Lulu, the Scottish singer who rose to fame in the 1960s, says she was "afraid of sex" while growing up at the peak of her career and has revealed she is in recovery from alcoholism in an extract from her forthcoming memoir.

In an exclusive extract from If Only You Knew, published ahead of the book's Sept. 25 release, Lulu, 76, writes that the subject of sex was not openly discussed in her household and that she felt "very self-conscious," preferring to wait for the right person and to live in fantasy rather than confront intimacy. She rose to international attention at about age 15 with the 1964 hit "Shout," a success she says intensified her sense of being separate from others.

Lulu writes that she "wasn’t a fan" of sex because it had been almost shameful in her upbringing, adding that she "wanted love" and "wanted romance" but felt unprepared. She describes having boyfriends, including Alex Bell of the Luvvers and a brief romance with Peter Noone of Herman’s Hermits, but says encounters rarely progressed beyond a kiss because she had missed so much school that "human biology had completely passed me by." She also recalls a long-standing crush on Eric Clapton and an attempt to draw him to a party of musicians.

She said she avoided harm by being protected by her first manager, Marian, and by befriending musicians' wives and girlfriends as a signal that she was not interested in sexual advances. "I never had any bad experiences because I was protected by Marian," she writes in the extract.

Lulu also opened up in a recent interview with The Times about a long struggle with alcohol, describing herself as a "secret drinker" who sought to be the "best Lulu" and feared resembling her father. She said she chose not to speak publicly about the problem for years until she felt she had the language to explain it. She said her drinking grew worse in her 60s after major life changes, including the death of her parents, the end of menopause-related changes and her son leaving home.

"For me, it had been controllable until I got into my sixties," she told The Times, saying that the combination of grief, an empty nest and the pressures of a changing industry increased her reliance on alcohol. She said she faced "dark" moments and "shame" that led her to rehab and that she now considers alcoholism part of a family pattern, calling it "a family illness" and saying "the gene is there."

In the memoir extract and recent interviews, Lulu reflects on a childhood that included witnessing domestic violence between her parents and moments when her father was removed by police. She said she had carried shame about her parents' actions but now regards them as "damaged." Lulu attributes her alcoholism in part to years of suppressing feelings while supporting her family and maintaining a public image.

Lulu has been married twice, to Maurice Gibb from 1969 to 1973 and to John Frieda from 1977 to 1991. She said she now lives in central London with her cockapoo and is in a "brighter" place. If Only You Knew is published by Hodder & Stoughton and is scheduled for release on Sept. 25.

Lulu is due to begin touring late in September; ticket information is available on her official website.