Exclusive: Lulu on needing therapy writing her memoir, her charity walk for mental health and future in music
Lulu is opening up for the first time about the mental health struggles she secretly battled with while in the spotlight.
Lulu - best known for her 1969 Eurovision Song Contest-winning entry 'Boom Bang-a-Bang' and her 1964 hit 'Shout' - is set to release her tell-all memoir 'If Only You Knew’ in September, after spending decades keeping her mental health struggles private.
The 76-year-old singer has also just completed her first sponsored walk for her new Lulu’s Mental Health Trust foundation in London, and is embarking on a UK tour where she will tell tales alongside live performance of her hits.
Contact Music caught up with Lulu on her charity walk this week, where she discussed needing therapy while penning her memoir, the special cause close to home, and her future in music, insisting she is by no means "retiring" completely...
Tell us about taking part in this special walk?
My walk is to announce my brand new mental health charity which has come about because I have just finished writing – still editing, tweaking – but I have finished writing my memoir.
The reason for doing it is I’m 76 years old. Someone very close to me said, ‘You know, people think they know Lulu and I’m like, ‘Yeah, who cares so what’ but she said, ‘Nobody knows you.’
And I said ‘Really?’ And then I started to think about it, talk about it, write about it.
When I was a child, my mother used to nag me and say, ‘Never wash your dirty linen in public’, the message I got was keep everything secret, don’t talk about things that are dark or difficult.
But that’s not the world today, the world today – and I think it’s better for it – young people today can talk about their mental health issues, their struggles in life, we can all talk about it.
So I think now was the time, I’m 76, who knows how long I’ll last; I’m on the way out. I could relate to some of the difficulties in my life, some of the issues, in this book. As well as the amazing life I’ve had.
But when you’re famous or if you’re rich, if you look successful, people think you’ve got everything but really and truly, we all have issues, we all have difficulties, we all have challenges, and those are the things that fix it. So, I’m talking about everything and it’s been intense. I’ve had to go into therapy because when you’ve kept things down, they lodge in your body and you can’t just access them easily, you have to dig down.
And it’s been very intense and I talk about thing I’ve never spoken bout before, some real issues I’ve had in my life and if that’s helpful to someone, then I’ve done a good job.
But I also talk about my amazing life.
I’m going on tour. The book comes out in September and I go on tour the month of October, I’m going to have questions and answers, film and video, I’m going to talk about the book, speak about issues in it and I’m gonna sing.
I’m gonna keep the music there too, because that’s really what’s led me to here, why you’re interested in talking to me. And that’s been an amazing healer, so I hope it’s going to be a good read.
You’re touring – but you said earlier in the year it was your last…
What I said was I’m not going to tour in this way again and what most people heard was ‘I’m retiring. I’m not going to sing again’. And I thought, ‘No, I didn’t say that you big nanny, I said I’m not going to tour like that anymore.
It’s a talking, singing, a different… I’ve never done it before and I’m a little bit nervous about it.
I’m nervous about the book, in anticipation that it will be received OK. My most important thing is people will relate to it and maybe get something from it, you know ‘She did that, maybe I could do that.’ Or ‘She did that, I’m not the only one’ because I used to feel very much alone in my anxiety, so.
And of course, this walk is a walk down memory lane, the walk I’m doing to initiate my charity. And if you want to offer any money, it will go to really good causes to help people find the right therapists, the right counsellor, the right help for whatever their issue is.
And it’s a walk down memory lane. I start at the school where I filmed ‘To Sir With Love’ and I finish where I recorded ‘Shout’ at my record company.
How hard was it dealing with your struggles in secret?
You’re gonna have to read the book, you’ll get it, but you’ve got a piece of it. My mother would say, ‘It doesn’t cost a thing to smile’. And ‘That face of yours’ – my resting face – she’d say, ‘That face of yours is going to get you murdered one of these days.’ So I was constantly going ‘Hello, hello, hello’ and often feel like [s***]…. My training.
How do you think you’d fare in Eurovision these days and how much do you think it’s changed over the years?
Lulu: I think as an old codger I don’t know if I’d fare very well these days, it’s all about young people, you’ve got to hand it to young people. I think it’s very political and we struggle, we always struggle.
What can I say, never give up is what I say to those three lovely girls [UK entrant Remember Monday, who scored null points at the weekend], keep going.
To sponsor Lulu - who walked from where she filmed the video for 'To Sir With Love’ and ended where she recorded 'Shout' - visit www.justgiving.com/campaign/luluswalk.
'If Only You Knew' will be released on September 25, followed by a UK tour, in which the star will share stories and perform some songs. Visit luluofficial.com for ticket information.
