3rd November 1948

Singer Lulu is born

Marie McDonald McLaughlin Lawrie is better known by her stage name, Lulu. She is a singer and actress who sang, among other things, the theme song to the 1974 James Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun. She had been signed to Decca Records while still in her teens, and reached the top 10 with Shout, her performance of which would be remembered throughout her career.

Eurovision Song Contest

Lulu was born in Lennoxtown, Stirlingshire, and in 1969 she represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest, performing Boom Bang-a-Bang at the Teatro Real in Madrid, Spain.

The concert went down in Eurovision history, when four songs got the same number of points and tied for first place. Spain’s Salome, the Netherlands’ De Troubadour, France’s Un Jour, Un Enfant, and Lulu’s Boom Bang-a-Bang each received 18 votes from their rivals. In later years, the winner of a tied contest was decided by counting which of the qualifying entries received maximum points most often, although that rule was not in place in 1969.

Had it been, Lulu would likely have come second, after The Netherlands, with a five, four and three. The Netherlands received a six, four and three. France’s highest score was a pair of fours, and Spain topped out with three threes. The winner of a contest traditionally hosts the event the following year. In 1970, it was indeed hosted by The Netherlands. At that contest, a new rule was introduced so that if two (or more) songs occupied the top spot at the end of the voting, they would each perform again, and be voted on a second time.

In 2014, Lulu was the opening act of the closing ceremony for the Commonwealth Games, which that year had been held in Glasgow.