Lulu has spoken openly for the first time about the nature of her relationship with David Bowie, confirming that the pair did in fact share an intimate encounter in the 1970s. The revelation comes decades after speculation about their brief romance, which followed Lulu’s divorce from Maurice Gibb of the Bee Gees in 1973.
The 76-year-old singer, best known for hits such as Shout, revealed the truth during a candid conversation with Fearne Cotton on her Happy Place podcast. Lulu explained that while the relationship included s3x, it was far more meaningful than a simple fling. “You know what, I have never said ‘Yes, I had s3x with David Bowie’ until now. This is the first time I’ve said it because I’ve always chosen not to speak about it,” she admitted. “It was private. And if I’m 100% honest, which I have decided that’s what I’m going to be, I think I was slightly p****d. I can’t really remember. Only to say that he got me there and we were in his room, and you know, we performed the acts. I don’t have to go into bloody details because I can’t actually remember details, but I wouldn’t share them anyway. I do have boundaries. I’m learning to have boundaries.”
Despite the physical side, Lulu insisted the connection was much deeper than s3x, saying she felt truly seen by Bowie. The pair had first met in a Sheffield hotel and later collaborated musically when Lulu recorded a cover of Bowie’s The Man Who Sold the World. Bowie produced the track and contributed backing vocals, a collaboration that remains one of Lulu’s most celebrated works.
During their time together, however, there were moments of difficulty. Lulu recalled being “crushed” when Bowie made a remark about her weight. “We were sitting, just the two of us, and he leaned forward to me and said, ‘I think you could lose a bit of weight.’ I was crushed. Because I don’t think I was fat, but you know, he was emaciated, and I think he really wanted to take me and redesign me to get me to a place that he thought was better for me.”
The relationship eventually fizzled out, with Lulu explaining that she decided to cut ties due to Bowie’s heavy drug use. “I would have loved it to have continued, but when I went to New York to do the next lot of recordings, David was not in a place that I felt comfortable with because he was doing a lot of drugs. I was hanging around a lot, but it didn’t go any further than that because I decided I’m going back to London. I’m not comfortable. And you think, remove yourself, politely or not, however you feel you should do it. And so that’s what I did with Bowie. Of course, he thought I was angry with him. I wasn’t. I mean, I was maybe frustrated, but I wasn’t angry with him. I just loved him and I just loved his talent. But I thought, you can’t just sit around here.”
David Bowie, who died in 2016 at the age of 69, remains one of the most iconic and influential figures in music history. Lulu, meanwhile, moved on with her life, marrying hairdresser John Frieda in 1977. The couple welcomed their son, Jordan Frieda, that same year before divorcing in 1991.
