Scottish singer and TV host Lena Martell dies aged 86

Scottish singer and Broadway performer Lena Martell has died at the age of 86, BBC Culture reported on 6 October. It is understood she died at a care home after a short illness. Born Helen Thomson in Glasgow, Martell recorded a number of albums over the years and performed in New York and Las Vegas alongside Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr and Barbara Streisand.

According to BBC Culture, Martell was the first solo Scottish female singer to top the UK singles chart, with her cover of One Day at a Time in 1979. The song, written by Marijohn Wilkin and Kris Kristofferson, reached the top of the UK singles chart for three weeks in October 1979. BBC Culture reported that the single sold almost three million copies and earned her a place in the Guinness Book of World Records when it stayed in the charts for 36 weeks.

Martell became a familiar entertainment star in the 1970s when she hosted her own BBC prime time television show for about a decade, BBC Culture reported. The series saw her singing and chatting to big-name guests in front of audiences of more than 12 million every week. She placed six albums in the UK albums chart between 1974 and 1980, including four in the top 20, and her early studio albums were released under the Pye record label.

Martell first started singing as a child with her elder brother's band before performing with the Jimmie McGregor Band at the Barrowland Ballroom in Glasgow, according to BBC Culture. As a teenager, she appeared on a 1950s ITV show called Find the Singer. Her musical career took her overseas and she eventually left the UK to work on Broadway, where she understudied Streisand in Funny Girl, and she performed on cruise ships and in cabarets and concert halls, spending extensive periods in the United States.

BBC Culture reported that Martell faced a series of health problems throughout her life. She was diagnosed with cancer and later underwent a triple heart bypass, a surgical procedure which uses a blood vessel from somewhere else in the body to create another way for blood to reach the heart muscle. After her recovery, she returned to the stage and continued to perform at the Pavilion Theatre in Glasgow.

Fellow Scottish singer Barbara Dickson said she was sad to hear of Martell's death. Dickson said: "She had a lovely melodious quality to her voice and I remember my late father admiring her quiet talent." BBC Culture reported that fans paid tribute to Martell in posts on social media and shared memories of listening to her chart-topping single.