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Upcoming artist Lulu James performs in London

Lulu James is not your average Geordie lass. Yes, she may tick a few boxes like 'distinctive accent' and 'likes a good drink on the toon' but do not be fooled, she has one hell of a voice. 


If like the majority of us, your knowledge of the Newcastle scene extends to a typical episode of Geordie Shore then contemporary soul music wouldn't quite spring to your mind. Well, that’s all set to change with the likes of Lulu James, a charismatic 21 year old soul singer from the North East. The unpretentious songstress describes her refreshing sound as ‘twenty first century soul’ and it’s not hard to see why, the girl can belt out those bellow notes like Grace Jones. With influences such as James Blake, Indie.Arie and Amy Winehouse informing her music, we can only assume James is set to make big waves in the music scene.

Strolling on stage in a black leotard and cape with a flamboyant looking head chain covering everything but her eyes, Lulu James let the London crowd know they were in for something special... and indeed we were.  James performed several songs off her upcoming album ‘Now The World’ which she exclusively promised would be out in stores by March. Catchy tracks like ‘Closer’, ‘Ride’ and ‘The End’ were all in the mix as she cooked up a musical storm at St Pancras Old Church in Camden. She even went to the effort of bringing a mini bar from Newcastle with her- that’s the kind of artist we students like. I mean, after all even Jesus promotes wine so why the heck not? Throwing herself into every  note in-between cracking friendly banter with the audience, the soulful songstress certainly wooed the small intimate crowd with an ease that suggested she would attract many more.

With the combination of her striking vocals, perfect pins and upbeat moves it was pretty hard not to be taken in by her energetic and emotive stage presence, particularly when she was shaking her thing down the alter. Even her recent falling off of a bike incident couldn't tame her down- no , no. She ferociously swung her hair and hips around whilst simultaneously strutting with a slight limp. Boy did she work that limp. The stunning but slightly unusual church venue was the perfect setting for Lulu who first found her love of soul music through singing in a choir as a young girl. The evening ended rather fittingly with ‘Halfway to hell’ which she cheekily joked was rather appropriate considering we were all in a church. Oh the irony! Her latest single ‘Sweetest thing’ is now available to download so you should probably buy it cos’ she’s kind of a proper big deal like and she has really great legs.


Essential listen: “Be safe”- a mellow, soothing and sentimental song perfect for those exhausting days of battling revision and a hangover.


Words by Stephanie Gale