Talk:Shirley Bassey

message: 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)
replies: text:  And did he die or "leave"?--Psycho Chicken 17:54, 14 October 2005 (UTC)
thread_title: Early comments

message: 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)
thread_title: Neutrality

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

message: 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)
thread_title: Kenneth Hume

message: 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)
thread_title: This is My Life

message: 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)
thread_title: Diamonds Are Forever

message: =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)
thread_title: Gownless Evening Strap

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

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

message: "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)
thread_title:  Paul McCartney, Pet Shop Boys, Phil Collins and Rod Stewart. 

message: 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)
replies: text: 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)
replies: text: 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)
thread_title:  Record Sales 

message: 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)
thread_title:  The Songs Of Shirley Bassey Website 

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

message: 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)
replies: text: 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)
thread_title:  Unsourced material 

message: 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)
thread_title:  Awards and achievements 

message: 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)
replies: text: 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)
thread_title:  Post-nominal (Dame Shirley Bassey, DBE) 

message: 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)
thread_title:  Places of domicile 

message: 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)
replies: text: 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)
thread_title:  Voice 

message: as in the fish bass or the musical instrument bass?  --Richardson mcphillips (talk) 17:41, 3 January 2015 (UTC)
replies: text: The former. Daicaregos (talk) 18:53, 3 January 2015 (UTC)
thread_title:  pronunciation of last name 

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thread_title:  External links modified 

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thread_title:  External links modified 

message: 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)
replies: text: 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)
thread_title:  Comments about Tina Turner 

message: 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)
thread_title:  Detailed list of TV show episodes 

message: 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)
thread_title:  [[Life of Brian]] parody