#33: I’m a Tiger by Lulu

City: Fredericton, NB
Radio Station: CFNB
Peak Month: February 1969
Peak Position in Fredericton: #8
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #51
YouTube: “I’m A Tiger”
Lyrics: “I’m A Tiger”

Born in 1948 as Marie McDonald McLaughlin Lawrie, Lulu is a singer and actress from Scotland. In a 2015 interview with the Telegraph in the UK, she said “I’ve been one of the luckiest people but I’ve been thrown from pillar to post, emotionally. I’ve dealt with demons, sadness … anxiety, anxiety, anxiety. I wasn’t happy. I don’t want people to really see me, I don’t want you to see my pain, I don’t want to have to tell you about the angst and craziness going on in my head. And I was trained to do that, as a very young girl. I’ve always tried not to be vulnerable. I’m fine, that’s what I always say. I’m fine. Let me tell you what my brother says FINE means? F—ing Incapable of Normal Expression!” She told reported Neil McCormick that her emotional roller coaster ride stems from her childhood.

Lulu explained that in her family home “there was a lot of violence. My mum and my father hammered each other nightly. And I was the eldest, you know. I never slept properly. I was afraid that my parents would accidentally kill each other. So that fear has ruled my whole life. It’s all about being trained not to tell anybody. My mother would have a black eye. ‘Oh yeah, walked into the door.’ Everybody heard the screams. It sticks to you.” However, Lulu reflects that on the upside, her parents gave her “the gift of music, and music is a great healer.”

In 1964, she had a #7 hit in Britain with a cover of the Isley Brothers tune, “Shout.” However, it was not until her international hit from the film, To Sir With Love, in 1967, that Lulu came to prominence in North America. “To Sir With Love” topped the Billboard Hot 100 on October 21, 1967. Curiously, the song was only a B-side and didn’t chart back in the United Kingdom. Despite expectations, the song was not nominated in the Best Original Song category in the 1968 Academy Awards.

In 1968, Lulu released “Let’s Pretend”, which climbed to #11 in the UK. This was followed by “Me, The Peaceful Heart” which cracked the Top Ten in the UK, missing it by a notch in both Ireland and New Zealand. In Canada, the single reached #2 in Ottawa. While “Boy” reached #6 in New Zealand. Next, Lulu recorded a song written by Bonnie Dobson, a folk singer from Canada. It was titled “Morning Dew”. It was a Top Ten hit in Edmonton (AB), Fredericton (NB) and Vancouver. Next up was “I’m A Tiger”.

“I’m A Tiger” was written by Marty Wilde and Ronnie Scott. Born Reginald Leonard Smith, Marty Wilde was born in 1939 in Greater London. He was performing under the name Reg Patterson at London’s Condor Club in 1957, when he was spotted by impresario Larry Parnes. Parnes gave his protégés stage names like Billy Fury, Duffy Power and Dickie Pride, hence the change to Wilde. The ‘Marty’ came from the 1955 Academy Award winning Best Picture, Marty. 

In the summer of 1958, Wilde’s cover of the Jody Reynolds tune “Endless Sleep” peaked at #4 on the UK pop chart. In March 1959, Wilde’s cover of the Ritchie Valens song “Donna”, climbed to #3 on the UK pop chart. Wilde continued his successful string of Top Ten hits in the UK with a cover of Dion & The Belmonts “A Teenager In Love” (#2 UK) and Phil Phillips “Sea Of Love” (#3 UK). He also had a Top Ten hit in the UK with “Bad Boy“. Wilde appeared in a number of movies and was a box office draw in the UK. In 1969 Marty Wilde, under the pseudonym Shannon, recorded “Abergavenny”. The single made the Top Ten in Australia and the Netherlands. Marty Wilde is the father of Kim Wilde.

Ronnie Scott was born in the UK. In addition to “I’m A Tiger”, Scott and Wilde cowrote “Ice in the Sun”, a Top Ten hit in the UK for the Status Quo in 1968. In 1976, Scott cowrote “Lost in France” which became Bonnie Tyler’s breakout hit. It reached #2 in South Africa, #3 iN West Germany, and #9 in the UK. Ronnie Scott had even more success as a songwriter for Bonnie Tyler with “It’s A Heartache”. The single topped the pop charts in Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Canada, France, Norway, Spain, and Sweden. It also cracked the Top Ten in another dozen countries in 1977-78.

The lyrics to the song detail that the singer appears to the world to be a little girl child. However:
A lot of men have come my way
Thinking that I’m easy prey
But you’ll never tame this child
She loves running wild
You won’t cage me in
Just stick around, see the fun begin…

A tiger is a species of cat that has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws and a tail. It is part of a sub-species of cats that include lions, panthers and jaguars. Its origins go back to nearly 3 million years. Living tigers have direct ancestors going back to 108,000 years ago. Present day tigers around the world include Siberian Tiger, Bengal Tiger, the South China Tiger, Malaysian Tiger, and Sumatran Tiger. Tigers lead solitary lives. Tigers have been kept in captivity since ancient times. They have played prominent roles in circuses. Ringling Brothers included many tiger tamers who used whips and guns to provoke tigers and make them become fierce, making the tiger tamer appear brave before the circus audience. Tigers have had religious and folkloric significance.

English Poet William Blake wrote the poem “The Tyger” in 1784. It details the contrasts of beauty and ferocity found in the tiger. As a metaphor, “I’m A Tiger” suggests the woman in this song will be a match for any man who comes her way.

“I’m A Tiger” peaked at #8 in Fredericton (NB) and The Dalles (OR). Internationally, “I’m A Tiger” peaked at #1 in New Zealand, #4 in West Germany, #8 in Ireland, #9 in the UK, and #19 in Australia.

In 1969, Lulu had another international Top Ten hit with “Boom-Bang-A-Bang”. It topped the pop charts in Ireland and Norway. It also made the Top Ten in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, New Zealand, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and West Germany. She wrapped up the Sixties with one final Top 30 hit titled “Oh Me Oh My (I’m A Fool For You Baby)”.

In 1970, Lulu released her sixth studio album Melody Fair. The title track was a cover of a song by the Bee Gees. It climbed to #3 in Swift Current (SK).

In 1974, she had a #3 hit in the UK with a David Bowie penned “The Man Who Sold the World”. It also made the Top Ten in Ireland and the Netherlands. In 1981, “I Could Never Miss You” reached #3 in New Zealand and #10 in Canada. A followup, “If I Were You” reached #6 in Windsor (ON), and New Zealand, though it stalled at #44 on the Billboard Hot 100.

In 1994 she had her first #1 hit in the UK in a duet with Dan Hartman called “Relight My Fire”. Subsequently, she toured as an opening act with Hartman’s band, Take That. Lulu has starred in eight films including as herself in the 2016 film Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie. In her personal life, she dated Monkees singer, Davy Jones, when she was 18. But she broke up with him when she found out he was having an affair with Jones future wife, Linda Haines. She got married at 19 to 20-year-old Maurice Gibbs of the Bee Gees. She knew at the time he drank a lot and his heavy drinking became a prime factor in her decision to leave the marriage after four years.

Now, at 76 years of age, she is known as Lulu Kennedy-Cairns OBE. She received her Order of the British Empire from the Queen in 2000. Over the past few years Lulu has appeared on Celebrity Juice, Piers Morgan’s Life Storiesand Strictly Come Dancing. Her most recent album, Making Life Rhyme, was released in 2015.

The Mariposa Folk Festival website devoted an article to Bonnie Dobson in 2018. It included this update on the singer-songwriters’ achievements. “She was rated by Time Magazine as second in popularity only to Joan Baez, and had hits with I Got Stung (1969) and Good Morning Rain (1970). She moved to London in 1969 and toured extensively in the UK and Europe until 1989 when she decided to return to university. She studied Politics, Philosophy and history at Birkbeck College and ended up running the Faculty of Arts until 2007. In 2013 she returned to the music business, releasing the album Morning Dew.”

September 6, 2025
Ray McGinnis

References:
Neil McCormick, Lulu interview: ‘Fear has ruled my whole life’, Telegraph, London, UK, April 12, 2015
Will Payne, Lulu: Why I had to Dump Bee Gee Husband Maurice Gibb Over his Drinking: Sixties Pop Icon on her Turbulent four-year Marriage and her Affair with Late Monkees Singer Davy Jones, Mirror, May 13, 2012
John Hornbuckle, Something to Shout About: How old is Lulu, what is the ‘Shout’ singer’s real name and when did she perform with Take That?, The Sun, London, UK, March 22, 2018
Rosanna Greenstreet, Q&A: Lulu, Singer, Actor and Television Personality: How often do you have sex? Remind me what is that again?, Guardian, March 28, 2015.
Katherine Hassell, Marty Wilde: ‘Passing on my Love of Music was my Greatest Gift’, Guardian, London, UK, October 6, 2017
Fiona McQuarrie, Taking a Trip: Marty Wilde’s “Abergavenny,” Writing on Music, Vancouver, BC, May 19, 2016.

CFNB 550-AM Fredericton (NB) Top Ten | February 8, 1969