Lulu, singer-songwriter and actor, 67, single
I come from a working-class background in Glasgow - my father worked in the meat market. He had a voice like Pavarotti and sang all the time; that's where I get my love of singing from. He was very maternal.
My mother says he was better at changing my nappies than she was.
I have two younger brothers. Billy [Lawrie] is the closest in age to me [18 months younger] and my closest collaborator. He's a great songwriter and we write together - I push him and he pushes me. He recently reminded me that my first job was when I was only eight years old and sang with an accordion band.
I joined my first rock band, the Bellrocks, when I was 12. The boys were much older than me - probably five years older - but they treated me with respect because I was the lead singer. They must have thought I was good because boys that age are not really interested in having a girl in their band unless they think she has got it. I had my first hit at 14 with the rock'n'roll song Shout; that really put me into the spotlight. I met a lot of rock'n'roll stars then.
The Beatles were amazing. Because I was a teenager and they were in their 20s, I had a big crush on them all. Paul and John were my absolute favourites; when they were on the TV show Ready Steady Go! the host asked them what their favourite release was that week and they both said, "Lulu's Shout." I just couldn't believe that they loved my record. That was how I got to know them and work with them and go out with them. They always treated me as a peer.
My first serious boyfriend was Alex Bell, who was in a band with me then called Lulu and the Luvvers. I was still very young and naive and the boys in the band were extremely protective of me.
I don't think I've ever had what you would call a love affair. I'm the kind of girl who falls for someone and it quickly becomes a serious relationship.
My role in the 1967 movie To Sir with Love came out of the blue. I'd already had a lot of success with my singing but I couldn't believe I was going to be in a movie, it was a totally different thing. I sang the title song for the movie as well.
Sydney Poitier, my co-star in that film, is someone you can't help looking up to. I didn't have a crush on him; he was 20 years older than me. I was a teenager and a child by comparison.
I was in awe of him and I loved and respected him. Sydney just commands that without even speaking - he's so tall and so dignified.
I did fall in love with Davy Jones [from the Monkees] and when he dumped me I fell for Maurice Gibb [from the Bee Gees] on the rebound. I was only 20 when I married Maurice. It lasted four years - I think we were too young. We were lonely; we were in a business where we were so successful it set us apart from other people. Maurice and I were crazy for each other but we were very young and emotionally immature.
My second marriage, to John Frieda, was much the same, although it lasted much longer [14 years]. John was a hairdresser who became, over time, a very famous hairdresser. I married him at 27 and my mother said, "Oh wow, you've got your own hairdresser now."
John is the father of my only son, Jordan; he is 39 this year and a restaurateur. I'm very close to Jordan and see him often, and he has given me two beautiful grandchildren, Bella, 6, and Teddy, 3. Teddy does not look like his father at all. He looks a lot like my brothers and like his mother's family, who are Australian. So my grandchildren are partly Australian.
I've sung duets with a lot of famous male singers: Paul McCartney, Elton John, Sting, David Bowie. Yes, I did have a short fling with David Bowie.
It was very short - there's not much more to say about it!
I've known Leo Sayer, who I'm touring Australia with, for a long time. We're not close, but I've always thought he was very talented. I went to see him in concert recently and he's really amazing. Leo is one of the few artists I'd say is the real deal. He's extremely gifted as a songwriter and musician and he has that unbelievable voice. Both Leo and I are very energetic and we have big voices. I'm really looking forward to the tour.
I wouldn't say I'd never marry again - who knows? But marriage is certainly not in the forefront of my mind. I don't feel the need to be married. I've had a run at it and I picked two good guys.
I'm a woman's woman. Throughout my life I think I've had more close relationships with women than with men. With men, I know it's a cliché, but I can't live with them and I can't live without them. I know some women who are definitely better with men. At parties you'll see them drawn to the group with the men in it but I'm always with the girls. I don't know why that is, but I'm a girls' girl all the way.
The Leo & Lulu tour comes to Sydney's State Theatre on June 23 and Melbourne's Hamer Hall on June 24.
