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The Girl With The Golden Voice From Yours Magazine, Mar 2005

Many great singers have performed a James Bond film title song, but nobody does it better than Dame Shirley Bassey...

It was no surprise when Shirley Veronica Bassey was named one of the 100 most famous people of the 20th century. After all, as well as recording no fewer than three title songs for James Bond films, she performed for John F Kennedy at the White House, headlined at Las Vegas, and - the ultimate accolade - appeared on the Morecambe and Wise Christmas Show!

The awards have piled up; she was made a CBE ten years ago, was the first singer to be presented with the Legion d'Honneur, and is now a Dame. When a new cabaret club opened in her native Cardiff, they called it Bassey's.

It's hard to believe that Shirley, by her own admission, still suffers from nerves when she performs. As a child she was so shy that she would rather sing from under the table. Now, knowing that a rush of nerves and adrenaline is vital, she pushes herself to the limit in concert, believing that a performer is only as good as their last performance.

People like the fact that Shirley is a larger-than-life survivor and she, in turn, is buoyed up by their response. "Applause is thrilling, incredible," she says. "And, of course, I need it. It's what keeps me going. It's my life."

Her fans also love the glamour that she exudes and, in order to show off her figure-hugging gowns to their best advantage, she keeps in great shape by drinking lots of water and working out every day leading up to a show.

Of course, Dame Shirley doesn't need to perform to keep the wolf from the door any more, so perhaps there's something to the theory that she comes alive when she sings her 'autobiography' to an audience. "My songs represent chunks of my life, of my own personal history," she says."

Listen to her sing As Long As He Needs Me and For All We Know and her empathy with these ballads is obvious. She uses not just her voice but her whole body and her expressive hands to communicate the depth of her emotions. Once you learn about Shirley's life, you understand her belief that being on stage is better than therapy.

Shirley Bassey was born on January 8 1937, the youngest of seven. Her father Henry, a Nigerian merchant seaman, left her Yorkshire mum, Eliza Jane, when the toddler was aged two. "I never saw him again. All I've got is one photo to remember him by."

They lived in the dock area of Tiger Bay, Cardiff, and Shirley's childhood memories are of sleeping three to a bed, wearing hand-me-downs and singing at neighbours' weddings in return for a slice of cake or a threepenny bit. "I was alone when I was a child," she says. "I never really had anything in common with my brother and sisters."

Leaving school at 15, she worked in the local factory, supplementing her wage by singing in working men's clubs. In 1953, she was spotted by talent scouts and put in a touring show, Hot From Harlem.

"I was happy until success entered my life. It took away my happiness. There were so many demands upon me."

The following year she returned home pregnant. Her daughter, Sharon, was kept secret and raised by Shirley's older sister Iris for eight years, before going back to live with 'Auntie' Shirley.

Instead of retiring after Sharon was born, Shirley was persuaded to continue performing by an ambitious agent, Michael Sullivan who dressed her in lavish gowns. Comedian Al Read chose her for his 1955 Christmas Show and his long-running revue. She started recording songs and there was no looking back.

As Shirley's professional life took off, her personal relationships became ever more troubled and complex. Ex-boyfriend Terence 'Pepe' Davies held her hostage in a hotel room until the police stormed in and ended the siege. Her first husband, film director Kenneth Hume, was openly bisexual, and they divorced before he eventually took his own life.

Shirley had a second daughter, Samantha. After an affair with actor Peter Finch, she married Sergio Novak, who became her most successful manager. Their 13-year marriage produced no children, but they adopted her niece's son, Mark, in 1971.

In 1964 she became an international star, singing the James Bond theme song, Goldfinger, followed in 1971 by Diamonds Are Forever and Moonraker in 1979.

Personal happiness eluded her. Many men, she believes, can't cope with a woman being the breadwinner - or they always expect to be out socialising. "Men want me to be this party animal but I'm not like that all of the time. I prefer to stay home, cook them a meal and watch TV."

This attitude goes back to her childhood, when there was little to go around. "I hate it when you go to a restaurant and they put too much on your plate," she says. "I eat to live, not live to eat. My tastes are simple. I love nothing more than a plate of chips and a bowl of ketchup to dip them in."

The only time when Shirley, understandably, let comfort-eating take over, was when her troubled daughter Samantha died, aged just 21. She was found after falling from Bristol's Clifton suspension bridge in 1984; Shirley refuses to believe she took her own life.

Shirley felt despair and guilt and had no one to talk to about her bereavement. She lost her voice and piled on weight. "I'd wake in the night and go to the fridge for a bar of chocolate and a lump of cheese. I had to wear a maternity dress." Shirley is nothing if not a survivor and was determined to regain her voice and get back on stage.

She adores her grandchildren and says she's a better grandmother than a mother, although she is close to Sharon. To this day, Shirley is a loner who can count her friends on one hand. "I'm very happy going to bed on my own at 8pm, making a nest out of a great pile of pillows, and watching TV."

© Yours Magazine 2005

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