It’s on every performer’s list of worst fears – getting the venue where they’re performing wrong live on stage.
But when disaster struck for home-grown Lulu, there was added embarrassment.
The singer – regarded as one of the world’s most famous Scottish stars - dumbfounded fans when she confused Lanark for Motherwell .
Lulu, who grew up in Glasgow’s Dennistoun, has been touring the UK to celebrate 55 years since her debut single Shout was released.
But the Grammy-nominated artist left the crowd at Lanark Memorial Hall cringing when she took to the stage and said : “Hello, Motherwell.”
The gaffe happened last Saturday and fans say she got her geography wrong three or four times during the gig.
Lulu played in Motherwell – which is 13 miles away from Lanark – four days prior to the show.
One fan, who didn’t want to be named, said: “She got the wrong town about three or four times. At various points throughout the night, she said Motherwell rather than Lanark.
“She came out on to the stage with a hat on, dark sunglasses and a kaftan, It must have been hard see where she was going.
“Then she said, ‘Hello Motherwell, I just love being in Motherwell.’
“Later on, before she went off for the second half, she said, ‘You’ve been a great audience, Motherwell, I was brought up near here in north Ayrshire.’
“And we were all thinking, ‘We’re in south Lanarkshire – she’s got her geography all mixed up tonight.’ And at the very end, she said ‘Thanks Motherwell, you’ve been great.’”
Lulu was backed by her band and a huge LED screen that showed the crowd career-defining moments.
The fan added: “It was a great performance despite Lulu thinking she was somewhere else.
“She can still sing and dance and put on a great show.
“The backdrop addition of the LED screen was a really nice touch. She had snippets of her with people like Neil Diamond and Maurice Gibb.”
The On Fire show was packed full of hits such as The Man Who Sold The World, Relight My Fire and Shout, among many others.
Lulu, 70, was recently Take That’s guest on their 37-date Greatest Hits Live Tour, where every night they reunited to perform their No1 hit Relight My Fire.
Another fan added: “I don’t know why nobody corrected her when she went off for a break. You’d think one of her team would have let her know she was in Lanark Memorial Hall.”
A Lulu spokesman said: “Lulu realised her error and did it twice more just to milk the joke.”
The singer is not the only star to get their geography wrong.
In February, rapper Travis Scott ended his Kansas City show by shouting: “Good night St Louis, I love you.”
In 2017, Guns N’ Roses yelled “Hello, Sydney” to their Melbourne crowd.
In 2015, Robbie Williams confused which country he was in, yelling “Zagreb” – which is in Croatia – instead of Belgrade, Serbia’s capital.
