Best known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the theme songs to three James Bond films, Bassey is widely regarded as one of the most popular vocalists in Britain.
79 Facts About Shirley Bassey
2.
Shirley Bassey became well-known for recording the soundtrack theme songs of the James Bond films Goldfinger, Diamonds Are Forever, and Moonraker.
3.
In 2020, Shirley Bassey became the first female artist to chart an album in the Top 40 of the UK Albums Chart in seven consecutive decades with her album I Owe It All To You.
4.
Shirley Bassey received the first award for Best British Female Solo Artist at the 1st Brit Awards in 1977.
5.
Shirley Bassey was appointed a Dame in 1999 for services to the performing arts.
6.
Shirley Bassey has influenced many other singers, including Aretha Franklin.
7.
Shirley Bassey is the first woman in history to claim a Top 40 album in seven consecutive decades in the United Kingdom.
8.
Shirley Veronica Bassey was born the sixth and youngest child of Henry Bassey and Eliza Jane Start on Bute Street in Tiger Bay, Cardiff.
9.
Shirley Bassey grew up in the nearby community of Splott.
10.
Shirley Bassey's father was Nigerian, and her mother came from New Marske, North Yorkshire.
11.
Shirley Bassey's mother listed her first husband, Alfred Metcalfe, as her own father in the registry of her marriage to Henry Shirley Bassey, giving rise to speculation that this marriage was bigamous in the absence of a prior divorce.
12.
Eliza and Henry's second child died in infancy, so Shirley Bassey was born into a household of three sisters, two half-sisters, and one brother.
13.
Shirley Bassey left Splott secondary modern school at age 14 to work at Curran Steels and, in the evenings and weekends, to sing in local pubs and clubs.
14.
In 1953, Shirley Bassey signed her first professional contract, touring with the variety show Memories of Jolson, a musical based on the life of Al Jolson.
15.
In 1955, Shirley Bassey toured various theatres until she was noticed by the impresario Jack Hylton at the Astor Club in September 1955.
16.
Shirley Bassey invited her to feature in Al Read's Such Is Life which opened on 14 December 1955 at the Adelphi Theatre in London's West End.
17.
Shirley Bassey recorded her first single, "Burn My Candle", the song she had featured in "Such Is Life", and this was released in February 1956.
18.
In mid-1958, Shirley Bassey recorded two singles that would become classics in the Shirley Bassey catalogue.
19.
Between 1960 and 1961, Shirley Bassey had four Top 10 hits in the UK.
20.
Shirley Bassey made her American television debut on 13 November 1960, when she performed on The Ed Sullivan Show.
21.
Shirley Bassey began to gain recognition in the American market and signed to United Artists Records in August 1961.
22.
Shirley Bassey's cover version of the Ben E King hit "I " reached No 6 in 1963.
23.
In January 1963, Bassey performed at a gala commemorating the second anniversary of President John F Kennedy's inauguration in Washington, DC In March 1963, she appeared on the cover of Ebony magazine.
24.
Shirley Bassey made her Carnegie Hall debut on 15 February 1964.
25.
In 1965, Shirley Bassey enjoyed her only Top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 with the title song of the James Bond film, Goldfinger.
26.
Shirley Bassey recorded a song for the next Bond film, Thunderball.
27.
Shirley Bassey began to live as a tax exile in 1968 and was unable to work in Britain for almost two years.
28.
Shirley Bassey returned to the UK with a record-breaking run of performances at the Talk of the Town nightclub.
29.
Shirley Bassey's song "Something" was a top 10 US hit on the Adult Contemporary chart.
30.
Shirley Bassey appeared on the Morecambe and Wise Christmas Show, broadcast on Christmas Day in 1971.
31.
Shirley Bassey was the subject of This Is Your Life on two occasions: firstly, in November 1972 when she was surprised by Eamonn Andrews at Heathrow Airport, and then in January 1993, when Michael Aspel surprised her at the curtain call of a sell-out concert at the Royal Albert Hall.
32.
Shirley Bassey recorded a series of successful albums on the United Artists label, including: Something Else ; And I Love You So ; I Capricorn ; Never Never Never ; Good, Bad but Beautiful ; Love, Life and Feelings ; You Take My Heart Away and Yesterdays.
33.
Between 1970 and 1979, Shirley Bassey had 18 hit albums in the UK Albums Chart.
34.
In 1976, Bassey starred in the six-episode Shirley Bassey show, the first of her television programmes for the BBC, followed by a second series of six episodes in 1979.
35.
In 1979, Shirley Bassey recorded the title theme song for the Bond film, Moonraker.
36.
Shirley Bassey had ended her contract with United Artists, whose former record division was now part of EMI, and began what she referred to as "semi-retirement".
37.
Shirley Bassey recorded an album entitled All by Myself and made a TV special for Thames Television called A Special Lady with guest Robert Goulet.
38.
Shirley Bassey was now recording far less often but an album of her most famous songs, I Am What I Am, was recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Carl Davis.
39.
Shirley Bassey recorded an album of James Bond themes, The Bond Collection in 1987, but was apparently unhappy with the results so she declined to release it.
40.
Shirley Bassey provided vocals for Swiss artists Yello on "The Rhythm Divine", a song co-written by Scottish singer Billy Mackenzie.
41.
Shirley Bassey collaborated with Chris Rea in the film La Passione, appearing in the film as herself and releasing the single "'Disco' La Passione".
42.
Shirley Bassey's "History Repeating", written for her by the Propellerheads, reached number one on the UK Dance Chart, and number 10 on the US Dance Chart.
43.
On 7 October 1998 in Egypt, Shirley Bassey performed for a benefit at an open-air concert close to the Sphinx and the Great Pyramid.
44.
Shirley Bassey played the Friday night at Henley Festival in 1984.
45.
Shirley Bassey was sued in a breach of contract case in 1998 by her former personal assistant, who accused Shirley Bassey of hitting her and making an ethnic slur.
46.
Shirley Bassey celebrated 50 years in show business in 2003 with the release of the CD Thank You for the Years, which was another top 20 album.
47.
Shirley Bassey topped the bill at the 2005 Royal Variety Performance, introducing her new song "The Living Tree".
48.
Two popular Audiences with Shirley Bassey have aired on British television, one in 1995 that attracted more than 10 million viewers in the UK, with the second broadcast in 2006.
49.
Shirley Bassey performed a concert in front of 10,000 people at the Bryn Terfel Faenol Festival in North Wales broadcast by BBC Wales.
50.
Shirley Bassey performed a 45-minute set at the 2007 Glastonbury Festival wearing a pink Julien Macdonald dress, and customised Wellington boots.
51.
In 2007, Shirley Bassey performed in Fashion Rocks in aid of The Prince's Trust at the Royal Albert Hall.
52.
Shirley Bassey was rushed to hospital in Monaco on 23 May 2008 to have an emergency operation on her stomach after complaining of abdominal pains.
53.
Shirley Bassey was forced to pull out of the Nelson Mandela 90th Birthday Tribute concert because of her illness.
54.
Shirley Bassey recorded the album The Performance, with James Bond composer David Arnold as producer.
55.
Shirley Bassey headlined at the BBC Electric Proms on 23 October 2009, in her only full live set of 2009.
56.
Shirley Bassey performed several of the new songs from The Performance in November 2009 on various TV shows: The Graham Norton Show, The Paul O'Grady Show and as the guest singer on Strictly Come Dancing.
57.
Shirley Bassey performed at a gala celebrating the 80th birthday of Mikhail Gorbachev on 30 March 2011.
58.
Shirley Bassey performed at the Classical Brit Awards in 2011, singing "Goldfinger" in tribute to John Barry.
59.
Shirley Bassey was one of the line-up of artists on 4 June 2012 who performed at the Queen's 60th Jubilee Party at Buckingham Palace, singing "Diamonds Are Forever".
60.
Shirley Bassey performed at the 2013 Academy Awards on 24 February 2013 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the James Bond movie franchise.
61.
Shirley Bassey performed "I'm Still Here" and "The Lady Is A Tramp" on 13 November 2014 at the Royal Variety Performance in the presence of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
62.
Shirley Bassey released another album, Hello Like Before, on 17 November 2014.
63.
In December 2016, Shirley Bassey starred in a 60-minute BBC broadcast hosted by David Walliams.
64.
On 11 March 2018, Shirley Bassey performed "Almost Like Being In Love" in a tribute to Sir Bruce Forsyth at the London Palladium.
65.
In 2020, with the release of her most recent album, I Owe It All To You, Shirley Bassey became the first female artist to chart an album in the top 40 of the UK Albums Chart in seven consecutive decades.
66.
On 4 October 2022, Shirley Bassey performed in "The Sound of 007: Live from the Royal Albert Hall", which commemorated the 60th Anniversary of the James Bond Film era.
67.
Shirley Bassey sang the two opening songs, "Diamonds are forever" and "Goldfinger".
68.
From 1968 until they divorced in 1979, Shirley Bassey was married to Sergio Novak, the assistant manager of the Excelsior Hotel in Venice.
69.
Shirley Bassey had Sharon at the age of 17 and her sister Ella raised her as her own daughter until the 1960s.
70.
Shirley Bassey's first husband suggested that Samantha, born during the couple's marriage, was the result of an affair between Shirley Bassey and Peter Finch.
71.
Shirley Bassey has always maintained that the death of her daughter was not a suicide.
72.
Shirley Bassey has four grandsons through her surviving daughter, Sharon Novak.
73.
In 1994, Shirley Bassey became a Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
74.
Shirley Bassey was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire on 31 December 1999 by Queen Elizabeth II for services to entertainment.
75.
Shirley Bassey was invited to perform in 2002 at the Party at the Palace, a public celebration of the Queen's Golden Jubilee.
76.
Shirley Bassey performed at the Queen's Diamond Jubilee concert at Buckingham Palace on 4 June 2012, singing "Diamonds Are Forever".
77.
Shirley Bassey was invited to perform at the Queen's 90th Birthday celebrations at Windsor Castle on 15 May 2016.
78.
Shirley Bassey was awarded a Knight in France's Legion of Honour in 2003, to signify her popularity and importance in the culture of France.
79.
Shirley Bassey was awarded the freedom of her hometown, Cardiff, in a ceremony at City Hall on 17 May 2019.