Diamonds Are Forever Shirley Bassey

On 8 January 2017, Dame Shirley Bassey, one of the greatest performers – and voices – of her generation, will be eighty. This is her unique story, told at first-hand by her greatest fan. Since she signed her first professional contract at the age of sixteen, Shirley Bassey has become one of the most prestigious singers of her time. Her work has inspired and influenced many, and will continue to do so for generations to come. Diamonds Are Forever is the fascinating story of Shirley Bassey told from the perspective of one of her greatest fans. Mary Long first met the star in 1963 while a teenager, and since then has encountered her hundreds of times. In doing so, she has developed a unique insight into the life and career of one of our most iconic singers. The author’s warm personal story recounts her heroine’s journey to becoming one of the all-time greats of the British music industry, performing at such events as the Oscars and the Royal Variety Show. She also holds the record for singing the most title songs for James Bond films, with three: ‘Goldfinger’, ‘Diamonds Are Forever’ and ‘Moonraker’. Published to mark Dame Shirley’s eightieth birthday, Diamonds Are Forever looks back on the life of this incredible artist whose music has touched so many. It is an essential buy not only for her countless thousands of fans worldwide, but also for anyone who admires and enjoys her music.

DigiCat Publishing presents to you this special edition of "Diamonds are Forever" by Ian Fleming. DigiCat Publishing considers every written word to be a legacy of humankind. Every DigiCat book has been carefully reproduced for republishing in a new modern format. The books are available in print, as well as ebooks. DigiCat hopes you will treat this work with the acknowledgment and passion it deserves as a classic of world literature.

Mary Long first met Shirley Bassey in 1963 and since then has encountered her hundreds of times, thus developing a unique insight into the life of the iconic singer. 'Diamonds are Forever' is the fascinating story of Shirley Bassey's life, told from the perspective of one of her greatest fans.

As the ''Times'' review pointed out, the overriding successes of 2007's Glastonbury Festival were those of two female performers. One was Lily Allen; the other was Dame Shirley Bassey. Conditions onstage were almost as bad as down in the mud with the crowd, yet the 70 - year - old Bassey managed to pull her orchestra and the audience with her all the way.This long - awaited new biography opens with the now - famous helicopter emergency landing that followed Bassey's performance, then backtracks to her youth in Cardiff's Tiger Bay in the 1930s. From this moment on, the keyword in this sparkling biography is context. Most people have no real idea what the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s were actually like in Britain, because they believe the cliches. The reality was much bleaker - a grey world punctuated by the occasional flash of colour ... and Shirley Bassey was undeniably one of those flashes.The list of obstacles she had to overcome on her way to stardom is daunting: extreme poverty, a mixed - race background, an illegitimate child at the age of 16 ... and yet within a few years she transformed herself into the Shirley Bassey we all know - and eventually into an icon and a diva. She may be only two years younger than Elvis, and only a few years older than the Beatles, but these acts were not her chart rivals - and nor were Tommy Steele or Cliff Richard. Bassey's competition lay in the orthodox showbiz world of performers such as Vera Lynn, Liberace and the Beverley Sisters. Bassey blasted her way through with sheer sex appeal, of which her sense of humour is as much a key ingredient as her shimmering skin - tight costumes.While very few ''easy listening'' acts of the 1960s and 1970s have managed to cross over into mass acceptance by a modern audience, Bassey is one who has. What's more, she seems now - much like Johnny Cash - to have been adopted by younger artists eager to work with her. In recent years she has collaborated with Yello, Billy Mackenzie, the Propellerheads and Never The Bride. In short, she still enjoys dizzying popularity, and Peter Hogan's refreshing new insights put her career into brilliant perspective.

In the history of human nature there are conflicts with a happy ending, or with a tragic ending. The Famous Feud, in general, seems to have a happy ending with one winner: Taylor Swift. From my point of view, the Famous Feud ended in July 2016. In June 2017 I was convinced that Taylor Swift was the victim (for the second time) of Kanye West. In October 2023, after I have updated the entire research on the Famous Feud, the original conclusion did not change. I created this edition to include everything I wrote about the Famous Feud. It is an edition for people interested in reading the entire Famous Feud story from A to Z. The Famous Feud Project report has two parts: Part 1. Music in Black and White: A Journey Behind the Musical Notes; Part 2. On the Famous Feud. Enjoy your reading!

The story of the music that accompanies the cinematic adventures of Ian Fleming's intrepid Agent 007 is one of surprising real-life drama. In The Music of James Bond, author Jon Burlingame throws open studio and courtroom doors alike to reveal the full and extraordinary history of the sounds of James Bond, spicing the story with a wealth of fascinating and previously undisclosed tales. Burlingame devotes a chapter to each Bond film, providing the backstory for the music (including a reader-friendly analysis of each score) from the last-minute creation of the now-famous "James Bond Theme" in Dr. No to John Barry's trend-setting early scores for such films as Goldfinger and Thunderball. We learn how synthesizers, disco and modern electronica techniques played a role in subsequent scores, and how composer David Arnold reinvented the Bond sound for the 1990s and beyond. The book brims with behind-the-scenes anecdotes. Burlingame examines the decades-long controversy over authorship of the Bond theme; how Frank Sinatra almost sang the title song for Moonraker; and how top artists like Shirley Bassey, Tom Jones, Paul McCartney, Carly Simon, Duran Duran, Gladys Knight, Tina Turner, and Madonna turned Bond songs into chart-topping hits. The author shares the untold stories of how Eric Clapton played guitar for Licence to Kill but saw his work shelved, and how Amy Winehouse very nearly co-wrote and sang the theme for Quantum of Solace. New interviews with many Bond songwriters and composers, coupled with extensive research as well as fascinating and previously undiscovered details--temperamental artists, unexpected hits, and the convergence of great music and unforgettable imagery--make The Music of James Bond a must read for 007 buffs and all popular music fans. This paperback edition is brought up-to-date with a new chapter on Skyfall.

(FAQ). A favorite of film followers for 50 years, James Bond is the hero loved by everyone: Men want to be just like him, women just want to be with him. Moviegoers around the world have spent more than $5 billion to watch his adventures across the last five decades. What's not to enjoy about such a glorious multitude of gadgets, gals, grand locations, and grandiose schemes hatched by master villains and megalomaniacs? Now, James Bond FAQ is a book that takes on the iconic cinema franchise that's lasted for so many years. Sometimes serious as SPECTRE, sometimes quirkier than Q, but always informative, this FAQ takes the reader behind-the-scenes, as well as in front of the silver screen. Everyone's included: Connery, Lazenby, Moore, Dalton, Brosnan, and Craig; little-known facts about TV's first shot at 007, the same Bond story that was made into two different films; whatever happened to those wonderful cars and gizmos that thrilled everyone; plus much more. It's a book for the casual, as well as hardcore, James Bond fan. James Bond FAQ is filled with biographies, synopses, production stories, and images and illustrations seldom seen in print, leaving little else to be said about the world's favorite secret agent. This book includes a foreword by Eunice Gayson.

Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey, DBE, born on 8th January 1937, Bute St., Tiger Bay (Butetown), Cardiff, Wales, UK, is a singer whose career began in the mid-1950s, best known for her powerful voice and for recording the theme songs to the James Bond films Goldfinger (1964), Diamonds Are Forever (1971), and Moonraker (1979). Bassey became the first Welsh person to have a No. 1 single, during January 1959.