and finish by saying something like, “ma wee mammy.” It was once put to her in an interview that some people find her accent rather false to which she replied, “I am sure they do and maybe it is. It’s me… What can I tell you?”

But despite the somewhat bizarre transatlantic accent, no one can dispute that she’s proud of her heritage. “It is weird for me coming back,” she said in an interview with The Scottish Sun. “Everywhere I go people will say, ‘I remember my mum taking me to your concerts’ or ‘I remember buying your first single.’ It’s very heart-warming. I will always call Scotland my home.”

She may be a Scot but in the next few weeks it’s another Celtic country that has her attention as she will be performing at the Llangollen Eisteddfod festival in Wales alongside the likes of McFly and Russell Watson. “I’m so excited about it,” she gushes. “I’m taking my friends Kiki Dee and Rick Astley and I’m really looking forward to it. I love playing festivals.”
She might love playing them but they are hard work and after some more questioning she does concede that she has a lot on at the moment. ‘I have a busy life,” she shrugs. “I have my Time Bomb products, I’ve got my gigs with my band, I’m working on a script for television with some friends, I have my granddaughter staying over and I’m the subject of a fly-on-the-wall documentary – which is a wee bit stressful.” With all that it is difficult to see how Lulu manages not to become all work and no play, until talk turns once again to her granddaughter who has just reached one and a half. “I’m crazy about her,” she smiles. “She’s so much fun and I have the best of both worlds. I can enjoy her and all the fun she brings, and I can hand her back!”

It’s clear that family is important to the singing sensation and yet after the breakdown of her second marriage to hairdressing legend John Frieda in 1995 she has never remarried. She once said that her first reaction was, ‘Oh no, I’ll have to have another marriage so I can get it right next time’ but then she realised that she couldn’t be bothered. “Although I don’t mind having a wee look if a handsome guy walks in,” she smiles, “I’m certainly not looking to partner up. But if it happens, it happens.”

So far it hasn’t happened and she doesn’t seem the least bit sorry about it, especially as she is still enjoying her work so much. Asking her if she ever thinks about slowing down, retiring even she is quick to respond. “I hope I’m in the business until I drop! I wouldn’t want to not work. When I’m singing I’m at home.”

Singing seems to be something very personal and very powerful to her. Asking her about that she says, “Music is a great healer. I think I’d have gone crazy if I hadn’t been a singer.”

It’s a fair point as ‘if it makes you wanna shout,’ (apologies but we just couldn’t resist) and you’ve still got people who are more than happy to listen to you do it then why not get it all out on stage!

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