In 1974, Lulu performed the title song for the James Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun. Two slightly different versions of the song were used, at the start and end respectively; James Bond was mentioned in the end version. Released as a single, it is the only Bond film title track not to chart as a single in either the United Kingdom or the United States.

In the same year, Lulu covered David Bowie’s songs “The Man Who Sold the World” and “Watch That Man”. Bowie and Mick Ronson produced the recordings. Bowie played saxophone and provided backing vocals. Rumours of a brief affair between him and Lulu were confirmed in her 2002 autobiography. “The Man Who Sold the World” became her first Top 10 hit in five years, peaking at No. 3 in the UK chart in February 1974, and was a Top 10 hit in several other European countries.