Lulu’s Big Night at the Royal Albert Hall
Lulu, a legend in the music industry, made a stunning return to the stage on Monday for a special performance at London’s Royal Albert Hall. The event was a celebration of her long and illustrious career, featuring appearances from some of her closest celebrity friends.
The concert saw Lulu, 77, perform alongside Gary Barlow and Robbie Williams, who were both part of Take That. This marked a significant moment as it was the first time that Gary and Robbie had performed together in nearly a decade. The two former bandmates showed their camaraderie by bowing down in front of Lulu as she strutted onto the stage in a pair of fringed trousers for her iconic verse.
In addition to performing their 1993 duet, Gary sang Take That’s classic song “A Million Love Songs,” while Robbie joined Lulu for her hit “Angels.” The evening was introduced by Graham Norton, and other notable performances included Delta Goodrem and Boy George joining Lulu for “Karma Chameleon.”
A Night for a Cause
The concert was not just a celebration of Lulu’s music but also a fundraiser for her charity, Lulu’s Mental Health Trust, through Prism the gift fund. The event attracted a star-studded audience, including Tracey Emin, David Furnish, Brian Cox, Rashida Jones, and Ezra Koenig.
Despite being in her seventies, Lulu shows no signs of slowing down. She is set to perform at the Henley Festival on July 10, followed by two shows in Scotland in August and dates in Brighton, Truro, and Salisbury in October. Additionally, she has announced the release of her 16th studio album, titled Let The Girl Sing Out, which will drop on September 4. This is her first album in over a decade, following the 2015 release of Making Life Rhyme.
A Memoir and a Journey of Recovery
Last year, Lulu released a memoir titled If Only You Knew, in which she candidly discussed her battle with alcoholism. In the book, she revealed what led her to have her last drink back in November 2013. During an interview on This Morning to promote the book, Lulu spoke about her past addiction and expressed how sad she felt that her father didn’t receive the same support she did.
Presenter Cat Deeley asked, “Considering the history you have as well, the way you were brought up, the family you lived in, you’d seen this before, really?”
Lulu replied, “My father. They would say, ‘Oh, Eddie likes a good drink.’”
Cat added, “Back in that day they didn’t have the tools to be able to help themselves.”
With tears in her eyes, Lulu said, “It really makes me sad when I think that my parents didn’t have the help that I have today. My sister is a psychotherapist. She knew not to bring it up until I brought it up.”
Lulu’s parents are Betty McDonald and Eddie Lawrie. The Shout singer previously shared during the interview, “I had this secretive, but actually shame-filled, full of shame about being an alcoholic like my dad, full of shame about a lot of things that happened in my childhood, a lot of things I’d done.”
Presenter Ben Shephard asked why she decided to have her last drink all those years ago. Lulu explained, “I don’t think I decided, sometimes things are decided for us. I struggled, struggled, struggled for years, secretly. Nobody knew I was an alcoholic.”
