Photos Of Shirley Bassey That Capture Her Legendary Life
When it comes to naming all-time-great singers, Dame Shirley Bassey is definitely in the conversation. She’s had an amazing career, but it could be argued that her personal life has been just as eye-catching. From turbulent romances to personal tragedies, the musician has gone through a lot. So, with the aid of some rarely publicized photos, let’s lift the curtain on Bassey’s remarkable story.
She was the youngest of seven children
Bassey was born in January 1937 into a very large family. Her parents, Henry and Eliza, already had six kids at home in Tiger Bay, Wales. Little did they know that number seven would grow up to become a superstar!
When she was just a toddler, her family life suddenly changed. Bassey’s parents split up, which resulted in her mom taking the children to a new home: the Welsh capital city, Cardiff.
She “sang as soon as she could talk”
Despite the upheaval, one thing soon became apparent: Bassey loved singing, even as a very young child. In fact, one of her sisters claimed that she “sang as soon as she could talk.” But singing didn’t run in the family.
In the book Shirley Bassey: Diamond Diva, she said, “Nobody in my family sings. There was probably some ancestor out there chanting for rain with this powerful voice centuries ago.”
Singing got her into trouble at her first job
Bassey’s passion for music didn’t fade with time. Even when she walked away from her school studies as a young teen to get a factory job, it was never far from her mind. She just couldn’t stop singing! And it got her into hot water at times.
Bassey told The Daily Telegraph, “The supervisor would say, ‘Bassey, what do you think you’re doing? All of you, get back to work!’ The whole factory would stop. I didn’t realize what I was doing.”
Working the club circuit
Fortunately, Bassey soon found a better-suited outlet where she could give free rein to her powerful voice: the local club circuit. As quoted by The Daily Telegraph, she said, “I had a great time.”
“Every Thursday there was the factory club: archery, darts, dancing.” As this photo shows here, Bassey was right at home on stage. And the experience opened the door to a very exciting opportunity.
She signed her first contract at 16
Yes, Bassey put pen to paper on her first professional music contract at just 16 years of age. There aren’t many teens who can say that! But that’s not all.
After signing, she packed her bags and joined a traveling variety show called Memories of Jolson. Plus, Bassey also had a stint with Hot from Harlem, too. It’s a wonder that she found the time for quiet moments like this!
She was a teen mother
As Bassey was trying to establish herself in the business, though, her personal life changed forever. She became a mom for the first time at 16, welcoming baby Sharon into the world.
As a result, the singer had to go back to Wales, but she remained tight-lipped about the whole thing. Bassey told the Daily Mirror, “The baby was a secret. Not many people knew about it because I can be very private, just as I can be very public.”
Her first daughter only knew her as “Auntie Shirley” until she was almost ten
It seems as though Bassey had certainly been keeping her cards close to her chest. But when it came to raising the baby, she didn’t play the biggest role in that.
You see, one of Bassey’s sisters took on the job, which gave the young singer the opportunity to get back out into the music world. Due to that, Sharon spent a lot of time away from her mom, only knowing her as “Auntie Shirley” for much of her childhood.
Her debut single was too steamy for the BBC
Complications in her personal life were mirrored by the fortunes of Bassey’s first single release. After bagging a recording deal as an 18-year-old, she sang the song “Burn My Candle (At Both Ends).”
It’s a pretty suggestive track. In fact, it was too steamy for the BBC at the time: the broadcaster refused to play it! “I didn’t even know what it was about,” Bassey admitted.
Two big hits
Mind you, as this smiley photo shows, Bassey didn’t exactly crumble in the wake of this early controversy. Instead, she got to work on another batch of songs that really caught the public’s attention.
“The Banana Boat Song” bagged the singer her first spot in the U.K.’s top ten singles chart in 1957. Then “As I Love You” went on to top the charts in 1959. No other Welsh musician had managed that before!
She was held at gunpoint by an obsessed fan
But while Bassey’s star was on the rise during that period, one terrifying encounter nearly caused it to come crashing down. Yep, the musician found herself at the mercy of a gun-toting superfan in November 1957.
He had Bassey trapped in her London hotel room for two tense hours. In that time, he both professed his adoration for her and threatened to kill her. Thankfully, she got out safely. As you can see, it made front-page news!
She’s glad she was discovered in the ’50s
Despite that almighty scare, though, Bassey wouldn’t change anything from that time in her life. She felt the 1950s was the perfect time to break out as a musical star.
As quoted by Digital Spy, the legend explained, “These days, if kids do get discovered, it’s sad, it’s not lasting, because they’re not taken care of. I was taken care of.”
Playing the Glasgow Empire
Then again, all the care in the world couldn’t have prepared Bassey for her first gig at the infamous Glasgow Empire in Scotland. “It was like a bear pit,” she recalled in Shirley Bassey: Diamond Diva.
“I stood in the wings and heard [the audience] boo the acrobats when they nearly lost their balance and boo the comedians when their jokes weren’t funny enough. I was petrified.”
Confronting the hecklers
Regardless of her concerns, Bassey still took on the challenge. And it seemed like things were going well to begin with. But the atmosphere turned as she sang “I’ve Got You Under My Skin.” Suddenly, the musician was showered in lewd heckles, prompting the performance to stop.
With no fear, she confronted the audience and urged them to give her a shot. It worked! Their cheers were “deafening” at the end. The demeanor of the audience switched from fierce and tigerish to cuddly toy — just like this one here!
She married her first husband in 14 minutes
And while Bassey’s career was going from strength to strength, her personal life was in a good place too in the early 1960s. At that point, she and her manager Kenneth Hume decided to tie the knot.
They didn’t have a lavish wedding, though. The pair exchanged their vows in a registrar’s office in London in June 1961. The whole ceremony was done and dusted in just 14 minutes!
Her second pregnancy created a lot of controversy
Unfortunately for Bassey, it didn’t take long until major cracks started to form. Hume was openly gay, and he and his wife actually lived apart for much of the marriage.
But then, he discovered that Bassey was pregnant with her second child. Hume claimed that he wasn’t the father: instead, he pointed the finger of “blame” at Peter Finch, who had been seeing her at the time.
Samantha’s birth and the divorce
It was a messy situation to say the least! Bassey went on to give birth to a daughter, Samantha, in the second half of 1963. This beautiful shot was taken just a few weeks into 1964.
As for Bassey’s marriage to Hume, it came to an end in 1964. He didn’t go away, though. Still incensed by what happened, Hume actually tried to sue Finch the following year, but he lost.
The Goldfinger theme was nearly scrapped
Given all that background noise, Bassey could’ve easily lost focus on her music career. Fortunately for all of us, that didn’t happen. In fact, 1964 was a huge year for the Welsh star: that’s when she sang the Goldfinger theme.
Mind you, while today that’s widely considered as one of the best James Bond songs, producer Harry Saltzman actually hated it. He wanted to swap it out with a different tune, but time constraints put paid to his wish.
How John Barry recruited her
So how had Bassey bagged the gig, then? Well, composer John Barry fronted the recruitment drive. As quoted by The Daily Telegraph, she said, “One day he called up and said, ‘There is this new song for the James Bond film Goldfinger and we’d like you to do it.”
“‘We’re [still] waiting on the lyrics.’ The moment he played the music to me, I got goose pimples and I told him, ‘I don’t care what the words are. I’ll do it.’”
“Shirley was great casting for Goldfinger”
Speaking of Barry, he couldn’t have been happier that Bassey had said yes. The legendary composer once stated, “Choosing the singer was like casting a movie. Shirley was great casting for Goldfinger. Nobody could have sung it like her.”
“She had that great dramatic sense. When it came to the studio, she didn’t know what the Hell the song was about, but she sang it with such total conviction that she convinced the rest of the world.”
Recording the song wasn’t a piece of cake, though!
Yet finding that “conviction” in the recording booth wasn’t a cakewalk. As it turned out, Bassey really didn’t like banging out multiple takes, which was a must for Barry. The guy demanded perfection!
Eric Tomlinson, who was an engineer at the studio, later claimed, “She was certainly quite an outspoken lady.” So we get the feeling that those sessions weren’t as relaxed as the one pictured here.
She refuses to write her own music
Anyway, after wrapping up her work on Goldfinger, fans might’ve started to notice a trend in Bassey’s music: she had no writing input. Was that a deliberate choice? Apparently, yes
“I’ve never written my own material,” the legendary singer said, as per The Daily Telegraph. “I don’t even write poetry or keep a diary. Because it can be used against you.”
Tragedy strikes
Even if she didn’t write her own songs, Bassey’s place at the summit of the music industry couldn’t be denied as the 1960s progressed. But in 1967 she experienced a gut-wrenching tragedy: that year, her ex-husband Hume took his own life.
This caused incalculable pain to Bassey. As quoted by the BBC, she cried, “I was so angry with Kenneth for leaving me like that. How could he do this to me? And why?”
She did find love again
The emotional pain did eventually subside a little, and some 12 months later Bassey found love again in the form of Sergio Novak. He was working at an Italian hotel as assistant manager.
The pair were smitten, and they decided to get married in August 1968. Much like her first wedding, it wasn’t an elaborate affair. Bassey walked down the aisle of Nevada’s Little Church of the West in the early hours of the morning!
A successful partnership
From there, Bassey and Novak also struck up a successful professional partnership. Just as Hume had done, he became her manager. And boy, did this new personal and professional relationship bear fruit!
With Novak by her side, Bassey produced the excellent Something record, which included tracks written by the likes of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Stephen Sondheim. Plus, she sang two more Bond themes in that spell, too.
Her “diva reputation” started to grow
But while Bassey was producing some of her stand-out work during this period, something began to change behind the curtain. Yep, the Welsh superstar started to develop a real “diva reputation.”
Novak felt the full force of it once. When he asked her to prepare a pasta dish one day, Bassey replied, “Listen, baby, I sing for my supper. I don’t have to cook it as well.”
She became a tax exile in Switzerland
Away from work, Bassey and Novak made a new home for their family in Switzerland. The decision was very much money-related: the pair wanted to take advantage of the nation’s tax rates.
So no, she isn’t actually being carried off by agents of the IRS here! Meanwhile, Bassey also adopted a son during this period in her life. This young boy’s name was Michael.
She got arrested for pushing a cop!
As the ’70s went on, though, Bassey’s life hit some crazy speedbumps. One of the most eye-catching moments came in 1978 when the singer had a little too much to drink. She made quite the racket on the street, and she pushed a cop who approached her.
Bassey was then detained by the authorities for “drunk and disorderly” conduct, which she pled guilty to. Bizarrely, this shot of her and the future King Charles III was taken while she was still on bail!
The breakdown of her second marriage
Aside from the legal troubles, Bassey also started to get a familiar sinking feeling when it came to her marriage in the late 1970s. She noted, “My first husband was in the business, so it was more like a partnership.”
As the musician continued in Shirley Bassey: Diamond Diva, “I didn’t learn from my mistake, I did it again and, second time, it was even worse. We were talking about contracts in bed.”
“Shirley has a bad temper”
The relationship didn’t prove to be sustainable, so Bassey and Novak called time on their marriage in 1979. He didn’t take it very well, though. Novak accused his ex of cheating on him with her road manager, Kenny Carter.
On top of that, he stated, “Her stardom transferred to her private life. And Shirley has a bad temper.” Bassey wasn’t interested in sharing glowing words about him, either, nonchalantly dismissing him as “the Italian” at a later gig!
Her daughter lost her life in mysterious circumstances
So it’s fair to say that a lot happened at the end of that decade. But none of those experiences could compare to the sheer horror that Bassey went through in 1985. That year, her daughter Samantha passed away in extremely mysterious circumstances.
After disappearing for over a week in Bristol, England, her remains were discovered in the River Avon; it was suspected that she had taken her own life. Bassey had major doubts about that, though.
Was her daughter’s death connected to a convicted murderer?
“I never believed [Samantha committed suicide],” Bassey said in 2009. “If she’d jumped off the bridge, all her bones would’ve been broken. [And] if she didn’t have any bruises or broken bones, where did she fall?
“It’s been with me all this time. My imagination goes wild.” There was fresh interest in the case in 2010 when authorities heard a claim that tied a convicted murderer to Samantha’s death.
The tragedy prompted her to downsize and step back
But going back to the time of the tragedy, it prompted Bassey to make some serious changes in her life. She walked away from the public spotlight and put two of her luxurious properties up for sale. As Bassey admitted to The Daily Telegraph, “It had lost its magic.
“I’d become possessed by my possessions. When you’re traveling and wanting to be free, your possessions start crowding in on you. The more things you own, the more you have to look after them.”
It took a physical toll, too
Bassey’s health also suffered during that period: her voice started to falter in 1986. In addition to that, she became quite reflective about her time as a mom, too. “My children dreaded seeing my suitcases in the hall," she explained.
“They could never understand why I wanted to go away. I love traveling. When the suitcase comes out, the adrenaline starts. None of them liked it... me going away, but Samantha, she really took it to heart.”
She feuded with her adopted son
Sadly for Bassey, her personal life only went from bad to worse at that time. Her bond with adopted son Michael pretty much collapsed, as he felt that she’d neglected him while going on tour.
Such was his fury that Michael went on to share many of his formative experiences with the media. And the details didn’t exactly paint Bassey in a very good light.
Mother and son reconciled
Having said that, though, Bassey offered a positive update on where she was with Mark in 2009. The singer told The Guardian, “I get on very well with my son, Mark. I do. We have long conversations on the phone.
“I won’t say it was always good, but we are now settled. We have a good relationship.” That’s great to hear! We wonder if she’s since embraced him like the dolls in this shot?
She made a big comeback in the ’90s
As for her career, Bassey decided to end her self-imposed exile in the late 1990s. She and the U.K. band Propellerheads collaborated on the track “History Repeating,” which came out in December 1997.
The new single was an instant hit on Britain’s indie charts, reaching the top spot. It was almost as if she’d never been away: her voice was still absolute dynamite!
Becoming a Dame
And the good news kept on coming for Bassey in the year 2000, when she was named a Dame. “I was asleep and my manager came to wake me up,” she recalled. “I didn't feel like getting up.”
“Just as I was going back to sleep he said, ‘You wouldn’t get up even for a Damehood?’ I had to keep it quiet for seven weeks. I nearly had a nervous breakdown.” Perhaps that explains Bassey’s relief in this cheery photo?
She made her Glastonbury debut in 2007
After that, Bassey made her mark on the music world yet again a few years later. Despite having been in the business for over five decades at that point, she’d never played a set at the famous Glastonbury music festival before.
Yet that was remedied in some style in 2007. For close to an hour, Bassey had the audience in the palm of her hand: it was an undeniably tremendous performance.
Never call her a “belter”
There are plenty of words you could use to describe Bassey’s work that night, as well as all the other performances over the years. But one phrase is off-limits. “Don’t say belting,” she informed The Guardian. “I hate that word.
“Belting is disrespectful, you know. Only my kind of singer is accused of belting. You don’t say that opera singers belt. I don’t belt. That’s just my voice.” Let’s hope The Muppets were aware of that when this was taken!
Her final album set an incredible U.K. record
Anyway, as the old saying goes, all good things must come to an end. For fans of Bassey, that day arrived in November 2020, when the legendary singer dropped her final record. Titled I Owe It All To You, it made a bit of U.K. music history.
Due to the album’s position in the charts, Bassey became the only woman to score a place in the U.K. Top 40 over seven successive decades. It was quite the way to bow out!