by Emma Clayton

"I ALWAYS feel like I'm waiting to be discovered."

It seems an odd to hear from one of the UK's best known singers, reflecting on a 50-year career that has brought her chart-topping success both sides of the Atlantic.

We think of Lulu as a pint-sized pop rocket with a passion for music so fiery it matches her red hair. Anyone who has seen her sing live can't fail to be impressed by the remarkable voice rising from her tiny frame.

When I call her she's immediately warm and friendly, chatting about her beloved grandchildren. But before long she's musing on her childhood in a tough Glasgow neighbourhood, and how she feels she's never quite fitted in.

"I've lived in a state of anxiety," she says. "When I was young I felt different and was desperate to be in 'the gang'. The Sixties were fantastic but even at the height of my career I was comparing myself to others. I had huge success at 15 - and a child star stays that age."

Born Marie McDonald McLaughlin Lawrie, her talent was spotted early on. By the age of 13 she had a manager and was singing with a group called the Bellrocks on Saturday nights. She was signed to Decca Records, and at 15 her version of the Isley Brothers' Shout reached the Top Ten.

Did having too much too young lead to her anxiety? "I grew up with music, I was always singing and I'd still be singing even if fame hadn't come along," says Lulu, 66. "It came early for me, and only now do I understand how hard it was for my mother to let me go. But my anxiety was more to do with home. There was drinking and violence with my parents, they had fights, and with that comes a fear that never leaves you. As a child I felt I had to keep secrets, in those days it was 'don't wash our dirty laundry in public'. Now I'm told I have post-traumatic stress disorder.

She adds: "Everything has to do with your upbringing, but I don't blame my parents. They both had difficult childhoods. And whose father wasn't an alcoholic where I came from? I'm no longer ashamed, but as a kid it was a lot to deal with. And we didn't deal with it."

The roots of the anxiety surfaced when Lulu studied meditation. "I'd read every self help book going but with meditation you go into your childhood. I'd never talked about the fact that I had a violent childhood but it was all there," she says.

Songwriting has been a tonic. Last year she released her first album in a decade, Making Life Rhyme, which saw her come full circle as it was released on the Decca label she started on as a teenager. "I always wanted to bare my soul. Songwriting helps, although it doesn't solve all the problems," she says.

Proving she still has plenty to Shout about, Lulu is celebrating her career in a tour coming to Bradford. As well as her own hits, the Grammy-nominated singer will perform songs by musical heroes, such as Ray Charles and Otis Redding, and will be talking about her life.

"Last years was an exceptional one for me, from performing at Glastonbury to releasing my first self-penned album to touring the UK solo with my fabulous band for the first time in 10 years," says Lulu. "I had so much fun I decided to do it again!

"I'm comfortable on stage now, I've lived a lot and my nervous edge has gone. I can talk to an audience.

"I have a great band, they're fresh and young. I want the music to sound new again. Live music is what runs through my veins; music is the biggest part of my life, and I thank my parents for that. They bought records, there was always music playing."

A handful of singles followed Shout, then Lulu returned to the charts in 1967 with The Boat That I Row, written by Neil Diamond. In 1967 she made her film debut in To Sir, With Love, opposite Sidney Poitier and her title song was one of America's best-selling singles of 1967.

After Lulu's pop career thrived in the Sixties she landed her own TV shows, featuring guests as diverse as Berni Clifton and Jimi Hendrix.

In 1969, shortly after marrying Maurice Gibb of the Bee Gees, she won the Eurovision Song Contest, with Boom Bang-a-Bang. Other hits included The Man with the Golden Gun and David Bowie's The Man Who Sold the World.

From modelling in Freeman's catalogues in the 1970s and 80s to guest appearances in Absolutely Fabulous, it seems Lulu has always been around.

A re-recording of Shout saw her back on Top of the Pops in 1986, and in 1993 she gained a whole new audience singing on Take That's cover of Relight My Fire, later supporting them on tour.

More recently she has toured with Jools Holland and in Here Come the Girls alongside Chaka Khan and Anastacia.

Despite facing her demons, she remains a bubbly pop rocket, keen to hit the stage and belt out the music. "I just want the audience to leave saying: 'What a great night that was'," she smiles.

"Music is the best healer."

* Lulu is at St George's Hall on Sunday, March 13. For tickets call (01274) 432000.