Dame Shirley Bassey's new album "Hello Like Before" - The Standard CD Edition and Deluxe CD Editionis available today, November 17th.
One of the most iconic and indelible voices in British music. Dame
Shirley Bassey returns with 'Hello Like Before,' her first album in five years & most personal yet, celebrating her very own Diamond
Jubilee of an incredible 60 years in the entertainment business!
Recorded at the legendary Abbey Road studios with producer and musical director
Stuart Barr at the helm, 'Hello Like Before' is a collection of some of the greatest songs of the 20th century - songs that Dame Shirley has always longed to record and finally been able to imbue with her own Bassey spellbinding presence.
This tour of Dame Shirley's own personal musical history includes the likes of Sting's 'Englishman In New York',
Nina Simone's 'Wild Is The Wind', The Beatles' 'Hey Jude' (on the deluxe edition) and 'It Was A Very Good Year', made famous by
Frank Sinatra and of which Dame Shirley says "When I was 17 I was too young to do this song, and when I was 21, and 35 ... I've waited all these years to do it."
The scope of the album charts the entire range and variety of Dame Shirley's life and career. From the fun and sassy, to the theatrical, to the epic and emotional. 'MacArthur Park', in particular, was difficult to record - Dame Shirley admits "I broke down with emotion in the rehearsals for this, couldn't finish it ... I want it make everybody cry". There is also a stunning duet with
Paloma Faith on the timeless 'Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend'.
One extra special moment during the creation of the album occurred when Dame Shirley came to recreate the song that arguably introduced her to the world as a bright-eyed girl from Tiger Bay, the unmistakeable sound of her first
James Bond theme 'Goldfinger'. "I got a couple of notes wrong originally! After 50 years I got the chance to re-record it and get it right. It was great to record it in Abbey Road, wearing a gown!"
With an unparalleled career in show business spanning over sixty years, Dame
Shirley Bassey has done and seen it all, performing for the likes of Royals and Presidents, being met with rapturous applause on worldwide stages from the glamour of Las Vegas to the mud of Glastonbury.
Throughout it all, Dame Shirley's immediately entrancing voice has matured and richened to ensure she remains even more vibrant a musical force than the day she first stepped into the spotlight. Quite simply, 'Hello Like Before' is Dame
Shirley Bassey at her very best.
Below, check out "Dame Shirley Bassey - The Making of 'Hello Like Before'":
