“There ain’t nothin’ like a Dame”………..After seven decades of hits – 70 albums and 140 million record sales – Britain’s most successful female artist of all time, Dame Shirley Bassey, has signed a new record deal with Decca to release her last ever album, at the age of 83-years-old and now a great-grandmother.
The dazzingly delightful Diva appeals not only to a mature age group who bought her records in the late 1950s when she started her career and have supported her across the years.
But she is adored by many much younger fans too, after such showstopping moments as the still-talked-about stunning performance in the “Legends” spot at Glastonbury Festival in 2007.
Crossover hit pop singles such as “History Repeating”, when she belted it out with Propellerheads in 1997 and her 2007 solo hit “Get The Party Started” – an audacious cover of the 2007 Pink smash – also won her many new young fans. *** See the video to both tracks, below.
Her timeless and spine tingling recordings of the title tracks to three James Bond movies, “Goldfinger” in 1964, “Diamonds Are Forever” in 1971 and “Moonraker” in 1979 are still considered the most iconic of all the Bond themes.
The as yet untitled new album, will include brand new material written especially for Ms. Bassey, and tracks which she has handpicked to reflect her incredible life and career.
Recording sessions are taking place in London, Prague, Monaco (where she resides) and the South of France – with her team operating under the relevant travel and recording restrictions.
Dame Shirley dearly wants this album to act as a ‘thank you’ to her fans who have supported her all these years, and to the music – which has remained a constant throughout her life.
“My new album is a celebration of 70 years in showbiz. 70 years of support from my fans and 70 years of music! I’ve trodden the boards of many stages and kicked up many a diamante heel! The songs I have chosen all feel very personal and connected to my life. I hope they will do the same for my fans.”
Her distinctive and powerful vocal talent has taken her from singing in the pubs and clubs of Wales as a teenager, while also working in a factory, to scoring her first number one single in the 1950s – the first Welsh singer to do so.
She starred in a string of TV shows throughout the ’60s, and was given her own prime time BBC TV series in the 1970s.
Dame Shirley has earned an endless list of awards and accolades, including the very first recipient of a Brit Award for “Best British Female Solo Artist” in 1977, Légion d’ honour (2003) and the Silver Clef Award in 2017.)
Last year (2019), she was the first musician to be awarded the Freedom of The City of Cardiff. She was made a Dame by The Queen in 2000 for her services to the performing arts.
Shirley Veronica Bassey worked her way through the ranks within the variety circuit, becoming known for her remarkable live performances and dazzling gowns, earning herself a legion of fans and superstar status.
Dame Shirley Bassey’s new album is her first in more than five years, and it will be released on Decca Records later this year (2020).
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