Lulu extends UK farewell tour after 'emotional' realisation

Scots singer Lulu has admitted that she has had to extend her most recent run of gigs despite it being a farewell tour.

The 75-year-old is currently touring the UK for her Champagne for Lulu tour but decided to stop in and join the ladies on ITV's Loose Women, to speak about the tour - and she admitted that she has decided to add on extra dates.

Host Charlene White said: "I've heard that you've extended your tour?"

Lulu replied: "You know, I did a final tour and last year I did 32 dates and they were rammed together, and it was exhausting! Getting on stage was the easy part - the part you love but I decided that - I've been doing this for so long that I'm going to do it differently, so I had a farewell tour.

"Every night the audiences were so attentive, so loving, fun and I didn't ball my eyes out but there was a tear, it was emotional. It's been a long time, it's been my life!"

She added: "Afterwards, because of social media you know who couldn't make it and couldn't get tickets so the promotors were pushing it, so now it's two nights on and a night off. Then they asked if they could do a few more days, how could I say no?"

Elsewhere in her interview, Lulu admitted that, whilst she's performing from midnight to midday, she goes on a talking ban in a bid to rest her voice.

"If I have a gig to do and rehearsing, as we get older, you've got to work harder to pump up your vocal chords so you have to be very disciplined. So I don't speak from 12 midnight to twelve during the day," she said.

At the beginning of the year, the Scots star admitted that she was retiring from touring as it's too 'gruelling'.

She decided that she wants to focus on other areas of her career.

Speaking to Gyles Brandreth on his Rosebud podcast, Lulu said: “This is actually - I’m announcing it for the first time now - this is my farewell tour, with family, and friends.

“Because 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’."

She added: “I've learned. And I've also become a slightly different person. I'm not afraid to be vulnerable."

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