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13 unusual facts about Shirley Bassey


BBC Scottish Radio Orchestra

Under the direction of composer and arranger Brian Fahey, the BBC Scottish Radio Orchestra also did a lot of television work accompanying the likes of Kenneth McKeller, Lena Martell, Moira Anderson, Shirley Bassey, Lulu, Lena Zavaroni and Anne Lorne Gilles.

Burke Shelley

Shelley's singing voice on earlier Budgie recordings (e.g. the song "Parents" on the 1973 album Never Turn Your Back on a Friend) sometimes bears a marked resemblance, in timbre and style, to that of Shirley Bassey, who also grew up in Tiger Bay.

Burn My Candle

Shirley Bassey re-recorded this song in 1966, but it remained unreleased until 1975 when it appeared on the 2LP set The Shirley Bassey Collection II.

Colin Teague

Subsequently he was Bafta nominated twice for Being Human, and in 2011 Teague directed Shirley, a biopic on the legendary Shirley Bassey, which won a Cymru Bafta for best single drama in 2012.

Ford Kiernan

The film was released in 2010 with the theme song performed by Dame Shirley Bassey.

Les p'tits mots

Dalida recorded the song in French, English, Spanish and Italian, whilst Shirley Bassey included the English version of the song in her repertoire and performed it during her live concerts in the early nineties.

Love Is No Game

Love Is No Game is a single released by Shirley Bassey in 1988.

MV Adonia

The ship entered service with the company on 21 May 2011, and was renamed Adonia by Dame Shirley Bassey.

She officially entered service with the company in May 2011 and was named by Dame Shirley Bassey.

Seven Sisters Road

Singer Shirley Bassey was a resident of Seven Sisters Road during the 1950s before she became famous.

The Rhythm Divine

The single was released by Yello and Shirley Bassey in 1987 and was the first CD single by Shirley Bassey.

The Ten Masked Men Strike Back EP

# "Diamonds Are Forever" (Shirley Bassey) – 2:07

Until It's Time for You to Go

Besides The Four Pennies, Diamond and Presley, it has been covered by Jim Croce, Glen Campbell, Cher, Nancy Sinatra, Willie Nelson, Shirley Bassey, Barbra Streisand, Bette Davis, the Boston Pops Orchestra, Roberta Flack, New Birth, Paul Anka, Eddy Arnold, Michael Nesmith of The Monkees, Bobby Darin, Helen Reddy, Andy Williams, Joe Longthorne and Françoise Hardy.


Al Pillay

He was noted for his impersonations of Shirley Bassey, Eartha Kitt, Lena Horne, Cleo Laine and Dorothy Squires in full drag and no mike and was booked into the working men’s clubs throughout the North of England as well as the cabaret club circuit.

Astra Blair

Blair founded the British charity "Association of Artists Against Aids" with her colleague, the English tenor Peter Jeffes; she attracted as patrons June Gordon, Marchioness of Aberdeen and Temair, Kate Adie, Shirley Bassey, Jane Glover, Jonathan Miller, Michael Parkinson, Jeffrey Tate and Fay Weldon.

Batley Variety Club

During its heyday the club staged concerts by performers including the Bee Gees, Shirley Bassey, Tina Turner, Tom Jones, Roy Orbison, Eartha Kitt, Louis Armstrong, Olivia Newton-John, Morecambe and Wise, Alvin Stardust, Jim Bowen, Dusty Springfield, Guys and Dolls, The Brotherhood of Man, Ken Dodd and The Grumbleweeds.

Billy Smart, Jr.

Smart was a familiar figure in the gossip columns of the 1950s and 1960s as a well-known performer and eligible bachelor: his publicised liaisons included celebrities such as Jayne Mansfield, Diana Dors, and Shirley Bassey.

Des Champ

Later in his career, Des worked as musical director for Shirley Bassey, 5000 Volts, and Tony Monopoly, before finally taking a regular day job with the Orchestration Department at BBC Radio Two.

Des O'Connor

He has worked with many personalities of the day, from rock and pop stars, actors and TV performers, to politicians, princes, to luminaries such as Frank Sinatra, Adam Faith, Sean Connery, Liberace, the Beatles, Shirley Bassey, Barbra Streisand, Robert Redford, Cilla Black, Tony Blair and members of the Royal Family.

Jack Hylton

He helped to develop the careers of many famous performers such as Shirley Bassey, Maurice Chevalier, Morecambe and Wise, Tony Hancock, Arthur Askey, the Crazy Gang, George Formby and Liberace.

Joe Sentieri

It became one of their greatest hits and was covered more than thirty times, e.g. by Tom Jones, Gladys Knight, Manfred Mann's Earth Band, Ben E. King, Sylvester James, Luther Vandross and Shirley Bassey.

LeRoy Holmes

He moved to United Artists Records in the early 1960s, where he contributed to many compilations of movie themes, released albums under his own name and backed a succession of singers, notably Connie Francis, Gloria Lynne, Shirley Bassey and Puerto Rican singers like Tito Rodríguez and Chucho Avellanet.

Lolita, My Love

"Going, Going, Gone" was recorded by Shirley Bassey, and "In The Broken-Promise Land Of Fifteen" has been recorded several times, notably by Robert Goulet.

New Theatre, Cardiff

The artists that have performed on stage at the New Theatre have included Sarah Bernhardt, Anna Pavlova, Laurel and Hardy, Tom Jones, Tommy Cooper and Shirley Bassey.

Sara Leighton

She recalls her encounters with many of her clients and friends including Lord Olivier, The Prince of Wales, Muhammad Ali, Sheikh Yamani, Gloria Swanson, Pietro Annigoni, Sir Roger Moore, Jean Rook, David Niven, Shirley Bassey, Joan Collins, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, The Princess Royal and the Beaverbrook family.

Shirley Bassey at the Pigalle

Shirley Bassey at the Pigalle is Shirley Bassey's first live album, recorded on the opening night of an eight week engagement at the Pigalle, a nightclub in the West End of London.

Sol Kerzner

Over a period of ten years he built four hotels, a man-made lake, two Gary Player golf courses and entertainment center with an indoor 6,000-seat multi-purpose arena in which he presented many superstars including Frank Sinatra, Liza Minnelli and Shirley Bassey and which was also the venue of many World Title fights promoted by Bob Arum’s Top Rank organization.

The Box Tree

Following the Michelin stars, the restaurant became a hot-spot for celebrities, with the singer Johnny Mathis being a regular, and both Shirley Bassey and Margaret Thatcher were seen at the restaurant.

Wind Beneath My Wings

"Wind Beneath My Wings" has also been recorded by Kerry Ellis, Lee Greenwood, B.J. Thomas, Willie Nelson, Kenny Rogers, Patti LaBelle, Joe Longthorne, Eddie & Gerald Levert, John Tesh, Judy Collins, Shirley Bassey, RyanDan, Israel Kamakawiwoʻole, Sonata Arctica, Chyi Yu, Perry Como, Donald Braswell II, Sergio Franchi, Steven Houghton and Celine Dion.