{"id":24454,"date":"2017-05-31T08:37:16","date_gmt":"2017-05-31T12:37:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=24454"},"modified":"2017-05-31T08:37:21","modified_gmt":"2017-05-31T12:37:21","slug":"on-stage-bonus-lulus-impact-stretches-across-decades","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=24454","title":{"rendered":"On Stage (Bonus): Lulu’s impact stretches across decades"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff<\/strong>, Staff Writer, The Times<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Lulu<\/p><\/div>\n

Lulu is a veteran singer whose name you may not recognize. But, music fans \u2013 especially music fans who are also movie fans \u2013almost definitely know some of her songs.<\/p>\n

Remember the title track to the hit movie \u201cTo Sir with Love\u201d? That was Lulu singing. And, she also acted in the film.<\/p>\n

How about the James Bond film \u201cThe Man with the Golden Gun\u201d? That was a hit movie which featured Lulu singing the title track.<\/p>\n

However, there is a lot more to Lulu\u2019s musical resume than just those two hits.<\/p>\n

Lulu, who was born in Glasgow, Scotland, is the only singer to have a U.K. Top 20 hit record in each of five consecutive decades.<\/p>\n

Lulu started her career with a Top 10 single \u2013 her version of the Isley Brothers\u2019 hit \u201cShout.\u201d She has been a top international recording artist ever since.<\/p>\n

Now, the talented singer who is a resident of London, England, is out on her biggest North American tour ever \u2013 the \u201cAll About Music Tour\u201d that brings her to the Sellersville Theater (24 West Temple Avenue, Sellersville, 215-257-5808,\u00a0www.st94.com<\/a>) on May 30.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re here in Toronto for three days of rehearsal before we start the tour,\u201d said Lulu, during a phone interview last week while taking a break from a rehearsal session with her band.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re adding songs that were hits in America but not in the U.K. \u2013 songs such as \u2018Oh Me Oh My (I\u2019m a Fool for You Baby)\u2019 and<\/p>\n

\u2018I Could Never Miss You (More Than I Do).\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cI always sing \u2018The Man with the Golden Gun\u2019 and it means even more now that Roger (Moore) has just passed away. Roger was one of the funniest men you could ever meet.\u201d<\/p>\n

With more than 75 singles and over 25 albums over the course of five decades, Lulu has a lot of songs from which to choose for her set list for shows on this tour.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaking a set list \u2013 if you\u2019re me, it\u2019s the most joyous thing,\u201d said Lulu, whose first Number 1 hit was \u201cTo Sir with Love\u201d in 1967. \u201cI like to try things out — like changing an arrangement or taking advantage of updated technology.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I do \u2018The Boat That I Row,\u2019 which was written by Neil Diamond, I don\u2019t do the arrangement from the single that Mickie Most produced in 1967.<\/p>\n

\u201cArrangements from that era don\u2019t hold up. I\u2019m not a retro act. I love modern music. The most important thing \u2013 everything I do has to have soul.<\/p>\n

\u201cWait until you hear my (backup) singers. They are really great singers. And, I have great musicians in my band. We have a wide range in the music \u2013 Motown, Stax, blues, R&B and even country-and-western.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lulu, who was born Marie McDonald McLaughlin Lawrie, started her music career as a 15-year-old Scottish soul sensation.<\/p>\n

Since then, she has sung at the Eurovision, hosted a Saturday night light entertainment TV show, acted in films, theater and television and sold her own brand of makeup.<\/p>\n

Some of her classic hits have been \u201cTo Sir with Love,\u201d the 1969 soul smash \u201cOh Me Oh My (I\u2019m A Fool for You Baby)\u201d, the Bond film song in 1974, a Bowie collaboration on \u201cThe Man Who Sold The World\u201d in the mid-1970s and her 1993 hit \u201cTake That.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her most recent, self-written album \u201cMaking Life Rhyme,\u201d which was released on Decca Records, is as strong as anything she\u2019s done in the past.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the album came out a couple years ago, I got the best reviews of my life,\u201d said Lulu, \u201cSongwriting \u2013 I never developed that part of me for a long time. I learned my craft by observing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 60s was when Lulu began her music career and is still her favorite decade.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the 60s was the most incredible time,\u201d said Lulu. \u201cI\u2019m lucky to have been part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video links for Lulu \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/fs5Xr2CU-NI<\/a> and \u201cTo Sir with Love\u201d (1967) \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/k8-M_wg8AI4<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The show at Sellersville, which has Sharon Little as the opening act, will start at 8 p.m. Tickets are $35 and $49.50.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

The Wild Now<\/p><\/div>\n

The Wild Now has been existence for more than three years but has yet to play Philadelphia.<\/p>\n

On May 30, the band from Austin, Texas will make its Philly area debut at Kung Fu Necktie (1248 North Front Street, Philadelphia, 215-291-4919,www.kungfunecktie.com<\/a>).<\/p>\n

The nucleus of The Wild Now is Taylor Baker and Drew Walker. The duo is currently joined by Errol Siegel on guitar, Chase Goldman on bass and Greg Clifford on drums.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was born and raised in Austin,\u201d said Baker, during a phone interview last week from a tour stop in Atlanta, Georgia. \u201cDrew and I met when we were both living in Austin.\u201d<\/p>\n

Baker and Walker first met\u00a0at a \u201cLocal Natives\u201d show at\u00a0SXSW 2013.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe met there and hung out,\u201d said Baker. \u201cHe ended up playing trumpet with my band the next day. Then, my guitar player left so Drew took over on guitar.\u201d<\/p>\n

They began playing and recording together as Taylor & The Wild Now.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe released our first self-titled EP in 2014,\u201d said Baker. \u201cBut, it\u2019s nothing like we are now so we pulled it. It\u2019s not even on Spotify or iTunes anymore.<\/p>\n

After a while, the duo shortened its name to The Wild Now and hooked up with Austin producer\u00a0David Beck\u00a0to do some recording sessions.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe released our second EP, \u2018Tides,\u2019 in 2016,\u201d said Baker. \u201cOur new EP, \u2018Afterglow,\u2019 just came out on May 19. It was an independent release.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe recorded it in Austin at a small studio called Fast Horse Studios. We did all the recording analog and made five songs for the EP. We usually record two or three songs at a time. The EP just evolved over time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beck produced four tracks and Austin\u2019s Max Frost produced a single from the EP. All the tracks were mixed by Matty Green.<\/p>\n

While \u201cTides\u201d offered dreamy indie-pop tunes, \u201cAfterglow\u201d features pulsating synth music along with guitar work with a jungle-disco feel. In its formative days, the band\u2019s music was more in the Americana vein.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Americana influence is fading away,\u201d said Baker. \u201cWe\u2019re heading a little more toward an electronic sound while still maintaining our indie-pop sound.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe realized that a lot of our older songs were slower. We wanted faster songs that would get people excited. Soon, we\u2019re going to have a deejay remix one of our new tracks.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn our live set, we play some songs from the new EP, some from the previous one and sometimes a cover or two that we like \u2013 including Nina Simone and Major Lazer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for The Wild Now — https:\/\/youtu.be\/8yG9p_7aQaM<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The show at Kung Fu Necktie, which has Rasan In The Heyday, Carolyn Thorn, and Josh Nussbaum as opening acts, will start at 8 p.m. Tickets are $7.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff, Staff Writer, The Times Lulu is a veteran singer whose name you may not recognize. But, music fans \u2013 especially music fans who are also movie fans \u2013almost definitely know some of her songs. Remember the title track to the hit movie \u201cTo Sir with Love\u201d? That was Lulu singing. And, she […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24456,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7529],"tags":[6518,4143,8978],"class_list":["post-24454","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-d-arts-entertainment","tag-featured","tag-lulu","tag-the-wild-now"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24454","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=24454"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24454\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24455,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24454\/revisions\/24455"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/24456"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=24454"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=24454"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=24454"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}