Chart-topping singer and television host Lena Martell dies aged 86 — SkimNews
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- Lena Martell (born Helen Thomson in Glasgow) died at age 86 in a care home after a short illness
- Martell became the first solo Scottish female singer to top the UK singles chart in 1979 with her cover of "One Day at a Time," which sold nearly three million copies and stayed in the charts for 36 weeks — earning a Guinness Book of World Records entry
- Lena Martell hosted her own BBC prime-time television series throughout the 1970s for about a decade, drawing weekly audiences of more than 12 million viewers
- Martell performed in New York and Las Vegas alongside Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., and Barbra Streisand, and later understudied Streisand in "Funny Girl" on Broadway
- Martell placed six albums on the UK albums chart between 1974 and 1980 — four in the top 20 — released under the Pye record label
- Fellow Scottish singer Barbara Dickson paid tribute to Martell, praising "a lovely melodious quality to her voice" and recalling her late father's admiration for Martell's talent
- Martell faced cancer and a triple heart bypass during her life but returned to the stage, continuing to perform at Glasgow's Pavilion Theatre
Why it matters: Martell's death closes a notable chapter in Scottish entertainment history: she was the first solo Scottish woman to reach No. 1 on the UK singles chart, and her near-three-million-selling cover of "One Day at a Time" held a Guinness-listed 36-week chart run. A Glasgow performer who progressed from the Barrowland Ballroom to understudying Barbra Streisand on Broadway and headlining a 12-million-viewer BBC series, she represents a crossover reach few Scottish singers of her generation matched.
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