Lulu: I Don't Want To Fight: The devastatingly candid autobiography from the Scottish singer, songwriter and superstar Lulu

by Lulu

This is the remarkable memoir of the small girl (5 foot 1 inch tall) with the huge voice. At the age of 15, in 1964, Lulu - born Marie Lawrie in Glasgow - was already a star with her international hit song 'Shout'. At 18 she stole hearts as an English schoolgirl to Sidney Poitier's teacher with the movie hit 'To Sir With Love'. At 21, she married a Bee Gee, Maurice Gibb, and tied as winner of the Eurovision Song Contest with 'Boom-Bang-a-Bang'. Yet in 1993 she reached No.1 with 'Relight My Fire' (with Take That). Nearly forty years at the top of the showbiz tree, Lulu has never been afraid to experiment with new trends, and her book reflects the daring that took a girl from a Glasgow tenement to international stardom - as 'To Sir With Love' says, 'from crayons to perfume'.

I DON’T WANT TO FIGHT (the title of a song Lulu wrote and Tina Turner recorded) is the devastatingly candid autobiography of a singer who has never shirked from facing anything.

Genres: Biography, Music, Memoir

330 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 17, 2002

About the author

More than one author with this name.

Reviews

[Darla Ebert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lulu's account of the music scene in the 60's and 70's was so evocative to me of a time period that I lived through though I'm eleven years younger than the author. The fashions, the music, the morals, the entertainment industry, the dangers...all came flooding back in a kaleidoscope of color and sight and sound. I appreciated that Lulu had high morals herself and kept away from drugs and drink and sex before marriage though all was made so readily available in that era of free love and substance abuse. Another point in Lulu's favor was her restraint when it came to using foul language in the course of writing. This book would come off miles ahead of current biographies if only for that reason alone. And yet there is a substance there besides its being a fast and easy read.

[Bungluna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I came to this book via Take That. Lulu seems to prop up in every greatest hits tour, so I decided to find out more about her.

The first part of the book, where she described her childhood in Glasgow and her rise to fame in the '60s, seems like a window into an alien world. I found it very interesting how the music scene in London was so incestuous.

I'm afraid that when it came to her relationships I found her somewhat selfish and self-centered. I do admire the way she managed to forge a long-lasting career in such a difficult business.

I'd recommend this book to anybody interested in the music scene in 1960's London and in the changing faces of 20th century music business.

[Jeff Olson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hey I liked this book, It took me a while to find a copy of it. I`m glad that she didn`t get all mushy in it about her husbands/ boyfriends like some girls would, because I thought she would`ve been like her character Barbara Peggs in To Sir With Love. I do wish that she would have talked a lot more about the movie! It was sad to see that her marriages didn`t make it, John Frieda seams to have used her by using the proceeds of the sale of her two homes to propell his career and then he just dumps her. As for her singing career, I find it hard for someone to be a hit/ star if you can`t write your own material, but they all can`t be like Elvis...Cheers!!!

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was on of my favorite music memoirs ever. I read it because I recently became a Bee Gees fan. But this was absolutely fascinating even without the Bee Gees. Her childhood in Glasgow was the best part of the book, followed by casual descriptions of friendships with David Bowie, Paul McCartney, and of course her ex-husband Maurice Gibb.

Like other reviewers, her self-centered view of every event couldn't be missed. I don't know if I learned much about Lulu as a person, but as window into a time and place, this book can't be beat.

[Joyce Hunter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Biography

I would recommend this to anyone who loves biographies. Lula gives us the truth warts and all. A great insight in to showbiz and how easy it is to be forgotten if you are not sassy enough to reinvent yourself. A book which makes you listen to her music in a different way and realize how very, very talented and underestimated she really is.

[Mrs J Wood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this!

I went to see Lulu on her recent farewell tour and I went along as my friend suggested it but I wasn't too bothered.
The show was absolutely brilliant and I'm SOOOO glad I went.
Decided to read this after seeing her and loved the book. Truly LULU is a total inspiration to me. Definitely recommend xx

[ukbook reviewer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book - life of Lulu, 60s It Girl! What an amazing life! Stories involving Davy Jones, Elton John, George Best & David Bowie. Very interesting read. Personally, I would have loved a photo section too. #Lulu #IDontWantToFight #bookstagram

[Joan Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Resilient woman and great career.

[Carole Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting read

Excellent read .Interesting times. Thought provoking . Honestly written . Strong, proud , Lulu can be very proud of her achievements

[philip long · Rating 4 out of 5]

How can you not like lulu

[Joyce MacBain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant!!!

Being a Glasgow girl myself it was great to hear about Lulus life as a celebraty, her ups and downs, happy and sad times in her life. What a remarkable person she is.

[Pamela Hamilton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it.

[Hilary Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Picked the book up as I'm going to a Meet and Greet with Lulu. A fantastic book, telling her own story. A really great insight into the real Lulu.

[Alayne · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thoroughly enjoyable and readable autobiography from Lulu, singer, actress and songwriter. Highly recommended.

[Louise Armstrong · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first part was interesting - how she was so tough and normal growing up in such a difficult home is a mystery. Or did I answer my own question? "Tough" might be the key word. Tough and gifted. But, again, it doesn't spare you from heartbreak.

I liked the description of her mother dying. One family member was encouraging her to go to the light, and [can't find the quote to copy it exactly] she left through her eyes, which was a lovely way to go. It seems to me that we don't think enough about how to die.

[Richard Curry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book in one of those little roadside free library cabinets among some murder mysteries which I passed up. I knew of Lulu only from her recording of TO SIR WITH LOVE, the theme song of the movie starring Sidney Poitier. This autobiography was candid and sweeping in scope, from her childhood in the very late 1940's into the 1950's and to around 2002. She details with gritty graphicality her childhood in a Glasgow tenement heated by a coal stove, which her father (slaughterhouse worker) lovingly stoked for the still sleeping wife and kids. He mentions the rough and tumble scappy kids in the neighborhood, to whom violence was common, as it was between the parents. She details how she rose from a casual weekend girl band singer making her debut from a window overlooking celebrations of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, to London and USA stardom partying with the Beatles, the Monkees, and other bands from the 1960's British invasion of the USA. She tells about her marriage to Maurice Gibb of the Bee Gees, and how they eventually split up, and how she then eventually married her hairdresser, but was eventually consumed with crazy jealousy as he spent time with a married female collaborator in his expanding hair salon business. She tells of her C-section delivery of her child of that marriage, and a miscarriage which unfortunately hit the tabloids. She also describes losing her parents, and how her mum and dad related after a long marriage of devotion, but punctuated with her dad's functional alcoholism and quarreling and domestic violence between her parents from when she was a wee little bairn. She also describes friendships with people like Elton John, who encouraged her and helped revive and expand her careeer. It was an interesting book, and I enjoyed it.

[Louise · Rating 3 out of 5]

I never really liked Lulu, however I never liked Stacey Solomon or Dannii Minogue but they grew on me after I read the book. However, this book made me like Lulu no more I'm afraid. I know it's 9 years old, however Lulu doesn't come across to good in the book- she seems smug, and rather self centered if I'm being honest. I know some people will love this but I really dislike it I'm afraid.

2 stars for the depth of the celebrities she met and her childhood- can't deny she portrayed her childhood beautifully.

[LJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book at a charity shop while visiting Glasgow. Although I wasn't familiar with Lulu, I really enjoyed the book, especially the beginning where she tells of her childhood in Glasgow. It's amazing to me, as an American raised in California around the same time as she was, to hear about people living without toilets and other conveniences in their homes and sharing tiny spaces. She also tells about many of the musicians from the 60s and 70s who were a part of my life as a young adult. I recommend it to anyone who wants to know about this era in Britain.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really lovely insight into the life of Lulu, and her life before, during and after her rise to fame. I actually inherited a signed copy of this as I have 'family connections' to Lulu's assistant. Bearing in mind, this is a review from a fifteen-year-old girl with a music obsession, I would say this book was accessible to most audiences.

[Helen]

Couldn'tput this book down.,

[Terese · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this autobio. She wrote honestly of an upbringing through a tough era in Glasgow. lovely lady.