She may be 65 but Lulu has no intention of retiring

Lulu’s still got lots to shout about!

Lulu says her father’s work ethic means she can never retire.

The remarkably fresh-faced 65-year-old was speaking during a return to Glasgow.

She moved to London 50 years ago, when she was 15, to record Shout and become a pop star. She revealed she barely recognises parts of her home city now.

“I’ll work until I die. I think if I stopped working and retired, I would fade away,” she said.

“My dad was a hard worker, he was out of the house at 5am every day. He was really belligerent and used foul language about people who didn’t work. I get my work ethic from him.

“I really love my work, but I choose what I do now and it’s not so manic.”

The singer admitted last week that she gets lonely sometimes and worries about growing old and not being able to look after herself. But she says she finds it hard to believe that she is an OAP.

“I’m incredulous about being 65. I feel like I’m 40 but my body definitely knows it’s 65 I have aches every five minutes. But I feel I have a few years left in me yet.”

Plenty has been said over the years about Lulu’s accent, but she says she wanted to hit people who couldn’t understand her when she first moved south.

“I had such a thick Glasgow accent that people would ask: ‘what did you say?’ I got sick of it and I wanted to slap them, but I couldn’t do that.

“So I would get really facetious and speak in a mock accent, but I was told I had to cut that out too.”

Much has changed in the city since Lulu left but she’s happy to see one iconic building is still standing.

“It’s very prosperous and sophisticated now. There are some extraordinary new buildings and it’s really been cleaned up. I’m nostalgic about it.

“I get a certain excitement when I come home, no matter how far away I’ve been or for how long. These are the ties that bind and this town made me who I am. I’m astonished the Barrowland Ballroom is still here. It’s fantastic.

“I remember the stage used to be at the opposite end from what it is now, but I bet the sound is great during concerts.”

The star was visiting the iconic venue for a new Radio 2 documentary, Lulu’s Musical Map of Glasgow.

She returns to the streets where her career began and recalls her earliest musical memory, on her father’s shoulders singing In a Golden Coach during the Queen’s Coronation, aged four. And Lulu also talks about her school days.

“I liked school until a certain age and then I hated it,” she revealed. “Some of the bigger girls didn’t like it because I sang and they wanted to punch me out and they did.”

She also reveals she’s never tasted a notorious fast food delicacy associated with Scotland that arrived many years after she left for London.

“I’ve never tried a deep-fried Mars bar, it just doesn’t appeal to my palate. I love fish and chips, black pudding, haggis, but that doesn’t appeal.”

Lulu also put out an appeal to be included in the Commonwealth Games festivities.

“I hope I’m asked to be part of it somehow, because this is historic. It’s such an exciting time.”

Lulu’s Musical Map of Glasgow is on Radio 2 on Monday, July 21 at 10pm.