What BBC2’s recent documentary “Lulu – Something to Shout About” re-inforced is that not only does singer Lulu get sexier and cuter the older she gets, but what has not diminished with the passing of the years, is her fabulously powerful voice. However what is also abundantly apparent is that in the first thirty years of her career she was never really given the music vehicles to do her fantastic vocals justice!!

Lulu possesses the most wonderful soul voice that booms out from her petite frame and that was apparent from the word “go” with her debut hit single “Shout” in 1964. The eternal question and a point of great frustration to the author, is why wasn’t this fantastic soul voice exploited further after the initial success of “Shout”?! Lulu should have been competing on a level playing field with her 1960s female solo vocalist contemporaries, Dusty Springfield, Shirley Bassey and Cilla Black. The fact that she did not have greater access to the best songwriters like Burt Bacharach and producers that fully appreciated her soulful voice is a crying shame!! Instead record producer, Mickie Most, pushed her down the bubblegum pop song route, which saw her have hits like “The Boat that I Row”, “I’m a Tiger” and the 1969 Eurovision Song Contest Winner “Boom Bang-A-Bang”. These songs pandered to her cute, girl next door image, but it’s a travesty of justice that the record and music industry did not have the vision to see beyond this. The evidence was there with her first hit “Shout” at the age of 15 and a further reminder of her soul credentials came with Lulu’s theme song from the Sidney Poitier film “To Sir, With Love”.

In fairness, Atlantic Records, the home of many Soul artists like Aretha Franklin, signed her in the early 1970s, but again Lulu’s incredible talent was not fully exploited, and no hit records were produced whilst she was under contract with the record label. Very much a missed opportunity!! Finally David Bowie recognised her talent and persuaded her to record his song “The Man who sold the World”, which not only gave Lulu her biggest solo chart success with a No3 hit in the UK in early 1974, but gave her much needed and deserved credibility. This in turn led to Lulu being invited in the same year to record the Bond theme music for the film “The Man with the Golden Gun”, which although it wasn’t a chart hit was nevertheless one of the better James Bond film themes.

After spending the 1980s out of the media spotlight, doing the cabaret circuit, Lulu found herself back in the limelight of the Top of the Pops studios in 1993 with her self styled song “Independence”. This was quickly followed later in the year with her collaboration with Take That, “Relight My Fire”, which seems prophetic as it single handedly relit her career by bringing her to the attention of a younger generation and reminding the older generation of her immense talent, energy, charisma and personality.

Latterly Lulu has finally got the recognition she deserves as one of the finest singers the UK has produced. She has always been incredibly popular as her engaging personality and warmth endeared her to a nation right from the start in 1964; but now she has the respect for a talent that was ignored and overlooked for far too many years…..thirty years to be precise!!

You can immortalise Lulu in your own home, by ordering your favourite Lulu vinyl record or CD, single or album, framed and mounted as a picture disc. ORDER NOW by clicking on…….. http://www.myfirstrecord.co.uk/

Alternatively this would make a unique present or original gift for a special celebration  ie a Wedding, 40th, 50th, 60th or 70th Birthday, a Silver, Ruby or Golden Wedding Anniversary, Father’s or Mother’s Day or Valentine’s Day!! THE PERFECT PERSONALISED PRESENT!!