Tributes have been paid to legendary Scottish singer and variety star Lena Martell, who has died aged 86. The singer, who topped the charts with One Day at a Time in 1979, was described as “Scotland’s answer to Shirley Bassey” and sold out the London Palladium for a week solid.
Lena passed away last week at a nursing home near Glasgow, where she still received fan mail. Her glittering career saw her perform on Broadway and take the stage in New York and Las Vegas with legends like Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jnr and Barbara Streisand.
Career Highlights and Tributes
Lena, real name Helen Thomson, also understudied for Streisand for the smash hit musical Funny Girl but was stricken with cancer during the show’s long theatre run on Broadway.
One close confidante of Lena told the Record: “As far as Scottish variety goes, Lena Martell was possibly the last of the great singers.
“She was held in the affections of a strong fan base in the same way as Sidney Devine, a proper entertainer who was Scottish through and through.”
The friend added: “You would have to say that One Day at a Time was the big song that everyone would remember but she had a sterling career quite apart from that and carried the air of a star until her death.
“You have to remember that Lena outsold Shirley Maclaine at the Palladium, at the height of her fame, which shows that she really was a superstar in her time.”
Early Shows and Chart Success
Lena’s first big show was in the Glasgow Barrowland Ballroom for the Jimmie McGregor Band at the Barrowland Ballroom, Glasgow. In the 1970s she drew big crowds at cabarets and concert halls and became a major recording star with silver, gold and platinum awards. She was a star of the poshest cruise ships and spent extensive periods in the States.
Her cover of the song One Day at a Time, written by Marijohn Wilkin and Kris Kristofferson, reached the top of the UK Singles Chart for three weeks in October 1979. She followed that by placing six albums in the UK Albums Chart between 1974 and 1980, including four that reached the top 20. She recorded thirty albums in total.
In the 1970 and 1980s her Saturday Night TV shows for BBC Television ran over a period of ten years, with evening audiences of over 12 million - which would eclipse the biggest shows these days.
Later Life and Legacy
Lena’s later albums were released on the ScotDisc label. Her double album One Day at a Time: An Anthology of Song was released on Castle Records in 2003. In 2008 Lena had a major heart scare and underwent a triple heart bypass operation. In the days before her death she is believed to have suffered a chest infection.
She did not marry or have children but hundreds of followers of her Facebook page continue to exchange tales of meeting the singer. Lena will be laid to rest in Bishopbriggs on October 19.
