Maggie Bell on John and Yoko, a tragic death on stage and a famous music hall aunt. Scotland's favourite albums

And just for good measure, the title track was a tribute to her aunt, who was a famous Scottish music hall entertainer.

But the Glasgow-born singer was not overawed by the job in hand. She has always relished a challenge.

Suicide Sal was made at the former Ascot Sound Studios, situated in the grounds of Tittenhurst Park, a 72-acre estate that was the home of John Lennon and Yoko Ono from 1969 to 1971.

He recorded his classic album, Imagine, there with producer Phil Spector.

But when Lennon moved to the US in 1973, he sold the Georgian mansion to fellow Beatle, Ringo Starr.

He renamed it Startling Studios and used it for the movie, Born To Boogie – a documentary about Marc Bolan and T. Rex – which he directed.

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“I was great friends with Ringo and his first wife, Maureen, and lived in a cottage in the vast grounds,” revealed Bell.

“He would pop in and out of the studio to see how the sessions were going.

“It felt really strange when I went up to the main house. You’d see John and Yoko’s famous all white room where they filmed the video for Imagine. They even had their own light switches … one for John, the other for Yoko. The atmosphere was great there. It was a very happy time for me.”

As a teenager, Bell had served her apprenticeship as a singer at The Locarno dancehall in Sauchiehall Street.

The house band was led by a then fast-rising guitar player named Alex Harvey. When he introduced her to his brother Leslie – also a guitarist – romance blossomed.

The couple played together in The Kinning Park Ramblers then moved on to Power, who later became Stone The Crows.

They made four impressive albums between 1970 and 1972, and supported Led Zeppelin at the Royal Albert Hall in London and Madison Square Garden in New York.

But on May 3, 1972, tragedy struck when Leslie, aged 27, was electrocuted on stage during a gig in Swansea.

“There was no way Stone The Crows could have continued after that, even when we drafted in other musicians,” admitted Maggie.

“Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac wanted to join the band and rehearsed with us for a couple of months.

“We decided to play a comeback gig at the Wheely Festival in Essex, but the night before he called up and said: ‘You’re going to be famous and I don’t want any part of it’.

“We thought, who the hell are we going to get to replace him at such short notice?

“We asked Steve Howe of Yes to step in. He stayed up all night to learn the songs. The gig was fabulous. But we still couldn’t continue. All the strength and feeling had gone after Leslie’s death.”

In 1974, Bell launched her solo career with the album Queen Of The Night, produced by Jerry Wexler.

The US music legend – who’d worked with Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles and Dusty Springfield – also built Atlantic Records into one of the greatest labels in history with brothers Ahmet and Nesuhi Ertegun.

His studio expertise was invaluable for the Scottish singer. She said: “What I learned from Jerry was that you must go into a studio fully prepared … you’ve got to do your homework. He always said: ‘It saves a lot of time and aggravation and you get to really know the song’.

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“At weekends, I’d go with him and his wife up to the Hamptons, just to get away from New York.

“I must have listened to more than 600 songs to find the ones which were most suitable for my voice.

“I never ever forgot that. So it’s always been like that for me.

“I was a friend of Jerry’s until the day he died in 2008. He was a wonderful man.”

The following year, Bell released Suicide Sal on Swan Song Records, the label launched by Led Zeppelin.

She was signed by the band’s manager, Peter Grant, and became label-mates with the rock supergroup themselves, plus Bad Company, Dave Edmunds, The Pretty Things and Sad Cafe.

As ever, Bell was meticulous when choosing material for the album.

“I wrote Suicide Sal about the sister of my father who was a music hall performer,” she revealed.

“She appeared in theatres in Glasgow like The Empress and The Metropole and venues across Scotland.

“She was a singer who also did a bit of comedy. I remember as a child meeting Lex McLean and other Scottish comics who all said she was a real force to be reckoned with.

“The public gave her that nickname. We still don’t know for sure how it came about. But I was inspired by the life she led. As it says in the lyrics of the song … her spirit lives on in me.”

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The album featured her interpretation of The Beatles’ 1963 single, I Saw Her Standing There.

She also covered Wishing Well by Free, In My Life by Leo Sayer plus songs by The Sutherland Brothers, Phil May and Zoot Money.

“When I record a song I’m trying to make it my own,” said Bell.

“Maybe I could never do it just as good as The Beatles or Paul Rodgers of Free, but I always try to put a different slant on it.

“Whatever I do, and it might sound blasé for me to say it, but I really put my heart and soul into my singing. Otherwise, there is no point.”

Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin played on two tracks on the album, Coming On Strong and It’s Been So Long

“Jimmy is like family. He’d come in, set up and be all ready to go at 11 o’clock in the morning,” recalled Maggie.

“He played a blinding guitar solo on It’s Been So Long, written by Phil May. It was a fabulous, melodic bit of playing.”

Now Bell’s back catalogue can be enjoyed by a new generation of fans.

Repertoire Records have just repackaged all four of her former group’s albums - Stone The Crows, Ode To John Law, Teenage Licks and Ontinuous Performance. Plus Queen Of The Night and Suicide Sal.

Bell said: “It was a great feeling seeing Suicide Sal really take shape. With any album, the thing that takes up the most time is the backing tracks.

“For me, that was always the boring part. I just wanted to get in there and lay down my vocal. I’d done my homework and knew exactly how I was going to sing.

“You hear stories today about people going into the studio and they can’t sing a song from beginning to end. The engineer has got to drop in lines here and there. I’ve never understood that.

“How are you ever going to capture the true feeling of a song if you do something like that?

“I much prefer to do it as a performance … and – boom - you’ve done it. I’m a real one-take wonder. But it’s served me well.”

Bell plans to hit the road again in 2022. She’ll play gigs in Musselburgh, Aberdeen and Glasgow next May as special guest of The Animals on their farewell tour. It can’t come quick enough.

“The body is falling apart, slightly … but the voice is still okay,” she said.

“I’m really looking forward to it. I played with The Animals, The Yardbirds and Colin Blunstone a few years ago and it was the most successful UK blues tour ever. I must have done a good job. They’ve asked me back.”

THE Billy Sloan Show is on BBC Radio Scotland every Saturday at 10pm.