Shirley Bassey
Background information
Birth name	Shirley Veronica Bassey
Born	January 8, 1937 (1937-01-08) (age 70) Tiger Bay (now Cardiff Bay), Cardiff, Wales
Genre(s)	Vocal, Pop, Big Band
Occupation(s)	Singer
Instrument(s)	Vocals
Website	DameShirleyBassey.com

Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey, DBE (born January 8, 1937 (1937-01-08) (age 70) in Cardiff, Wales), is a Welsh singer, perhaps best-known for performing the theme songs to the James Bond films Goldfinger (1964), Diamonds Are Forever (1971), and Moonraker (1979). She is the only singer to have recorded more than one James Bond theme song.

Contents 1 Life and career 1.1 Birth to 1960 1.2 1960 to 1980 1.3 1980 onwards 1.4 Recent Developments 2 Personal life 3 Selected discography 3.1 UK Albums 3.2 UK Singles 3.3 US Singles 3.3.1 Hot 100 3.3.2 Adult Contemporary Chart 4 BRIT Awards 5 References 5.1 Books 6 External links

Life and career

Birth to 1960

Bassey was born on 8 January 1937 at 182 Bute Street, Tiger Bay, Cardiff to a Nigerian fireman[1], while her mother came from Yorkshire, North England. She grew up in the notorious working-class district of Tiger Bay, Cardiff, a place known then as the a red-light district, as the youngest of seven children. Her father died when she was two years old.

Bassey attended Moorland Primary School, Splott, Cardiff.

After leaving school at the age of fifteen, Shirley first found employment packing at a local factory - Curran Engineering in Cardiff, where she appeared in the Christmas staff parties. Mr Stephen Shepherd, company personnel officer at that time, encouraged her to follow the stage career she was keen to pursue. Much later in her career, when she appeared on "This Is Your Life" she asked if Mr Shepherd was appearing, but he declined to appear. She enjoyed singing while she packed enamel pots, and to supplement her wage she sang in local pubs and clubs. In 1953, she signed up for the revue Memories of Jolson, a musical based on the life of Al Jolson. She next took up a professional engagement in Hot From Harlem, which ran until 1954.

By this time Bassey had become sick of show business, and had become pregnant at 16 years old with her daughter Sharon, so she went back to waitressing in Cardiff. However, in 1955, a chance recommendation of her to Michael Sullivan, a Streatham-born booking agent, put her firmly on course for her destined career. He saw talent in Bassey, and decided he would make her a star. She toured various theatres until she got an offer of the show that put her firmly on the road to stardom, Al Read's Such Is Life. While she starred in this show, Philips A&R and record producer Johnny Franz spotted her on television, was impressed, and offered her a record deal.

Bassey recorded her first single, entitled "Burn My Candle", and Philips released it in February 1956, when Bassey was just nineteen. Owing to the suggestive lyrics, the BBC banned it, but it sold well nonetheless, backed with her powerful rendition of "Stormy Weather". Further singles appeared, and, in February 1957, Bassey scored her first hit with "Banana Boat Song", which peaked at number 8 on the UK singles chart. During that year, she also recorded under the direction of U.S. producer Mitch Miller in America for the Columbia label, producing the single "If I Had A Needle And Thread"/"Tonight My Heart She Is Crying".

In mid-1958, she recorded two singles that would end up as classics in the Bassey catalogue. "As I Love You" appeared as a b-side to another ballad, "Hands Across The Sea". It did not sell well at first, but, after a chance appearance at the London Palladium, things began to pick up. In February 1959, it made number one and stayed there for 4 weeks. Bassey also recorded "Kiss Me, Honey Honey, Kiss Me" at this point, and while "As I Love You" raced up the charts, so too did this record, with both songs being in the top three at the same time.

A few months later, Bassey signed to EMI Columbia, and the second phase in her recording career had begun.

1960 to 1980

Throughout the 1960s, Bassey scored with numerous hits on the British charts. Her recording of "As Long As He Needs Me" from Lional Bart's "Oliver" reached number two, and had a chart run of 30 weeks. In 1962,Bassey collaboration with Nelson Riddle and his orchestra which produced the album "Let's Face The Music" (#12) and the single "What Now My Love" (#5) Other top ten hits of the period included the number one "Climb Ev'ry mountain/ Reach For The Stars" in 1961, and "I (Who Have Nothing)" in 1963.In 1965, Bassey scored her only U.S. Top Ten hit with the title song of the James Bond film, Goldfinger. Owing to the success of that song, she appeared frequently on many American television talk shows hosted by the likes of Johnny Carson and Mike Douglas. She signed with the United Artists label in the late sixties and in 1970 released the album "Something" which showcased a new modern Bassey style. The single of the same name was more successful in the UK charts than the original Beatles recording. The success of "Something" (Single #4, Album #5) spawned a series of hugely successful albums on the UA label, with "Something Else" 1971 , "Never Never Never" 1973, "The Shirley Bassey Singles Album" 1975 and "25th Anniversary Album" 1978 all making the U.K. Top Ten.Her 1973 single "Never Never Never" was a U.K. top ten hit and reached number one on the Australian charts, while on tour to promote the single and album, Shirley recorded a live L.P. at New York's legendary Carnegie Hall.

In 1971 she recorded the title theme for Diamonds Are Forever, later sampled by Kanye West for his 2005 hit "Diamonds From Sierra Leone" which won the 2006 Grammy Award for Best Rap Song. Her title song for Diamonds Are Forever was featured as part of the main celebration in Sydney, Australia's 2007 New Year's celebration. Bassey recorded her final title theme for the Bond films with Moonraker in 1979. Between 1970 and 1979, Bassey had 18 hit albums in the UK charts and starred in two highly rated B.B.C. TV series in 1976 and 1979, which featured guests including Neil Diamond and Dusty Springfield. The shows were filmed in various locations throughout the world as well as in the studio.

1980 onwards

Throughout most of the 1980s, Bassey focused on charitable works and performing occasional concert tours throughout Europe and the United States. She recorded less often, but released an album in 1984 of her most famous songs, I Am What I Am, performed with the London Symphony Orchestra. She released a single in 1986 "There's No Place Like London", written by Lynsey De Paul and Gerard Kenny. In 1987, she provided vocals for Swiss artists Yello on "The Rhythm Divine", a song co-written by Scottish singer Billy Mackenzie. Also in 1987, she released an album La Mujer sung entirely in Spanish. In 1995 Bassey became only the second artist after Frank Sinatra to give a concert at the Pyramids in Egypt. In 1996, she collaborated with Chris Rea in the movie La Passione appearing in the film as herself and releasing the single "Disco La Passione". In 1997, she caused a sensation in the UK with her song "History Repeating" with the Propellerheads which scored a #1 ranking on the British Dance Music Charts, introducing Bassey to a new generation of fans. The liner notes of the Propellerheads' album Decksandrumsandrockandroll included the line 'We would like to extend our maximum respect to Shirley Bassey for honouring us with her performance. We are still in shock...'. In 1997 Shirley celebrated her 60th birthday with two open air concerts at Castle Howard and Althorp Park. The resulting live album "The Birthday Concert" receive a grammy nomination for "Best Traditional Female Vocal Performance". During her UK Tour in 1998, 120,000 people saw Dame Shirley live and she smashed her own record in London for the longest run by a solo artist at the Royal Festival Hall with ten sold out shows. In 1999 she recorded the Official song for the Rugby World Cup "World In Union" with Bryn Terfel and performed at the opening ceremony at The Millennium Stadium, Cardiff.

In 2003, Bassey celebrated 50 years in show business and released the CD, Thank You For The Years which entered the Top 20 album chart. A Gala Charity Auction of her stage costumes at Christie's "Dame Shirley Bassey: 50 Years of Glittering Gowns" raised £250,000 (US$500,000) to go towards the Dame Shirley Bassey Scholarship at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and the Noah's Ark Children's Hospital Appeal.

In January 2004, Bassey was the headline act on the maiden voyage of the Queen Mary 2.

With thirty-two hits in the UK Singles Chart, which span a record fifty year period (1957-2007), plus thirty-five hit LPs in the corresponding UK Albums Chart, she has become Britain's most successful female chart artist of all time.

Recent Developments

Two popular Audiences With Shirley Bassey have aired on British TV, the most recent being in March 2006. Dame Shirley Bassey returned to perform in five arenas around the UK in June 2006, which culminated at Wembley on 9 June. She also performed a concert in front of 10,000 people at the Bryn Terfel Faenol Festival in North Wales which was broadcast by BBC Wales on 30 August 2006.

"Where Do I Begin (Away Team Remix)," from Shirley's 2001 remix album, The Remix Album: Diamonds Are Forever, is featured in one episode of Showtime's The L Word, Season 2 and on Season 1 of Nip/Tuck on the FX Network.

Marks & Spencer signed her for their Christmas 2006 "James Bond style" TV advertising campaign. Bassey is seen in a glamorous Ice Palace singing a cover version of Pink's song, "Get the Party Started" wearing an M&S gown. The advert, launched in November 2006, also includes famous models, such as Twiggy.

A new single, "The Living Tree", written, produced and originally recorded by the London duo Never the Bride, was released on 23 April 2007. The "Living Tree" CD included a number of remixes, designed to appeal to the club chart. The single entered the Singles Chart at no.37. This release marked Bassey's 50th anniversary in the singles chart and gave her the record for the longest span of top 40 hits in UK chart history. "The Living Tree" was debuted by Dame Shirley in her bill topping appearance at the 2005 Royal Variety performance. A new album "Get The Party Started" was released on the 25th June 2007 and dedicated to Dame Shirley's late daughter Samantha. The album entered the U.K. charts at number six.

Shirley Bassey made a triumphant appearance in the Sunday afternoon slot at 2007's Glastonbury Festival. Wearing a pink Julien MacDonald dress, Dame Shirley performed a 45 minute set to riotous applause.Two evenings earlier at the festival Arctic Monkeys performed "Diamonds Are Forever" and dedicated it to Bassey, after her own rendition of the number Bassey said "Arctic Monkeys, that's how it's done". Although the night was not altogether an enjoyable evening since, due to Britain's torrential 'summer' rain, Dame Shirley's helicopter had to perform an emergency landing on her way home. She was unhurt but shaken from the ordeal. Needing to go to the toilet she had to ask one of the nearby residents in Camberley, Surrey if she could use their facilities. In the week leading up to the Festival, she had everyday appearances on London's Heart 106.2 FM Breakfast show with Jamie Theakston as part of a teaser to the Festival. On June 28, 2007, Bassey sang "Big Spender" with Elton John at his glamorous annual White Tie and Tiara Ball in order to raise money for The Elton John AIDS Foundation.

Personal life

Bassey has had two daughters and one adopted son. She has been married twice. The first time was to Kenneth Hume (from 1961 to 1965, when they divorced). Her second husband was Sergio Novak. Bassey and Novak were married from 1968 until they divorced in 1977. Bassey's second daughter, Samantha, was found dead in 1985 after having apparently jumped from the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol, England. Bassey has always insisted the death of her daughter was not suicide.

In recognition of her career longevity, endurance and a particular admiration from the Royal Family, Bassey was created a Dame Commander of the British Empire (DBE) on 31 December 1999 by HM Queen Elizabeth II.

She was invited to perform in 2002 at the Party at the Palace, a public celebration of Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee. She was also awarded France's top honour, the Legion d'Honneur, to signify her enduring popularity and importance in the culture of France.

She now resides in Monaco, and has recently sold her London apartment. Many of its furnishings were auctioned for charity.

Selected discography

UK Albums

Recorded for Philips 1956-1958

• Bewitching Miss Bassey
• Born to Sing the Blues

EMI Columbia

• Fabulous Shirley Bassey (#12 1961)
• Shirley (#9 1961)
• Shirley Bassey (#14 1962)
• Let's Face The Music (#12 1962)
• Shirley Bassey At The Pigalle (#15 1965)

EMI United Artists

• I've Got A Song For You (#26 1966)
• 12 Of Those Songs (#38 1968)
• This Is My Life(1968)
• La Vita - This Is My Life (1968 / Italian release only)
• Golden Hits Of Shirley Bassey (#28 1968)
• Live At Talk Of The Town (#38 1970)
• Something (#5 1970)
• Something Else (#7 1971)
• Big Spender (#27 1971)
• It's Magic (#32 1971)
• The Fabulous Shirley Bassey (#48 1971)
• What Now My Love (#17 1971)
• The Shirley Bassey Collection (#37 1972)
• And I Love You So(#24 1972)
• I Capricorn (#13 1972)
• Never Never Never (#10 1973)
• Nobody Does It Like Me (1974)
• The Shirley Bassey Singles Album (#2 1975)
• Good Bad But Beautiful (#13 1975)
• Love Life and Feelings (#13 1976)
• Thoughts Of Love (#15 1976)
• You Take My Heart Away (#34 1977)
• 25th Anniversary Album (#3 1978)
• The Magic Is You (#40 1978)
• What I Did For Love (1979)

Various Labels

• Love Songs (#48 1982)
• I Am What I Am (#25 1984)
• La Mujer (1987)
• Keep The Music Playing (#25 1991)
• The Best Of Shirley Bassey (#27 1992)
• Sings Andrew Lloyd Webber (#34 1993)
• Sings The Movies (#24 1995)
• The Show Must Go On (#47 1996)
• The Birthday Concert (1997)
• The Remix Album: Diamonds Are Forever (#62 2000)
• The Greatest Hits - This Is My Life (#54 2000)
• Thank You For The Years (#19 2003)
• The Columbia/EMI Singles Collection (2006)
• Get The Party Started (#6 June 25, 2007)

UK Singles

• "Banana Boat Song" (#8 1957) (Debut UK chart single)
• "Fire Down Below" (#30 1957)
• "You, You Romeo" (#29 1957)
• "Kiss Me, Honey, Honey, Kiss Me" (#3 1958)
• "As I Love You" (1959) (First number one)
• "With These Hands" (#31 1960)
• "As Long As He Needs Me" (1960) (Number two; with 30 weeks of chart presence)
• "Reach For The Stars" / "Climb Ev'ry Mountain" (1961) (Second number one)
• "I'll Get By" (#10 1961)
• "Tonight" (#21 1962)
• "Ave Maria" (#31 1962)
• "Far Away (#24 1962)
• "What Now My Love?" (# 5 1962)
• "What Kind Of Fool Am I" (#47 1963)
• "I (Who Have Nothing)" (#6 1963)
• "My Special Dream" (#32 1964)
• "Gone" (#36 1964)
• "Goldfinger" (#21 1964) (Bond movie theme song)
• "No Regrets" (#39 1965)
• "Big Spender" (#21 1967)
• "Something" (#4 1970) (matched The Beatles original by making Number 4)
• "The Fool On The Hill" (#48 1971)
• "Diamonds Are Forever" (#38 1972) (Bond movie theme song)
• "(Where Do I Begin?) Love Story" (#34 1971)
• "For All We Know" (#6 1972)
• "Never, Never, Never" (#8 1973)
• "Sometimes" (#86 1984)
• "To All The Men I've Loved Before" (#86 1986)
• "The Rhythm Divine" (#54 1987) (Yello featuring Shirley Bassey)
• "Disco" La Passione" (#41 1996) (Duet with Chris Rea)
• "History Repeating" (#19 1997) (Features on There's Something About Mary OST)
• "World In Union" (#35 1999) (Official Theme song of the Rugby World Cup) - with Bryn Terfel
• "Diamonds From Sierra Lione" (#8 2005) (Kanye West featuring Shirley Bassey)
• "The Living Tree" (#37 2007)
• "Get The Party Started" (#47 2007)

US Singles

Hot 100

• "Goldfinger" - charted 01-30-1965; #8 (13 weeks) b/w "Strange How Love Can Be"
• "Something" - charted 09-19-1970; #55 (9 weeks) b/w "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?"
• "Diamonds Are Forever" - charted 01-29-1972; #57 (9 weeks) b/w "For The Love Of Him"
• "Never, Never, Never (Grande, Grande, Grande)" - charted 06-02-1973; #48 (11 weeks) b/w "Day By Day"

Adult Contemporary Chart

• "Goldfinger" - four weeks at #2, 1965
• "It's Yourself" - #38, 1965
• "Something" - #9, 1970
• "Diamonds Are Forever" - #14, 1972
• "Never, Never, Never (Grande, Grande, Grande)" - #8, 1973
• "Davy" - #44, 1974

BRIT Awards

• 1977 - Best British female solo artist during the past 25 years - (BRIT Awards winner)

References

1. Bad weather grounds Dame Shirley. Retrieved on 2007-06-25.
2. White tie and tiara ball. Retrieved on 2007-06-30.
3. http://www.songsofshirleybassey.co.uk/info/articl83.html

Books

• Guinness Book of British Hit Singles - 14th Edition - ISBN 0-85156-156-X
• Guinness Book of British Hit Singles - 16th Edition - ISBN 0-85112-190-X
• The Guinness Book Of British Hit Albums - 7th Edition - ISBN 0-85112-619-7
• The Book Of Golden Discs - 2nd Edition - ISBN 0-214-20512-6
• The Guinness Book Of 500 Number One Hits - ISBN 0-85112-250-7

External links

• Official Website
• Shirley Bassey at the Internet Movie Database
• Miss Bassey
• DSB > Website
• A number of interviews with Shirley Bassey. Also discussing the death of her daughter Samantha Bassey.
• Shirley Bassey, Welsh Diva

Preceded by Matt Monro From Russia with Love, 1963	James Bond title artist Goldfinger, 1964	Succeeded by Tom Jones Thunderball, 1965
Preceded by John Barry On Her Majesty's Secret Service, 1969	James Bond title artist Diamonds Are Forever, 1971	Succeeded by Paul McCartney and Wings Live and Let Die (song), 1973
Preceded by Carly Simon The Spy Who Loved Me (Nobody Does It Better), 1977	James Bond title artist Moonraker, 1979	Succeeded by Sheena Easton For Your Eyes Only, 1981