Still looking every inch the consummate star at 66, Shirley has had to come to terms with terrible traumas in her life, including her father walking out when she was just two and the untimely deaths of her first husband and daughter
"I don't think there's anyone in the UK who has had a career like mine," says Shirley
The singer of such classics as Goldfinger and Hey, Big Spender admits: "I'm good at leaving Shirley Bassey in the dressing room. I see her as the glamourpuss who I don't take home with me"
Shirley leaves Heathrow airport for Beirut in 1967 Photo: © PA
"It's incredible how the public can lift you. It produces the most extraordinary adrenaline. It's like a drug." Photo: © Alphapress.com
The Welsh superstar with adopted – and currently estranged – son Mark and daughter Samantha, who died at 21 Photo: © Alphapress.com
Prince Charles receives a kiss backstage at the Royal Variety show. Photo: © Alphapress.com
Now Shirley has found happiness with Greg Smith, a theatrical producer once married to Michael Barrymore's ex-wife Cheryl who she met at a dinner party in March. "We're having a great time together," she says. Photo: © Alphapress.com
Shirley at Buckingham Palace in 2000 after becoming a Dame. Photo: © Alphapress.com