Lulu Kennedy-Cairns, OBE (born Marie McDonald McLaughlin Lawrie, 3 November 1948, Lennoxtown, East Dunbartonshire, which was then in Stirlingshire), best known by her stage name Lulu, is a Scottish singer, actress, and television personality who has been successful in the entertainment business from the 1960s through to the present day. She is famous for the title song from the James Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun, in North America for the film theme "To Sir, with Love" and in the UK for her first hit "Shout" and her Eurovision Song Contest winning entry "Boom Bang-a-Bang". Lulu grew up in Dennistoun, Glasgow, where she attended Thomson Street Primary School and Onslow Drive Junior School. She lived in Gallowgate for a while before moving to Garfield Street. At the age of 12 or 13 she and her manager approached a band called the Bellrocks seeking stage experience as a singer. She appeared with them every Saturday night: Alex Thomson, the group's bass player, has reported that even then her voice was unbelievable. Under the wing of Marion Massey, she was signed to Decca Records and at the age of fifteen her version of The Isley Brothers' "Shout", delivered in a raucous but mature voice, reached the UK charts. Massey guided her career for more than 25 years, for most of which time they were partners in business. Massey's husband, Mark, wrote many of Lulu's hits. Her backing group, The Luvvers, was quickly dropped. In 1966 Lulu toured Poland with The Hollies, the first British female singer to appear live behind the Iron Curtain. In the same year she recorded two German language tracks, "Wenn du da bist" and "So fing es an" for the Decca Germany label. All of Lulu's Decca recordings were made available in 2009 on a 2-CD entitled Shout!, issued on RPM Records. (extract from Wikipedia 2011)