Lulu Kennedy-Cairns, (born Marie McDonald McLaughlin Lawrie on 3 November 1948 in Lennoxtown, East Dunbartonshire), best known by her stage name Lulu, is a Scottish singer-songwriter, actress, model and television personality, who has been successful in the entertainment business from the 1960s through to the present day.
Lulu shot to fame at the age of fifteen with her version of "Shout", delivered in a raucous and extraordinarily mature voice.
Her backing group were called The Luvvers, but after several more British hits she left the group to become a solo artist.
In 1966, Lulu toured Poland with the British rock and roll band The Hollies, making her the first British female singer to appear live behind the Iron Curtain.
In 1967 she made her debut as a film actress in To Sir, with Love, a British vehicle for Sidney Poitier.
She had a major hit with the title song "To Sir, with Love", which shot to number one in the United States.
In 1967, Lulu appeared on The Monkees tour at the Empire Pool, Wembley.
Rumours of a romance and indeed an engagement with Davy Jones of The Monkees were rife, but it was a complete media fabrication.
In 1969, Lulu represented the United Kingdom by performing the song "Boom Bang-a-Bang" at the Eurovision Song Contest.
Only weeks before her Eurovision appearance, Lulu married fellow musical star Maurice Gibb of the Bee Gees.
Their careers and his heavy drinking forced them apart, and they divorced, childless, in 1973.
In 1977, Lulu married John Frieda, who was previously her hairdresser, and remained with him for twenty years until divorcing him in 1995.
- by GyP alias Gippo 2009
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