Talk:Shirley Bassey

Early comments

Why can't I edit this page? Shirley deserves a much bigger article. — Preceding unsigned comment added by TrottieTrue (talk • contribs) 16:53, 21 November 2004 (UTC)

Aha... found it. Watch this space for a much bigger article on Dame Shirley. — Preceding unsigned comment added by TrottieTrue (talk • contribs) 16:54, 21 November 2004 (UTC)

It does seem remiss to not mention Shirley's recording of History Repeating with the Propellerheads in 1998. --203.45.12.169 14:23, 30 Jan 2005 (UTC)

You are right of course. Would anyone else like to update this biography? If not, I will do it myself at some point. — Preceding unsigned comment added by TrottieTrue (talk • contribs) 23:10, 9 February 2005 (UTC)

her father's from nigera not west india, according to one bbc article. Foant — Preceding undated comment added 09:54, 14 February 2005 (UTC)

And did he die or "leave"?--Psycho Chicken 17:54, 14 October 2005 (UTC)

Photo

Ok I put a photo up.

Isn't there a real photo somewhere, rather than of a wax model? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 78.144.222.150 (talk) 13:56, 18 September 2008 (UTC)

There are loads of her pics, why stick a dummy on there, its an insult —Preceding unsigned comment added by 90.196.3.218 (talk) 23:06, 3 October 2008 (UTC)

Well, if there are loads of her pictures find a photo that's appropriately licensed, upload it, and edit the article.

Cheers,  This flag once was red  23:17, 3 October 2008 (UTC)

I found a picture of the real Shirley Bassey at Glasto. The Tussauds one doesn't belong in the infobox because newer wax figures are copyrighted and derivated photos of copyrighted material don't belong in infoboxes for living people. FotoPhest (talk) 16:17, 28 March 2009 (UTC)

A great new picture has been added - with permission fron the owner. This was taken at a live performance in 2006 at Wembley, London. Dutchdean (talk) 07:08, 16 October 2009 (UTC)

Neutrality

Ew what a puff-piece. That first paragraph is completely biased crap. I mean, I'm a Shirley fan and all, but seriously... 209.244.16.207 23:05, 27 September 2007 (UTC)Willa

Totally biased article. Dame Shirley deserves better.Paul210 23:28, 27 September 2007 (UTC)

Just thought I'd mention: this article is almost impossible to read. At the very least it could do with some paragraphs. I'd do it myself but i'd probably get told off by someone. 78.151.89.40 (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 23:13, 4 April 2009 (UTC).

The article certainly has come a long way, with more citations, and I wouldn't call it a puff-piece anymore. But it has a ways to go...needs a good writer, where are all the Shirley Bassey fans who are also good writers.--Nyctc7 (talk) 04:33, 10 October 2009 (UTC)

Children

This article makes it sound like she only had one child. It states she had a daughter at age 16, but then states her second husband is the father of her daughter. In fact she had two daughters, the younger of whom died.

In which case, (particularly if you can quote a source ie. ) please feel free to amend the article accordingly !

Derek R Bullamore 22:51, 26 August 2006 (UTC)

Oh I'm way too lazy to do that!!

She also has an adopted son called Mark, they dont speak anymore as far as i know.

Anybody wishing to add info to the "Personal Life" section (or any section, really) should click on the "biographical article" link at the top of the page. Upon a more close reading of the whole thing, I have decided to edit out some of the info I myself wrote in the "Personal Life" section. For example, her granddaughter's appearance on X-factor was widely reported in the press, but upon reading the wiki guidlines, it really has no place in the Shirley Bassey article.--Nyctc7 (talk) 06:58, 16 September 2009 (UTC)

Granddaughter's appearance on The X-Factor worthy of mention.Nyctc7 (talk) 22:25, 10 March 2010 (UTC)

Curious that the mother of her great-grandchild isn't named or in the photo.--Nyctc7 (talk) 04:53, 1 February 2019 (UTC)

Kenneth Hume

Facts about Bassey's first husband, Kenneth Hume, probably more properly belong in a separate article about him; so far, there isn't one, though as producer of two of her albums, and his several credits on IMDB, I think passes the notability requirements for his own article.--Nyctc7 (talk) 01:58, 25 January 2010 (UTC)

This is My Life

What happened to the song 'This Is My Life'? Wasn't that one of her most famous songs? Then why isn't it mentioned in this article? Rob --84.104.123.100 16:01, 22 March 2007 (UTC)

It is, in the 1960-1980 section (maybe it wasn't two years ago!). But if someone wants to add something about it being one of her signature songs, (a citation would be nice) that would be good.--Nyctc7 (talk) 16:51, 16 September 2009 (UTC)

Diamonds Are Forever

I think the fact that Kanye whatever covered Diamonds Are Forever is give too much info on here, I mean, it takes more space that what is give to Shirley's version. I think it should be just a note, or trivia, I never even heard the song, I think it's giving more importance to it than it should have. Sound like it was put in just for volume, it certainly has no relevance to the importance of the song, which does not need this sort of revival to be remembered...Dollvalley 07:36, 24 April 2007 (UTC)

Looks like it was moved to "references in popular culture," which seems right.--Nyctc7 (talk) 16:53, 16 September 2009 (UTC)

Gownless Evening Strap

=I would like to add a mention of the famous description of her stage attire as a "gownless evening strap", but don't have a source (presumably a review of her show). Can anyone help? Rodparkes 10:44, 11 July 2007 (UTC)

Partiality

There seems to be a lack of partiality in much of this article. There is no mention of the career low that she experienced between 1965-1970. I've put in a quick mention of it, but the article shouldn't just concentrate on only the successful parts of her career and ignore the lesser periods (not completely anyway). Obviously the successful period would have more attention, but you can't rewrite history. In fact, this career low was probably a good thing anyway as it led to her big comeback in 1970, which lasted for much of the decade. Anyway, the reason why I'm jumping on this bit is due to the fact that I've just completed some album articles from this period if anyone wants to take a look or contribute: Something to The Shirley Bassey Singles Album. --Tuzapicabit (talk) 14:54, 19 October 2008 (UTC)

You are right - actually what the article lacks in general is references / citations. I have followed this article for about three years, and have edited several times. However the majority of updating otherwise has been sycophantic fancruft; which explains its present status.

Derek R Bullamore (talk) 12:00, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

Hopefully the article has improved a little; I have added the post-Goldfinger slowdown in record sales. But the article has a ways to go, where are all the Shirley Bassey fans who are also good writers--Nyctc7 (talk) 04:26, 10 October 2009 (UTC)

Nationality

This on-again, off-again editing war needs to stop. The intro may not be exactly as everyone likes, so leave it alone unless it is truly objectionable or can be improved in a significant way. Right now this article is graded B and bickering over this point is not going to get the article to good article status. I'd like to see this energy directed towards that goal.--Nyctc7 (talk) 21:07, 17 December 2009 (UTC)

• This is the most sensible comment that I have read here. Graham Colm ^Talk 21:19, 17 December 2009 (UTC)

Miss Bassey is Welsh - please also see Tom Jones. She was born in Cardiff Wales and als refers to her self as being Welsh. Her passport maybe be British but that is the case of ALL people registered in the UK. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 77.161.224.249 (talk) 18:07, 2 September 2009 (UTC)

I concur. Are we going to go to every single person listed in WIKI who was born in the UK and change it from English, Scottish, and Welsh to British? Are we going to get into an editing war as to whether Elton John, Tom Jones, Sean Connery, etc., should be listed as British instead of English, Welsh and Scottish? What is the point? While not soverign countries, Scotland and Wales are referred to as a country and a principality (respectively) in the Encyclopaedia Britannica, as integral parts of the UK. If one refers to the UK as Britain, yes, in that sense any citizen of the UK is British. But regardlesss of what might be on official documents and passports--with a strong sense of national pride, Scots refer to themselves as Scots, Welsh as Welsh, English as English. There may be exceptions here and there (Northern Ireland can be tricky), but if Shirley, who was born and raised in Wales, chooses to identify herself as Welsh (See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAC2Cin_V74) I see no reason why this shouldn't be respected, just like Sir Sean is Scottish and Sir Tom is Welsh--and Sir Elton is English, even though according to Britannica, "England" no longer exists as a political unit.

Whoever keeps insisting that Shirley be referred to as British rather than Welsh--are you going to change Elton John from English to British and so on and so forth? If not, then why are you picking on Shirley? Someone referred to her ethnicity and I can't help but wonder if a little racism is going on here.

And how does the Encyclopaedia Britannica refer to Shirley? Welsh. If it is good enough for Britannica, it is good enough for Wiki.

I also wish to apologize for my "I will outlast you to the end" remark, which would seem to invite an editing war. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Nyctc7 (talk • contribs) 19:04, 2 September 2009 (UTC)

All of the British people listed on here should be listed as British, as nationalities are given in the introduction sections of biographies, not their ethnicities. This is not about what Shirley chooses to identify herself as. The reason this all falls on the Shirley page is for no particular reason. And to dismiss this as racism is low and a dirty tactic to attempt to remove credibility of people trying to make a point. The issue remains that there is no such thing as English, Welsh or Scottish nationality, and these should not be listed on anyone's page. It is incorrect and has no place on an encyclopedia concerned with fact, not the opinion or wishes of others. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.11.236.59 (talk) 19:37, 2 September 2009 (UTC)

I will watch with interest as you change all the other entries on WIKI, of persons born in Wales and Scotland after May 1, 1707, from Welsh/Scottish to British. If you don't, THEN STOP PICKING ON SHIRLEY! —Preceding unsigned comment added by Nyctc7 (talk • contribs) 21:24, 2 September 2009 (UTC)

Well are you in agreement that they should all be changed? Just curious. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.11.236.59 (talk) 21:53, 2 September 2009 (UTC)

Honestly, that is not for me to decide. It is not for me to say one way or the other. There can be a lack of consistency--some sources might refer to people like Sean Connery and Anthony Hopkins as British, others Scottish/Welsh, and sometimes both. For example, on the Britannica Website, It will say Anthony Hopkins, British actor, in the title of the entry, but the actual entry will start out by saying Welsh actor. For Shirley it says Welsh in both the title and the entry, and as I said she self-identifies as Welsh. As the person above pointed out, everyone who is a citizen of the UK is "British," as British refers to the UK. But it is TRADITION and CUSTOM for people in Wales and Scotland to be referred to as Welsh and Scottish. And tradition and custom is also part of the truth.

To whoever wrote "changed from Welsh to British, as her father is English and her mother Nigerian, Welsh is not a nationality, it's an ethnicity, simply being born in Wales doesn't make her Welsh" I would say 1. you got the mother and father reversed, and 2. If it had nothing to do with racism then I apologize.

I've pretty much had my say. I will now cease from editing this particular point. If someone changes it to British, I will leave it to others to decide what to do. But my vote is to refer to her as Welsh. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Nyctc7 (talk • contribs) 22:39, 2 September 2009 (UTC)

I have changed the point to indicate that she was born in Wales. No one can argue with that. She is Welsh, nationality is deemed by you birth place/country and your passport issue. For example a child born in the US from British parents as the right to claim US nationality. I was born in the UK in England so am English and British. I also hold a Dutch passport so can also claim Dutch Nationality. As a note I have also added in het bio that she refers to her nationality/roots as being Welsh. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.100.26.222 (talk) 14:00, 3 September 2009 (UTC)

I still maintain that English/Welsh/Scottish arn't nationalities. But I'm happy with what you've put. I consider this issue to be resolved. Now onto the rest of wikipedia! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.8.250.23 (talk) 14:09, 3 September 2009 (UTC)

I thank you, 80.100.26.222--glad to have a cooler head prevail than two people fighting each other. Now lets see if it sticks! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 162.84.177.227 (talk) 16:09, 3 September 2009 (UTC)

Misortie: Agreed, the above does not necessarily constitute a consensus; for my part, I stated that my vote was to identify her as Welsh, but that I bowed out of the argument.--Nyctc7 (talk)

There are several help page discussions on this topic, but they are scattered around. Here is one:Wikipedia talk:Manual of Style (biographies)/2007-2008 archive: British nationality--Nyctc7 (talk) 18:03, 10 December 2009 (UTC)

And/or see Wikipedia:Nationality of people from the United Kingdom--Nyctc7 (talk) 18:16, 16 December 2009 (UTC)

Paul McCartney, Pet Shop Boys, Phil Collins and Rod Stewart.

"making her one of the world's best-selling artists alongside Paul McCartney, Pet Shop Boys, Phil Collins and Rod Stewart."

Is it just me, or is this unnecessary? Why not pick Cher, Bruce Springsteen, and David Bowie? Kenny Rogers, Janet Jackson, and Dolly Parton? Frank Sinatra, Garth Brooks, and Neil Diamond? Lionel Ritchie, Patti Page, and Olivia Newton-John?

I think it is awkward, especially when you consider than none of the above--including Shirley, and even including non-Beatles Paul--are over the 200,000,000 mark, which Madonna, Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, Julio Iglesias, Bob Marley, and Elton John are.

Not only is it awkward, arguable as to its accuracy, and unnecessary - it is, like much of the article, unreferenced. Delete the sentence in its entirety, I say. Please sign your comments (4 x ~) though. Thank you,

Derek R Bullamore (talk) 16:25, 8 September 2009 (UTC)

Record Sales

Recent articles have quoted a figure of 135,000,000 in record sales for Shirley Bassey, but do not indicate the source. Press releases in conjunction with her soon-to-be-released album are not sufficient to substantiate this figure.

Figuring record sales is fraught with complications. Before organizations such as the RIAA (USA) and BPI (UK) started certifying record sales with Platinum, Gold, and in the case of BPI, Silver records, the record companies themselves made such awards, and it wasn't unknown for them to inflate sales figures. Even after the awards moved from record companies to organizations such as the RIAA, certification was not automatic; the record company had to request it and pay a modest fee, and sometimes they didn't bother. A further complication for someone like Shirley is that BPI only started certifying sales in 1973, after her 1950s and 1960s career, and after her well-selling album and single, 1970's "Something."

In the BPI online searchable database, Shirley has 1 Platinum, 6 Gold, and 11 Silver albums. Qualification for albums was initially on the basis of revenue received by manufacturers, but in January 1978 BPI abolished the old monetary system for albums and replaced it with a unit system, whereas (P= 300,000 G= 100,000, S= 60,000). Taking the old and new into account, a figure for Shirley's BPI certifications would be somewhere between 2 and 3 million in album sales. Of course, that doesn't include any sales where certification for one reason or another was not requested, or sales that don't reach the certification level, nor does it include sales anywhere outside the UK or pre-1973 UK sales. Shirley has no USA certifications according to the RIAA online searchable database, which goes back to 1958, when the RIAA began certification.

I have left the 135,000,000 figure alone for know, as some source may come to light to authenticate this figure.--Nyctc7 (talk) 16:37, 9 September 2009 (UTC)

I have not left it alone, also see a discussion on the List of best-selling artists discussion page. Anyone who can substantiate this 135,000,000 figure, by tracking down foreign certifications, etc, or a reliable source other than the aforementioned press releases by Geffen Records or anybody else, would be much appreciated. But with no RIAA certifications, verifying this 135,000,000 figure will be no easy task. This in no way diminishes Shirley's stature as one of the greatest recording artists and performers of our time (or any time). It is just a fact of life that record sales are exaggerated--Nyctc7 (talk) 00:32, 18 September 2009 (UTC)

After re-reading some of the discussions on the best-selling artists page, I think that if a reputable news service (not a tabloid) reports the 135 million sales figure, and it is clear that it is not simply parroting a press release by the record company, or using Wikipedia as the source, that we can use this as a reference, especially if we keep the qualifier "estimated" sales.--Nyctc7 (talk) 23:49, 23 October 2009 (UTC)

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Who_has_sold_most_records_shirley_bassey_or_barbara_streisand —Preceding unsigned comment added by Yesmissy (talk • contribs) 21:37, 29 October 2009 (UTC)

Well, the 135 million sales figure has raised its head again. At least one of the cited articles mentions it. Congrats, Shirl. But I bet the folks over at List of best-selling music artists will have none of it.--Nyctc7 (talk) 09:00, 9 December 2014 (UTC)

The Songs Of Shirley Bassey Website

This site, with an extensive discography, articles, interviews, and more, has been used in wiki in various places as a source. Unfortunately, the site no longer exists--you are redirected to the Bassey Blog. The old, previous site, now frozen, is still around, but unfortunatey does not have the article (or, I can't find it) that was used to reference Shirley's remarks about her belief that he daughter Samantha's death was not a suicide. I could only find one other reference, and used it.

dead url: http://www.songsofshirleybassey.co.uk/
old site: http://home.arcor.de/bassey/
Nyctc7 (talk) 18:01, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Chart Positions

Shirley's UK chart positions are readily available here http://www.chartstats.com/artistinfo.php?id=1185

However sourcing her US chart positions isn't as easy. Billboard.com only goes back to around 1983.

There is some info on her Billboard peak chart positions here, http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:fifixqw5ld6e~T51 but it does not validate all of the peak chart positions shown on her Wiki US discography. For example, it does not show "History Repeating" as a top ten in the dance chart, nor Never Never Never" as No. 8 on adult contemporary (or easy listening as it was once known). Another quick example is that allmusic shows I, Capricorn as reaching 94 in the top 200 album chart, whereas the discography says 174.

The US figures in the Wiki discography had to come from somewhere, so I will see if anyone can provide a source, right now I am not comfortable, on the basis of allmusic alone, revamping the US discography section, or using them in the Shirley Bassey article itself.--Nyctc7 (talk) 20:21, 13 September 2009 (UTC)

some other discographies and wiki pages use allmusic, so, I have used it on the discography, and if need be, here...--Nyctc7 (talk) 03:54, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

I will try and see if allmusic will correct their list.--Nyctc7 (talk) 20:39, 31 October 2009 (UTC)

Unsourced material

I have removed the following text from the article. It is all unsourced, and of questionable value. Whilst some, or all of it, may be true, Wikipedia:Verifiability states it MUST be referenced. Please, therefore, do not reinsert without a source. This whole article has suffered badly in the past from the quality of edits, although the overall picture is slowly improving. In my lengthy experience of Wikipedia, leaving unsourced and debatable (at best) material in any article merely tends to attract more of the same.

*However, her singles sales were such that she remained the UK's biggest-selling artist throughout this period, until finally overtaken by Madonna at the close of the decade. *During her UK tour in 1998, 120,000 people saw Bassey live and she smashed her own record in London for the longest run by a solo artist at the Royal Festival Hall with ten sold-out shows. *Land of My Fathers ... reached #1 on the UK compilation chart. *It was shown for a couple of weeks leading up to Christmas, and proved so popular that it was shown throughout the holiday period, with remixes of the song circulating on the underground music scene. *Q magazine included Bassey's album Shirley in their Top 10 Diva Albums, citing 'the voice is incredible...', recently describing her as a 'formidable force of nature...' when she presented a Q award to the Arctic Monkeys in 2007. *The first series winner of the UK TV show Stars in Their Eyes was a Bassey impersonator who has since built a career in doing so. *In the Dreamworks film Shrek 2, Eddie Murphy's character refers to a shrub 'shaped like Shirley Bassey' which is seen on screen. *A Monty Python paperback contains a facsimile library slip indicating that Bassey borrowed it, and she also 'appeared' as an off-screen cameo in an earlier Python episode. *The title track to Life of Brian is also a pastiche of Bassey singing "Goldfinger". *Mr. Bean is obsessed with Bassey, wanting to be her microphone stand as referred to in his published 'diaries'. *Shirley Bassey: Welsh History Stories is listed on the Welsh schools curriculum. *On BBC Radio 4, an episode of Giles Wembley-Hogg was written about Bassey's 2007 appearance at Glastonbury. She was also featured on the cover of the recent Woman's Hour book (BBC, R4). *Junkie XL's 1999 song "Action Radius" made a reference to Bassey. *In 2005 Bassey wrote the foreword to the book Cardiff: Rebirth of a Capital. * When Bassey appeared at the the 2007 Glastonbury Festival, Arctic Monkeys performed a version of "Diamonds are Forever" as a tribute. *"Where Do I Begin (Away Team Remix)", from Bassey's 2001 remix album, The Remix Album: Diamonds Are Forever, was featured in an episode of Showtime's The L Word and on Nip/Tuck on the FX Network.

Derek R Bullamore (talk) 19:34, 28 October 2009 (UTC)

Don't just remove it entirely. Why do this? It's silly. If you want sources, find sources. What purpose does removing all this information serve? These are all facts. Bassey is an important figure in popular culture. This action weakens that fact & is vandalism of the article. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Yesmissy (talk • contribs) 21:27, 29 October 2009 (UTC)

It's up to you to find the sources if you want that stuff in there. Rothorpe (talk) 21:34, 29 October 2009 (UTC)

In a quick check of wiki articles on other big pop stars, I almost always do not see a "references in popular culture" section, though Barbra Streisand has one. While I have no big objection to such lists, provided they don't go on too long, it would seem that the consensus (from looking at other articles) is that they are not used, at least not in a biography article. If no 3rd party source (that can be used as a reference) mentions some of these "fun facts", that probably means that they are just that, "fun facts". They could certainly go on a fan site, but Wikipedia is not a fan site, and I say that as a fan of Shirley Bassey. And I can't help but believe that "leaving unsourced and debatable (at best) material in any article merely tends to attract more of the same."--Nyctc7 (talk) 22:44, 29 October 2009 (UTC)

Did Shirley Bassey

Did Shirely Bassey shot her lover before she was famous & did she go to jail? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 93.21.113.129 (talk) 09:41, 31 October 2009 (UTC)

No. Remember what it says at the top of this page: this talk page is how to improve the article, not a general discussion of Shirley Bassey. I would refer you to the Shirley Bassey Message Board, the link can be found under "External links" on the article.--Nyctc7 (talk) 14:30, 31 October 2009 (UTC)

Awards and achievements

Moved Dame Commander from 1999 to 2000 per the list on wikipedia. (link provided). New Year's Honours are announced at the end of the year (thus it says 12/31/99 in the intro to the Awards and achievements section) but they are for the following year, so Bassey is on the 2000 Honour's list. Deleted the "1996 – Europe's Lifetime Achievement Award – Ceremony held in Germany" as this is far too ambiguous. I have no idea what this means, nor could I find anything. Deleted the Sopot Festival, as while Bassey was a participant, she did not win any award. Changed "1977 – Best British Female Singer in the Last 50 years of Recorded Sound - BRIT Award" to "Best British Female Solo Artist in the previous 25 years - BRIT Award". There is some confusion about this. The 1977 BRIT awards commemorated the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth, and the awards commemorated the best of the previous 25 years. (link provided). Allmusic.com makes a reference to a "1977 Britannia Award for Best Female Solo Singer in the Last 50 Years". This is probably incorrect. For one thing, Britannia awards are given by BAFTA/LA (film) not the BPI (music). I can find no other reference for a 50-year-award that isn't generated by this wikipedia entry. A 50-year-award would seemingly be not hard to document. So I think it is a misunderstanding, but I could be wrong. Some I have left alone for now, such as the "100 most famous people of the 20th century – Hello magazine" and the "Longest run by a solo artist (ten shows) – Royal Festival Hall, London" because I am still working on it. Where Wiki has an entry for the award in question, especially if it shows Bassey, a link can be provided (such as the UNESCO award). Others need a source.--Nyctc7 (talk) 04:46, 1 November 2009 (UTC)

Guinness Book of World Records: Was she named most successful British female singer of all time? Hard to document as each new Guinness edition changes--to some degree--which records they list. Perhaps if a reputable news source mentions this award, that could be used as a source?--Nyctc7 (talk) 00:58, 13 July 2010 (UTC)

Post-nominal (Dame Shirley Bassey, DBE)

Knights Bachelor do not use a post-nominal. Thus, Sir Paul McCartney, MBE (the post-nominal of the earlier award). However, women are not created Knights Bachelor, they are appointed to one of the orders of chivalry and are entitled to use the appropriate post-nominal of their order; DBE in the case of a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire.--Nyctc7 (talk) 02:16, 12 November 2009 (UTC) The male equivalent of a DBE is a KBE, for example, Sir Roger Moore, KBE.

• According to Debretts "There is no female equivalent of the Knight Bachelor; women deserving the rank are appointed Dame Commanders of the British Empire (DBE) instead". --Shylocksboy (talk) 04:13, 28 October 2011 (UTC)

References

Also see WP:POSTNOM (and scroll up a tiny bit). This wiki policy may vary from other encylopedias and biographical writings. But I guess we should be consistent one way or the other.--Nyctc7 (talk) 05:26, 28 October 2011 (UTC)

Places of domicile

Since leaving her native Britain in 1968, Shirley Bassey has had several places of domicile. I think this info should be welcomed, provided it is placed into context, "Having lived for a long time on the Italian island of Capri" is a touch too ambiguous.--Nyctc7 (talk) 01:29, 20 November 2009 (UTC)

"After being a long-time resident of Capri, Bassey currently resides in Monte Carlo to be closer to transport, hospitals and general amenities." The article could use some info about Bassey's life abroad, when she left Britain for income tax reasons and maybe other reasons as well, I don't really know. But this information should be sourced. The assertion that she moved to Monaco to be closer to transport, hospitals and general amenities? Need a source. She could just as well moved there because she likes the climate and the security. She once remarked that it's the only place where you can wear jewelry and feel safe. See Interview--Nyctc7 (talk) 17:26, 18 September 2012 (UTC)

Voice

She`s a contraalto: In this articles, she says it: http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2007/06/24/shirley_bassey_too_lazy_for_opera —Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.218.221.197 (talk) 12:35, 6 April 2010 (UTC)

Not exactly. Bassey is quoted as saying "My vocal coach said if I'd had the right training, I could have been an opera singer. I would have been a contralto, not a soprano. I'd have been a good candidate but I'm basically very lazy, and opera singers have to train every day." I don't know enough aboout vocal classification to say, but her 1960s voice is not what I would refer to as the deepest female voice! Her voice did get deeper as she got older. Maybe someone who knows more about vocal types can chime in. And the article on Contralto states that this classification is really just for opera singers, not pop singers. Also see Voice classification in non-classical music--Nyctc7 (talk) 01:39, 13 April 2010 (UTC)

The wikipedia pages of all great singers have an extensive voice section, why not this one?, quite strange.Tallard (talk) 01:55, 24 January 2014 (UTC)

pronunciation of last name

as in the fish bass or the musical instrument bass? --Richardson mcphillips (talk) 17:41, 3 January 2015 (UTC)

The former. Daicaregos (talk) 18:53, 3 January 2015 (UTC)

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External links modified

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I have just modified one external link on Shirley Bassey. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:

• Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20020623124719/http://www.walkoffame.nl/engels/ to http://www.walkoffame.nl/engels/

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Comments about Tina Turner

In this change, IP editor 5.148.42.186 introduced some personal analysis, saying that in the BBC's Shirley Bassey documentary, Bassey criticized Tina Turner's version of "Goldeneye", but that "it's not entirely clear Bassey was aware her conversation was being recorded and would be in the programme." This observation is not in the documentary. The IP editor continues with more unreferenced personal analysis: "There is however no record of any artist other than Turner being offered the song." Then the IP editor draws a connection between this statement and a parody of Bassey made on the Rock Profile show, but the Rock Profile parody is presented without explanation, so the IP editor is making a personal observation, again a violation of WP:No original research.

The IP editor supplied a link to a video but this video is not part of Rock Profile nor is it part of the BBC documentary. Instead, it's a personal video of a dinner party, with lots of drunken revelry, with Bassey making rude comments about Tina Turner. I think it's violation of WP:BLP to have such material hosted on Wikipedia.

Finally, the IP editor says this issue is covered in two books, Diamonds Are Forever - Shirley Bassey: A Celebration of My 50 Years as Her Greatest Fan by Mary DeLong, and Shirley: Appreciation of the Life of Shirley Bassey by Muriel Burgess. I searched digitally through the Delong book and couldn't find it, and I know that the Burgess book was written from second-hand interviews with others, completely lacking contact with Bassey, so I doubt that it's in there, either. With the violations of BLP shown above, I have serious doubts about these cited sources. Binksternet (talk) 20:16, 23 December 2017 (UTC)

Nowhere in the video does Shirley claim that she was offered to do the song in the movie. It was nothing more than a very brief critical remark. I agree with this overly long and not significant paragraph being edited out.--Nyctc7 (talk) 06:02, 3 February 2018 (UTC)

Detailed list of TV show episodes

Please see Talk:Mary Hopkin#Mary Hopkin in the Land of... where there is a discussion that is relevant to this article. Verbcatcher (talk) 19:00, 7 June 2018 (UTC)

Life of Brian parody

The article should really mention the the affectionate parody of SB's 60s movie work in the Brian Song. This info was removed over a decade ago as unsourced, but it's clearly the case, and has been mentioned in many reviews. Ef80 (talk) 17:31, 1 October 2022 (UTC)

Compromise to avoid edit warring

I've seen the issue of whether Bassey should be called Welsh or British is an old one on this page. For this reason, and to avoid an edit war, I have added "British people of Nigerian descent" while leaving "Welsh people of Nigerian descent" alone. A previous editor had removed the latter for the former, and a subsequent editor undid that edit. This way, both are listed and the article is easier to find for people searching either the broader or the more specific category.

Lewisguile (talk) 10:15, 19 June 2024 (UTC)