WINCHESTER Military Wives Choir will support legendary singer Lulu in Eastleigh as part of her 35 date UK tour to raise awareness of PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) and vital funds for the Military Wives Choir Foundation.

During the tour Lulu will be performing her latest single 'Cry' with a different Military Wives Choir (MWC) at each show and all proceeds from the sale of the song will go to the Military Wives Choir Foundation.

PTSD is something not just close to the hearts of the MWC, but to Lulu herself who in an interview with the Military Wives Choir Foundation said: "Having a different Military Wives Choir join me onstage every night will be a lot of fun. But on a more serious note, later in my life I was diagnosed as having post-traumatic stress disorder, and what that did was help me to relate even more with our men and women in the armed forces. I realised I would like to do something to help, so we recorded 'Cry' and my brother and I rewrote the lyrics to apply specifically to the military."

She added, "PTSD is not just about physical scars; it's about the emotional scars, and they run very deep. They are enormous and very difficult to deal with. We need everybody's support."

Lulu is thrilled to be setting out on tour again but in an interview with the Daily Echo she also spoke of how she has long been plagued by anxiety and self-doubt and relies on self-help books and a support group to over-come her difficulties.

As the eldest of four children growing up in Liverpool she ended up as breadwinner for her whole family from her mid-teens and told me: "I had my first hit when I was 15. I was earning money to support my family; I was the bread winner and that was a good thing- and sometimes it wasn't always a good thing because I felt I had to be perfect to make enough money so it led to a lot of anxiety.

"Because I came from a very violent childhood and would never speak about it because I felt shame and that colours how you see the world. So that drive and need for perfection and just running and running for fear was sometimes an attribute and sometimes it doesn't work for you.

" I've had tremendous success but I've had disappointment. I've been pushed from pillar to post and back emotionally but I'm still here - which is amazing in my line of work.

But I've had to do a lot of 'un-doing'. I've read every self-help book and studied with my guru Gurumayi Chidvilasananda, Master of Meditation since 1984.

I work with a network of people who've been through the same things. It's helped me to not be so anxious. I've had to do a lot or work around myself. I'm grateful that the glass is always half full. I have a healthy spirituality. I get on my knees every morning and thank God for everything I have today. Coming from a place of gratitude it makes your mind-set different. I'm not out running looking for what I don't have now.

"Ive had two marriages and a lot of sadness and pain and the amazing thing is I'm in a good place. The tour reviews last year were absolutely the best. It was my first solo tour for years and was amazing. "

The nine singers from the Winchester MWC supporting Lulu on March 6 at the Concorde Club, Eastleigh, are: Catherine Kent, Victoria Cashmore, Michelle Harper, Michelle Birchnell, Zoe Desclayes, Nicky Deans, Kate Ferguson, and Denise Willis.

Vicky Cashmore said: "We are delighted to have been invited to support Lulu, not only because she is a talented singer, but also because she has linked the meaning of the song so closely with an issue that many soldiers and their families have had to face.

"Many of us in Winchester MWC have experienced first hand the implications of our loved ones going to war, some who have undoubtedly suffered mental scarring; PTSD and other mental health conditions should not be shied away from. Being part of the MWC helps us to cope so we are delighted to raise awareness and of course to sing with such an icon!"

'Cry' will be available to download from February 26 as well as to buy at each of Lulu's tour dates.

For more information, please contact winchester@militarywiveschoirs.org

Lulu will perform at the Concorde Club in Eastleigh on Sunday March 6 and The Anvil in Basingstoke on Wednesday March 30.