Legendary Scottish singer Lena Martell, known for her hit "One Day at a Time" and selling 20 million records, has died at age 86. Born Helena Thomson in Glasgow in 1940, she won Britain's first televised talent show as a teenager and adopted the stage name Lena Martell. She became the first Scottish female solo artist to reach Number One with her cover of Kris Kristofferson’s "One Day at a Time" in 1979. Her career included hosting Saturday Night TV shows for BBC and performing on Broadway, where she understudied Barbra Streisand in "Funny Girl." Martell passed away peacefully in a care home in Bishopbriggs, Lanarkshire.
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Legendary Scottish singer Lena Martell died at the age of 86 in a care home. Born as Helena Thomson in 1940 in Glasgow, she became the first Scottish female solo artist to achieve a Number One single with "One Day at a Time" and sold over 20 million records globally. Her career included performances alongside renowned artists like Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr., and roles on Broadway. After retiring, Martell lived quietly in Bishopbriggs, Lanarkshire, with her partner David. Iain Gordon, the former manager of Glasgow’s Pavilion Theatre, praised her as unique to Scottish showbiz for her dedication to performing at her best for audiences.
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Legendary Scottish singer Lena Martell has died aged 86.
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The Glaswegian star, who was the first Scottish female solo artist to get a Number One single with One Day at a Time and sold 20million records, passed away peacefully in a care home.
After a star-studded career helming Saturday Night TV shows and performing to sell-out crowds on Broadway she had retired to live a quiet life with her partner David in Bishopbriggs, Lanarkshire.
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she → get → Bishopbriggs
Iain Gordon, the former manager of Glasgow’s Pavilion Theatre which was her local haunt, said: ‘Lena Martell was unique to Scottish showbiz.
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‘She kept herself to herself and did what she did best on stage, just singing the songs.
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‘Lena could be challenging to work with at times but that’s just because she wanted the best for her audience.
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‘She will be remembered fondly by a generation of fans for One Day At a Time and I think that says a lot about the woman herself.
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May she rest in peace.’
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Lena Martel, who sold 20million records in an incredible music career, passed away peacefully in a care home
Lena made a huge impact in America, outshining Barbara Streisand while understudying her on Broadway, and singing alongside Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr
Martell was born Helena Thomson in 1940 and broke into showbiz as a teenager when she won the UK’s first ever televised talent show, Find the Singer, in the 1950s.
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‘Lena’ was her father’s nickname for her and ‘Martell’ was taken from the name of a popular brandy.
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She received her first recording contract at 16 and left the UK to star in musicals worldwide, famously outshining Barbra Streisand while understudying as Fanny Brice in Broadway’s Funny Girl.
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The daughter of a shipyard engineer, she never threw off her Glasgow accent despite attempts by Sammy Davis Jr to mimic her as she lit up Vegas, the West End and Broadway.
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She began hosting a Saturday night BBC show in 1971 which lasted for a decade and gained a loyal audience of more than 11 million viewers.
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which → begin → viewers
Martell was popular among the 70s’ burgeoning easy-listening scene and released Lena’s Music Album in 1979.
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The record spawned a number one hit with a cover of Kris Kristofferson’s One Day at a Time and took her fame to new heights.
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She performed the song live with Frank Sinatra and, alongside bandleader George Elrick, she released records like By Request and Beautiful Sunday throughout the 1980s.
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But management deals meant she lost out on a fortune in royalties from her chart-topping hit.
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Martell also battled cancer when she stepped out of the limelight to nurse her mother who was suffering from Alzheimer’s and was declared bankrupt in the early 1990s after a property company she owned collapsed.
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she → battle → 1990s
In 2008 she had an operation to replace her aortic valve with one from a pig as surgeons spent five hours fighting to save her life during a triple heart bypass.
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Management deals meant she lost out on a fortune in royalties from her chart-topping hit One Day at a Time
A year after her surgery she told The Scottish Daily Mail: ‘Prior to my operation, I was recording until three days before, which I suppose was foolish.
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The surgeons asked if I wanted to wait until June, until I finished the album, but I wanted to get it over with.
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‘If I’d waited, I wouldn’t have lived six weeks, according to my cardiologist.
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She added: ‘There have been problems, bad times, but there have been wonderful times.
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It’s just a life, my life.’
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Musician Dougie Stevenson toured with Martell and told The Herald: ‘Lena really was a great personality and great to work with, both on and off the music.
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Lena → tour → music
‘We started working with her around 1983/84 and have such great memories of the music and videos we made together.
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‘I toured with her and was in her band, and there are so many gig memories.
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She was so full of humour and had ideas all the time for not just music, but plays and sitcoms.
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‘She’ll be sadly missed, especially down at the Barras.
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She really loved Glasgow.’
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The Aporia
