This year, a new legion of fans have discovered Bassey since she bonded with the English duo Propellerheads for their international hit, "History Repeating," on which she guested. The song appears on their 1998 Dreamworks album, Decksanddrumsandrockandroll, which also features appearances by De La Soul and the Jungle Brothers, plus the Propellerheads' hit version of "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" - yet another smack of Bondage.
Of "History Repeating" Bassey screams, "Isn't it fabulous!" The song, a catchy, synthesizer-thumping dance number, has been all the rave in clubs in Miami as well as around the globe. Bassey says she was asked to participate after lead Propellerhead Alex Gifford wrote the song with her in mind. "He said he was asleep, and he thought about me, and these words came out," she explains. "And I asked, what's a 35-year-old man doing thinking about a grandmother? I couldn't imagine," she laughs. A demo was sent to Bassey and the rest, as the song says, is history - but not without some initial reluctance on her part.
"When they sent it to me, I heard it and I was dancing around. I loved it. But I didn't think it was for me." Bassey felt the song was a little too rock and roll, more appropriate for Tina Turner. "It wasn't Bassey," she crows, matter-of-factly. "But ah! Thank God they didn't listen to me! They wrote it for Shirley!" Bassey hit the studio a few weeks later and made the song her own, with a little steering from Alex. "He said, 'This is not the way I want it. Can you go a little lower?'" she says, bringing her voice down a few notes. She insists there was no temperament at the session, and she "went right down there -- a different alley -- and that voice came out and that's exactly what they wanted. And within an hour, it was all over. I walked away, we kissed and hugged, and that was it. I didn't think anymore of it. And it was a hit." Bassey now performs the song in concert ("I have to! Everybody is waiting for it. They don't think I'm going to do it, but when I do, they howl!").
Naturally, a video followed, though Bassey was less than enthralled with the process. "Well, at first they mentioned it, but I didn't think anything would come of it," she quips. "So when I did do the video, my God, it was so hard. They are so long, and they take forever. I stood there from 1:00 p.m. until midnight in this dress that I couldn't lift up. I couldn't even go for a pee."
1998 Shirley Bassey said:
"Look at how many people are doing this, still travelling around the world and trying to entertain people. I've been doing this for 44 years and I keep updating it. I'm looking for new material all the time. Now, as History Repeating proves, I come to find I've got another following. That's the biggest reward."
Review From The People, by Steve
Dougherty, May 1998
Gifford and White also wisely incorporate flesh-and-blood performances by 1970s soul singer Shirley Bassey, hip hopsters De La Soul and the Jungle Brothers into this mostly machine-made album. The guest turns make for the album's most appealing tracks, the best of which is Bassey's sassy, sexy rendition of "History Repeating."
Review From Entertainment Weekly, by
David Browne, Apr 1998
Although the concept of placing retro-hip relics like Bassey or Tom Jones in an ironic dance-music setting is beyond tired, "History Repeating" feels delightfully organic
and Gifford and White actually make their computers swing.