Press Release

Lulu ‘relights the fire' at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew – and brings her friends along too!

Join her for a spectacular night of music as part of Summer Swing at Kew Gardens on 10th July  

With preparations well underway for her headlining return to Kew Gardens' Summer Swing season of open air concerts, Lulu announces some special friends who will join her on the night: Kiki Dee and Paul Carrick. Following her electrifying performance alongside Jools Holland last year, Lulu makes a blazing return to the Kew Gardens stage next month performing her best known hits including Shout, Relight My Fire and To Sir with Love.

Lulu is the only female artist to have a hit in every decade since she exploded onto the music scene as a teenager in 1964 with Shout! Now approaching her sixtieth birthday (November 2008), she is still performing with that energy and passion, working with musicians from across the generations. Her career has taken across the globe, she has starred in her own tv and radio shows and she is one of the elite few to have performed a Bond theme for The Man with the Golden Gun .

Lulu said: “I'm so thrilled to be coming back to Kew this summer with my own show. It's an extraordinary and beautiful place to perform. And it will be great to have some of friends there alongside me. It's been ages since I've performed with them, so I'm really looking forward to a brilliant night of music.”

From backing singer for Dusty Springfield and the first white British artist to sign for Tamla Motown, to West End star, Kiki Dee has had a rollercoaster musical career. She first became a household name in 1976 when she partnered Elton John, reaching number 1 in both the UK and US charts with the iconic duet, Don't Go Breaking My Heart. She has gone on to release 39 singles and 12 albums during her career as well as becoming a leading West End lady.

Paul Carrick played with the likes of Roxy Music, The Smiths, The Pretenders and Squeeze before teaming up with Mike Rutherford in 1985 to become Mike + The Mechanics. Together they released a string of hit albums and singles during the following decade including The Living Years and Word of Mouth. Paul has since gone to work with Eric Clapton, Elton John and Van Morrison as well as managing his own solo career, releasing 15 solo albums and numerous singles including the classic hit How Long?

Together Lulu, Kiki and Paul will perform a blistering set of toe-tapping, hand-clapping, sing-along hits that put a smile on the face, all topped with a spectacular fireworks display against the stunning backdrop of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

The full line up of concerts in Kew's Summer Swing season are: Jools Holland and his Rhythm and Blues Orchestra (8th and 12th July), Stars from the Commitments and the Sounds of the Blues Brothers (9th July), Lulu and Friends (10th July) and the Gypsy Kings (11th July).

The new sponsor for the event is Wines of South Africa, which will be offering all concert goers the chance to sample a wine range of fabulous wines from the Cape. Wines of South Africa will also have excellent deals on bottles of red, white and rosé wines, in the Swing Village, so there's no need to lug heavy bottles to Kew. The vineyards of South Africa sit in the same footprint as the Cape Floral Kingdom, a biodiversity hotspot and world heritage site. The wine industry is committed to conserving this natural phenomenon and is setting aside land, on wine farms, to protect the natural flora and fauna of the Cape.

For more information visit www.winesofsa.com. Each ticket sold supports the vital global research, education and conservation work of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Tickets for Lulu and Friends cost £35. Call See Tickets on 0871 231 0834 (24hrs) or book on-line at www.kew.org/summerswing or www.seetickets.com. Group discounts available on certain shows. No seating is provided, so bring blankets, folding chairs and picnics. Gates open 6.30pm and concerts start 7.30pm approx. Spectacular firework finale at approx 10.15pm.

Please note, from 8 - 12 July, Kew Gardens closes at 6pm to allow time for Summer Swing. Last entry to the Gardens on these days is 5.30pm.

For more information and interview opportunities, please contact: Fiona Williams 020 8746 7778 fiona@justwilliamspr.co.uk. For further information on the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew please contact Bryony Phillips, Catherine Owen or Bronwyn Friedlander in the Kew Gardens press office on 020 8332 5607 or email pr@kew.org.

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Kew Gardens is a major international visitor attraction and its 132 hectares of landscaped gardens attract over one million visitors per year. Kew is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and celebrates its 250th anniversary in 2009. The site houses over 40 listed buildings and other structures including the Palm House, Temperate House, Orangery and Pagoda as well as two ancient monuments, Queen Charlotte's Cottage and Kew Palace. RBG, Kew is a world famous scientific organisation, internationally respected for its outstanding living collection of plants and world-class herbarium as well as its scientific expertise in plant diversity, conservation and sustainable development in the UK and around the world.

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