Tributes have been paid after the passing of Scottish singer Lena Martell, described as “the last of Scotland’s music hall greats”. The legendary performer, who topped the charts with One Day at a Time in 1979, died last week aged 86 at a nursing home near Glasgow, where she still received fan mail.
Career highlights and tributes
Martell, whose real name was Helen Thomson, was called “Scotland’s answer to Shirley Bassey” and sold out the London Palladium for a week solid. Her career took her to Broadway, New York and Las Vegas, where she performed with Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jnr and Barbra Streisand, and she understudied for Streisand in the musical Funny Girl.
Iain Gordon, manager of the Pavilion Theatre in Glasgow, said: “This is a sad time for the Pavilion and for many Scots who would recognise Lena as the last of Scotland’s music hall greats. Older generations will recall her as a real superstar, a big voice and a big stage presence.”
Gordon recalled that Martell was the opposite of some extrovert performers he dealt with. “Lena was Lena and if she wanted to do something she did it and if she didn’t, well, she didn’t. I remember trying to get her to do press for shows and she didn’t much like doing interviews, so they generally didn’t happen very often. That wasn’t such a big deal as she was a big draw anyway.”
Comparisons with Susan Boyle and final recording
Gordon said Martell’s career had parallels with that of Susan Boyle, who became a smash hit in the USA. “They were both Scottish girls who had no superstar airs and graces - but they had big voices. Lena did not carry herself as a superstar but she was very professional.” He also recounted how Martell dedicated years to looking after her own mother after she became frail.
Scottish singer Janey Kirk told how she was the last person to record a track with Martell, whom she knew as Helen. “Around eight years ago we went to the wee studio, Freuchie Music, and we did a duet, a version of One Day at a Time. I was very proud to do it and Helen still sounded really good. I am thinking now that it might be an idea to release the song because I think a lot of people would find some joy in hearing that one.”
Kirk, who has presented her own TV show on Sky and Freesat, worked with Martell alongside acts like Billie Jo Spears, Philomena Begley and Charlie Landsborough. “I was a bit of a gopher and did a lot of tasks for the women. Lena was very comfortable in the company of these big stars but she never ever played up her success. She was quite the opposite. She really will be sadly missed.”
Chart success and later years
A close confidante of Martell 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 London Palladium, at the height of her fame, which shows that she really was a superstar in her time.”
Martell’s first big show was at the Glasgow Barrowland Ballroom for the Billy McGregor Band. 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 performed on the poshest cruise ships and spent extensive periods in the States.
Her cover of 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 placed six albums in the UK Albums Chart between 1974 and 1980, including four that reached the top 20, and recorded thirty albums in total. In the 1970s and 1980s her Saturday night TV shows for BBC Television ran over a period of ten years, with evening audiences of over 12 million.
Her later albums were released on the ScotDisc label, and her double album One Day at a Time: An Anthology of Song was released on Castle Records in 2003. In 2008 Martell 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.
