Singer Lulu fought back tears as she talked about the loss of her parents. The singer, 75, described the difficult relationship between her mum and dad but said they loved each other and she always felt their love.

Lulu became tearful while talking to Gyles Brandreth on his Rosebud podcast. She told him: "They loved each other because ultimately, they stayed together, which sounds crazy because today it wouldn't happen. My mother died first, she was in her late 70s, and she died of cancer. Then my father died two years later, I would say of a broken heart."

The star who sang the hit song 'Shout' had to stop as she was speaking because she was so overcome, adding: "I can't believe I still have tears about this but it's deep, it runs deep." Lulu also said her parents' marriage was hard because her dad drank and acted in ways that were hard to predict, as the Mirror reports.

She said: "There was a lot of singing, there wasn't a lot of money, but music is joyful. My father had a voice like Pavarotti, it was big and powerful, and he sang from his heart and soul. I feel that it is important for me to share what went on in my childhood because I always felt in the past that people would look down on me and my parents, and I didn't want that because I love them. Now, I know that none of it was their fault, their behaviours were the life they had landed in. There was a lot of fun, and my parents loved me. No matter what went on, I felt their love."

Lulu has spoken previously about the "difficulties" with her father, saying they "dealt with them in order to survive". In 2010, she told The Guardian: "[Dad] was volatile so we never knew what was going to happen from one minute to the next, so we were always trying to pre-empt his behaviour. My parents' relationship was very much, 'can't live with them, can't live without them'. They were a crazy old couple and it was one of those love/hate things."

Just this month, Lulu surprised her fans by saying she might retire. She said her next shows will be a "farewell tour with family and friends".

Also known as Lulu Kennedy-Cairns, she revealed that her last tour was "gruelling" and said she wants to "carry on working but I want to do it differently". Speaking about her upcoming 2024 tour, Champagne For Lulu, she said: "If you've ever seen me on tour just let me say you won't have seen me like this. This is actually... I'm announcing it for the first time now. This is my farewell tour with family and friends because last year I did a tour that was kind of gruelling. It was successful, it went well. But you need an army to be a success in your career these days. And I felt unsupported and then I turned 75 and I thought you know what? I want to carry on working but I want to do it differently. I've learned and I've also become a slightly different person. I'm not afraid to be vulnerable."

Lulu will embark on her farewell tour, celebrating 60 years in music, in April, starting with a show in Glasgow, her home city. During an appearance on Lorraine in January the singer and actress said she still wants to work after her tour and announced plans to make a new album.

Lulu shot to fame aged just 15 when Shout, a cover of the Isley Brothers track, became a hit. In 1969 she represented Britain at the Eurovision Song Contest and her song Boom Bang-A-Bang was the joint winner that year as she shared the prize with France, The Netherlands and Spain with 18 points each.

In an interview some years ago, Lulu explained how she wasn't ready to give up her microphone just yet. The singer had embarked on the most substantial tour of her career in 2017, dubbed 'All About The Music Tour'. It was a busy stint, featuring 40 shows around the UK in October and November that same year. "I don't think of retirement. My son wouldn't dare ask if I would retire," she said. Not pausing for breath, Lulu returned to London's West End the following year, joining the cast of the famous musical '42nd Street' as the leading lady, Dorothy Brock. More recently, the pop star showcased her talents in the 2024 Sky Cinema comedy show 'Arthur's Whisky'.