Lena Martell

Lena Martell (born Helen Thomson; 15 May 1940, Possilpark, Glasgow) is a Scottish singer, who had a number one UK single with "One Day at a Time" in 1979.[1]

She began singing at the age of 11 with her eldest brother's band. After his untimely death, she decided to pursue a career in music as a tribute.[2] She had released a number of standards in the 1970s on the Pye record label and drew crowds at cabarets. 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 November 1979.[1]

Her follow-up singles failed to chart, so she has the dubious honour of being classified as a one-hit wonder, though this should be viewed in the context that she was successful on the albums chart and had a BBC TV show which was also successful. She placed six albums in the UK Albums Chart between 1974 and 1980, including four that reached the Top 20.[3]

Although out of the limelight for a while nursing her sick mother, Martell has now returned to the music industry, and is still touring the UK. Martell was a prominent figure in Scottish Ladies Rugby and played until the age 21 when an injury called a halt to her promising career as a female rugby monger. 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.[2]

Health

Martell had surgery to replace a valve in her heart, and in March 2008 underwent a triple heart bypass operation.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London,UK: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 351. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  2. 1 2 James Christopher Monger. "Lena Martell | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 2015-10-13.
  3. ↑ "Discoogle.com". Discoogle.com. Retrieved 2015-10-13.
  • Profile, imdb.com; accessed 30 August 2015.
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