FOR decades her distinctive rasping voice has made her instantly identifiable, from that first long “Well!” introduction to arguably her best-known song, to her intermittent Glasgow accent.
Now Lulu is hoping to learn how to disguise the familiar voice that has been her ticket to fame, in a new role as an actress.
She has revealed she is now studying acting, 52 years after making her film debut alongside Sir Sidney Poitier in the 1967 drama, To Sir, With Love, when she was just 19.
The decision is said to have been inspired by actor Angus Macfadyen, and comes after she wrote and performed soundtrack music for his new film, Robert The Bruce.
Her career swap from singer to actress comes at a time when most people might be considering winding down rather than embarking on new challenges.
READ MORE: The road to discovery: Lulu on fame, friendships and remembering she's Scottish
Lulu celebrated her 70th birthday in November. However, the Glasgow-raised singer, whose looks and energy seems to defy time, says she is now working with an acting coach and studying the Meisner technique.
Developed by the late American actor and acting teacher Sanford Meisner, it is founded on “the reality of doing” and has been taught to or used by movie stars including Jack Nicholson, Diane Keaton, Jeff Goldblum, Robert Duvall, Steve McQueen and Tom Cruise.
Lulu appeared last year in Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie
She said: “I love to act and I’ve actually been studying.
“Everything I ever did in my past was just natural but I’ve been studying Meisner, I’ve been studying with a great coach and I want to get back into acting.”
Despite being in her seventh decade and at an age when many actresses complain of finding work offers in decline, Lulu has hinted at already having been given options on acting roles.
In an interview with The Herald’s Brian Beacom last week, she said she is considering three acting jobs, including a classic theatre role.
She added: “I may be scared sh**less, but I’m up for them”.
Lulu, real name Marie Lawrie, said she had been encouraged to “do more acting” by Robert The Bruce star Macfadyen, who asked her to write and perform the closing theme song for the film, which is currently showing in cinemas.
She added: “Now I think about it, Angus should have given me a part. Maybe there will be a sequel.”
Lulu began her singing career at the age of just 12, appearing with bands in Glasgow clubs to help prop up the family income.
She became a household name at the age of 15 when she recorded her version of the Isley Brothers’ song Shout in 1964.
The record reached No 7 in the UK charts.
She went on to become the first British female singer to appear live behind the Iron Curtain in 1966 during a tour of Poland with The Hollies, which she followed with her acting debut in To Sir, With Love.
The film tackled a series of social and racial issues against the background of a black British Guianan teacher arriving at a tough east London school where he is confronted by groups of unruly and poorly educated teenagers.
Lulu has recently completed a tour with Take That, at one point photographing herself standing on a London Underground train wearing sunglasses, baseball cap, flared trousers and towering platform shoes as she made her way to the O2 Arena. She wrote: “On the way to work at @theo2london tonight... and nobody gave this old bird a seat on the tube,” adding the hashtag “#OAP”.
She would be far from the only established female singer to make the switch from vocalist to actor.
Most recently, Lady Gaga received an Oscar nomination for her role in A Star Is Born. However Madonna’s venture in acting was less successful, with many of her acting roles receiving poor reviews, with audiences struggling to separate her on-screen persona from that of singing superstar.
Lulu made her film debut in 1967 in To Sir, With Love
Lulu, who co-writes with her brother Billy Lawrie, said she had been “thrilled” to be asked to pen music for the Robert The Bruce film.
“I’ve known Angus a long time and when he told me he’d finally got (Robert The Bruce) done, I was thrilled but then he said ‘would you be interested in writing a song?’ “I said ‘send me the script’, and when we read it my brother and I were blown away. It’s so beautiful. There are lines in the song that are in the script – it’s called The Air Of Freedom.
READ MORE: Lulu at 70: singer celebrates landmark birthday
“If you have great words, a great script, of course that’s the inspiration, and then he gave us one or two directions of what kind of reaction he wanted from the song, so it came really very quickly.
“It’s Celtic and this is the first time that we’ve written anything that has a Gaelic flavour to the melody.
“I’m thrilled to be a part of it. Angus has a tremendous presence on the screen.
“And at the end, it’s just heartbreaking, and then my song comes in over that and it says it all.”
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