ZapGossip

Shout hitmaker Lulu is retiring from touring after 60 years

Lulu is retiring from touring after six decades in music.

The 75-year-old singer – who is best known for her 1969 Eurovision Song Contest-winning entry ‘Boom Bang-a-Bang’ and her 1964 hit ‘Shout’ – will bow out with one final run, titled ‘Champagne For Lulu’, this April.

Lulu has admitted her 2023 tour was too “gruelling” for her.

The chart-topping star told Gyles Brandreth on his ‘Rosebud’ podcast: “This is actually – I’m announcing it for the first time now – this is my farewell tour, with family, and friends.”

Lulu will close the curtain on her impressive career, which began at a very early age, with her final performance at the London Palladium on April 17, where she will celebrate 60 years of ‘Shout’.

She said of the upcoming run: “I’m not going to tell you exactly what I’m going to do, but of course I’ll have to do Boom Bang-a-Bang.

“The audience want to do it by themselves anyway.

“You can’t not give people what they want – and more.

“If you’ve ever seen me on tour, just let me say, you won’t have seen me like this.”

Lulu – who also performed the theme song of the same name for the 1974 James Bond film ‘The Man with the Golden Gun’ and had a number one hit with ‘Relight My Fire’ with boy band Take That in 1993 – still plans to work, seemingly continuing her acting career, with her latest role being Susan in the feature film ‘Arthur’s Whisky’.

She said: “Last year I did a tour that was kind of gruelling.

“It was successful, it went well, but you need an army to be a success in your career these days.

“And I felt unsupported.

“But then I turned 75, and I thought, ‘You know what, I want to carry on working, but I want to do it a different way’.

“I’ve learned. And I’ve also become a slightly different person.

“I’m not afraid to be vulnerable.”

The ‘To Sir, with Love’ star previously said how “blessed” she was to have the energy to be able to perform at her age and credited her stamina to her “disciplined” healthy lifestyle.

She said: “I’m blessed with having a lot of energy. I’ve always had bundles of it. You have to be disciplined. I don’t drink. I don’t smoke. I try to eat healthily.”

Last year, Lulu competed on ‘The Masked Singer UK’ as Piece of Cake.