Lena Martell

Lena Martell (born Helen Thomson; 15 May 1940) is a Scottish singer, with a long career in theatre, television and musicals. She has recorded thirty albums which include the number-one UK single with "One Day at a Time" in 1979. Martell was born on 15 May 1940 and raised in Hamiltonhill, Glasgow. She began singing at the age of 11 with her eldest brother's band. She became a singer for the Jimmie McGregor Band at the Barrowland Ballroom, Glasgow. After his untimely death, she decided to pursue a career in music as a tribute. She released a number of standards in the 1970s on the Pye record label, drew crowds at cabarets and concert halls and became a major recording star with silver, gold and platinum awards. Much of her work took place aboard many cruise ships accompanied by her new 5 star pianist George Paxton of Saltcoats, Scotland. 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 placed six albums in the UK Albums Chart between 1974 and 1980, including four that reached the top 20. 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. Moving to the US she sang in New York and Las Vegas with Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr. and others and toured the world performing in concert halls. She has starred in musicals in Broadway, first when deputising for Barbra Streisand, and headlining in London`s West End theatres. Her successes at London Palladium equalled the box office of Shirley MacLaine and Bette Midler. Although out of the limelight for a period while nursing her sick mother, Martell returned to the music industry. She has released a few albums on the ScotDisc label. Her double album One Day at a Time: An Anthology of Song was released on Castle Records in 2003. Martell has had surgery to replace a valve in her heart, and in March 2008 underwent a triple heart bypass operation. List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart List of performers on Top of the Pops List of one-hit wonders on the UK Singles Chart Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London, UK: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 351. ISBN 1-904994-10-5. James Christopher Monger. "Lena Martell | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 13 October 2015. "Martell, Lena Discography - Discoogle.com". Archived from the original on 10 July 2011. Retrieved 11 December 2008. "Lena Martell". Paviliontheatre.co.uk. Retrieved 16 June 2019. "Lena Martell.. rare BBC footage! PART TWO". 31 August 2015. Archived from the original on 19 December 2021. Retrieved 16 June 2019 – via YouTube. "Singer Lena Martell has heart surgery". The Herald. 11 March 2008. Retrieved 16 January 2022. "LENA MARTELL | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 15 September 2020. "Lena Martell – Lena's Music". bpi.co.uk. Retrieved 16 January 2022. "New Releases: Albums". Music Week. 11 January 1992. p. 14. "Lena Martell – The Best of Lena Martell". bpi.co.uk. Retrieved 16 January 2022. "Lena Martell – The Lena Martell Collection". bpi.co.uk. Retrieved 16 January 2022. "Lena Martell – By Request". bpi.co.uk. Retrieved 16 January 2022. "Lena Martell – Beautiful Sunday". bpi.co.uk. Retrieved 16 January 2022. "The Irish Charts – All there is to know". irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 15 September 2020. "Lena Martell – One Day at a Time". bpi.co.uk. Retrieved 16 January 2022. Profile, IMDb.com. Retrieved 30 August 2015.