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Amazon UK is listing a June 2016 release for Shirley that is a double CD simply entitled "The Album." It is bargain priced and listed on the Membran label, so I suspect there is nothing new on it that we have not seen over and over. However, there is no track listing so we cannot be sure. Can anyone provide a track listing for this release?
Thanks Xtown:
For a casual fan or someone who might be just now discovering Shirley, that would be a nice introductory collection. Even though there are only one or two songs that I don't immediately recognize, I may still buy it just to have these songs all in one package.
While we are on the subject of this Grande Dame of Song, can anyone tell me if she still performs and if there might still be new material in the future? I of course have the Hello Like Before CD from a couple of years ago, but would love to hear more! Here in the US, we don't get too much news about her.
The lineup for this cd is a good one, although it is hard to know just what versions are included. She recorded some of these songs more than once.
I haven't seen anything about Shirley since she sang GOLDFINGER on the Oscars a few years back. I certainly hope she is still performing and will visit the US once again. I was lucky enough to see her in concert not long after HISTORY REPEATING and though she made us wait 90 minutes before starting, it was worth every minute.
My contemporaries were HUGE fans of Shirley and I had to fight my way as a Ross fan but it was always gentle banter.
Dame Shirley is an icon. She's still performing and long may she continue.
https://henleyfestival.wordpress.com...-dame-shirley/
Thanks for the extra information. I did not become a true Shirley fan until the mid 80s, but once I purchased that double album Greatest Hits collection, I was hooked. Ballad of the Sad Young Men blew me away [[!) and I started grabbing every album I could find. The And I Love You So album which contains that song has to be one of the finest albums in my collection, as there is not a weak track on it. Also loved the You Take My Heart Away album and despite its many re-issues, I thought the All By Myself album was great.
The Oscar performance was incredible. Although brief, she just commanded the stage like no one else could.
She is a great entertainer for sure and is surely an all time great. She still performs in the UK and Europe regularly. That is the good news. However working with her takes nerves of steel and the patience of a saint. Never again!!Quote:
Originally Posted by daviddesper
That is a co-incidence that you should mention Ballad Of The Sad Young Men. That was the only single I every bought by her. It was the flip side of a 45 and I can't even remember what that top side was now. It was an iconic record for all sorts of reasons...mostly - the start of a new era for the gay community.Quote:
Originally Posted by daviddesper
Don't you mean....Never Never Never!Quote:
Originally Posted by Bluebrock
Weren't most of them the same. I heard about the same diva behaviour about Cilla, Lulu and even Dusty was difficult in the studio.
I met Dame Shirley Bassey after a show in Los Angeles @1998 and she gave me an autograph. I'd heard she was temperamental and very diva-ish so I was nervous but she was lovely and gracious. She is my favorite live performer.
Not to change subjects, since I could talk about Shirley all night, but I had the same kind of autograph experience with Dionne Warwick back in the early 80s. She was attending a family event in my small southern town that had nothing to do with performing. At that time I had never seen her in concert and never dreamed that I would be able to. So it looked like my only chance if I ever hoped to get an autograph.
So a source tipped me off to where I could find her while she was in town [[at a graduation) and I nervously approached her, expecting the worst. But she took the album and pen I had brought, signed it, said "thank you," and I hustled away without even making eye contact with her. Of course I have now gone on to see her in concert a dozen or more times, but the autograph still remains my special moment with her, such as it was.
Dame Shirley is total class. I wrote to her earlier this year and sent a photo, requesting her autograph, along with something to cover the return postage, and she graciously signed my photo and sent it back to me :) I am one happy camper!
David, that's a great story about your encounter with Dionne! So lucky. Also good to hear that she was kind to you. I have had the opportunity to only obtain autographs from a few of my favourites, including Mary Wilson, who of course is always gracious, and the Pointer Sisters, who also kindly signed for me at the end of their show. One encounter I had that was not so great was Shania Twain. I waited for her outside in the freezing winter temperatures with three other fans. While she did stop, she was in a rush and barely signed my item, as my marker froze up in the cold. She did her best in a matter of seconds and then fumbled and dropped the marker, apologized and dashed off, saying she was in a huge hurry. So I got a messy half scribble that barely translated onto my item. lol. However, I give her credit for trying...and she was kind.
I find this a bit funny, Carlo, as I saw Shania Twain in concert at Madison Square Garden many years ago and all she did was sign autographs. The stage was in the round and she would start a song them reach down and start signing programs until the song was over. She didn't engage the audience and actually annoyed many of them. There was a whole fan club group sitting next to me and they left half way through the concert. I swore I would never see her in person again.Quote:
Originally Posted by carlo
Dusty could indeed be difficult, but at other times could be an absolute sweetheart. Cilla also had her major moments it has to be said, but i always found Lulu to be warm and friendly. We had numerous conversations about soul music over a cup of coffee. As regards Ms Bassey she is usually gracious with her fans, but try working with her! She could be utterly horrific but had the gift of switching from a frown to a smile if the cameras appeared, but i have no desire to elaborate on this subject. What we can agree on is her immense talent.Quote:
Originally Posted by theboyfromxtown
Bluebrock, I'm very interested to hear about your encounter[[s) with Dame Shirley. That is, if you can discuss without reliving the trauma, or dragging Dame Shirley.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bluebrock
In addition to the autograph, she posed for a photo with me [[which was not in focus due to the photographer - a former friend). I was astounded by her patience and kindness. However, I know that several of her former employees have had terrible things to say about her.
Guy. You are obviously a big fan of Ms Bassey and i do not think it is my place to dish the dirt on her antics. I still maintain that on stage she is an incredible performer with charisma to spare, but get her off that stage and we are dealing with a totally different creature. I can almost forgive the behaviour because she has the talent to back it up unlike some i could name .but i would really rather leave it at that if you don't mind.,Quote:
Originally Posted by Guy
It is really a disappointment to read all this negativity about Shirley, after I have worshiped her all these years, but sadly it is true of many celebrities. From what we read, athletes are the worst for this sort of thing. I guess there are some people that appreciate the blessings they are given and are willing to share them with the world with grace and humility, whereas there are others who think that just because they have a talent of some kind, it makes them a better person than others around them.
Sorry to hear about your bad concert experience, thommg. I saw her during her Vegas run a few years ago and she was fantastic. I then saw her again last year during her farewell tour and also had a negative experience. Despite all of the visual affects and theatrics, she seemed tired and not really into it. Not entirely surprising though since she has always professed she never considered herself much of an onstage performer. Great artist and songwriter and beautiful...but the stage presence part does not come naturally.Quote:
Originally Posted by thommg
The young divas do not realise that the people they meet on the way up ...are the same ones they meet on the way down. Whilst they may have started off as errand boys, soon they become television big wigs or programme directors.
Someone at Universal pointed that out to me.
Good on you Bluebrock. None of us are perfect.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bluebrock
Thanks Bluebrock, I respect that and admire your restraint. I believe that Bassey likely has two 'faces.' Even so, I've always had compassion for her. She had a VERY difficult childhood and her early years in the business were hard. She is probably very traumatized by her early life and experience, and probably acts out in horrible ways unless she is receiving non-stop validation, praise and adulation. I feel for black entertainers of that era because their lives were hard in a way that we probably can't imagine today.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bluebrock
Is Shirley married today? Children? I remember a reference to a husband on the Carnegie Hall album.
I don't believe Shirley has been married since the 70s. She had two daughters, one of whom is deceased.Quote:
Originally Posted by daviddesper
I think she adopted a boy at some point in the 70's.
Thank you Guy, I still admire Ms Bassey as a performer and always will and i hope i have not said anything that will in any way cast a dark shadow on your devotion to her. She did experience a very tough upbringing and did so well to drag herself away from that awful standard of life. Who knows what mental scars that left upon her?Quote:
Originally Posted by Guy