That year, 1964, had started with Shirley appearing at the Odeon Leicester Square, London with guest star Matt Monro and John Barry and his Orchestra. The show presented by Vic Lewis, Shirley’s manager at the time, was a great success and later toured several leading towns in April and early May. Following on from the tour, Shirley was booked to appear at one of London’s finest venues, The Talk of the Town, so life for her was hectic.
Mum, Dad and I had centre front-row seats in the royal circle of the Odeon Theatre for the first performance of what was billed as The Shirley Bassey Show. This vast cinema, built in 1937, dominated one side of Leicester Square and I can remember how impressed I was looking up at its frontage. Before entering the vast building we spent time with George Webb and other fans, catching up on news. Some fans would attend both performances, but seeing two almost identical performances so close together never really appealed to me. Cost also had to be considered. The tickets for that night’s show were £1/5/- each, or £1.25 if you only understand decimal, but in 1964 that was a lot of money. Doors opened at 5.15pm for the 6.30 show, so we had plenty of time to get some refreshments, although I was always too excited to eat before a performance. We purchased a programme which consisted of sixteen pages and featured a happy casual photo of Shirley taken by Vic Lewis, which I particularly liked, before settling into our seats.
John Barry and his Orchestra opened the first half of the concert. My first impression was that John was younger than I had expected and seemed rather serious. I remember thinking he was rather rude since he would constantly use his forefinger to point at a musician, but in time I realised this was just part of his conducting style. Without doubt he was a very versatile musician and with this performance demonstrated his talents as a composer, arranger and conductor. His programme was entertaining and varied, including bossa nova, jazz and several ‘Bond’ arrangements. However, ‘Goldfinger’ had yet to be born. Matt Monro joined the orchestra for the remainder of the first half and gave a polished performance featuring many of his hits, including his latest, ‘I Love The Little Things’, with which he had taken second prize in the Song For Europe Contest.
When the safety curtain rose following the intermission, magic seemed to fill the air as the audience settled into a silence. The orchestra played an introductory overture, lights dimmed and onto the stage stepped Shirley, looking wonderful in what was probably a Douglas Darnell gown. Fans were cheering, pleased to welcome Shirley back onstage after the birth of her daughter Samantha in November 1963 (her elder daughter, Sharon, was born in 1954). I am not sure whether Shirley began her performance with the Gershwin number ‘’S Wonderful’, or whether it featured in the early part of the show, but with her emphasis of the words ‘w-o-n-d-e-r-f-u-l, it’s m-a-r-v-e-l-lo-u-s’, she captivated her audience
Other classics such as ‘Fly Me To The Moon’, ‘No Regrets’ and ‘Just One Of Those Things’ were among the fifteen or so numbers Shirley included in her programme, but for many members of the audience one particular song had to be heard: ‘I Who Have Nothing’. Shirley had recently climbed the hit parade with her 45 rpm single and was currently enjoying the success, so to see and hear her perform this number was a must for any fan. When Shirley sang ‘I’ the audience erupted into spontaneous applause, Shirley acknowledging the audience, continued and gave an emotional performance which sent shivers down my spine. It was one of the highlights of the show and proved to be equally successful during the April/May tour.
On 12 April, one year after our first London Palladium concert, my parents and I marked our first anniversary by attending a concert at the Astoria, Finsbury Park, the London venue for the latest tour. Similar in format and content to the show at the Odeon, Shirley included ‘My Special Dream’ and ‘Gone’, which Columbia Records had released as singles following the success of ‘I Who Have Nothing’. Once again it was ‘I’ that stole the show and Mum was not alone in shedding a few tears. Lots of fans waited at the stage door that evening and we managed to get a brief glimpse as a smiling Shirley got into her car. As we travelled home I kept thinking to myself this cannot get better, I’ve seen the best, but as you will discover in these pages, it always did – and that is Shirley’s magic.
For a fan it was a very busy time with lots of articles and reviews appearing in the music papers and national press. Any spare time I had was spent playing the latest record release. I would go into our front room, place the record on the turntable and either pretend to conduct the orchestra for Shirley as she sang, or I would simply choose to sing along with her, of course including all the hand and arm movements. I became so good at this, before long I found myself doing Shirley impressions at the family parties. At one Christmas party I took it all very seriously, so when an uncle continued to tease me, I ran ‘offstage’ upset and into my aunt’s kitchen.
With the addition of concert programmes and ticket stubs my scrapbook was filling up rapidly, yet I was unaware that I was about to acquire a very special addition to my photo album. It was one morning in late May when I heard my dad calling to the postman, ‘Don’t bend the envelope’, but the corner of the item was already being squeezed through the letterbox. Dad managed to save the envelope from total destruction, much to my relief, since the package was addressed to Miss Mary Pilgrim. When I saw the London postmark I began to get excited, but as I withdrew the Shirley Bassey letterhead from the large envelope my excitement evaporated slowly when I saw the letter had only come from Miss Bassey’s secretary. However, it quickly returned when I started to read the letter and discovered my drawing had been put up in the drawing room. The letter went on to say ‘it must have taken hours to complete and everyone here thinks it is really good’. Then I read the next paragraph, ‘I am enclosing an autographed photograph’ and I literally dived into the envelope.
Out came a beautiful full-length photograph of Shirley, wearing a black velvet Douglas Darnell gown with an orchid embellishment of crystals, standing against a white background. Handwritten in black ink across the photograph were the words:
‘Dear Mary, Many thanks for the Wonderful Sketch, Shirley Bassey.’
My parents were so happy for me and rightly wanted to see my new treasured possession, but I kept holding it close to me; I didn’t want to let go of it just yet. When I finally passed the photograph to them I realised how proud they were of me and I was reminded how lucky I was to have such wonderful parents. Finally, the letter stated, ‘We may see you at The Talk of the Town, I hope you get a chance to go.’
Over the next few days anyone and everyone at school and work, prepared to listen, was subjected to hearing about the signed photograph and letter I had received from Shirley Bassey. I daydreamed about how wonderful it would be to see Miss Bassey at The Talk of the Town and I am sure I probably drove my parents insane with my pleading to attend this famous theatre restaurant. When Shirley had last appeared at this venue she had broken all attendance records, so naturally I wanted to make my dream a reality and in doing so help her break the attendance record yet again. Having parents who were also great fans meant very little persuasion was necessary; Mum and Dad agreed and the following day made a reservation for Shirley’s forthcoming engagement. When I think back now about those days in the sixties I realise money did not come easy to my parents, although we all benefited from Mum working full-time, which meant a little extra money was available for treats, as Mum would call them. Treats just couldn’t get better than the ‘Talk’.
The Talk of the Town, at Hippodrome Corner in central London, opened in September 1958 as a theatre restaurant. Regarded as one of the great night spots of the world, it offered outstanding entertainment value with an inclusive charge of 57/6 (£2.88), providing patrons with a three-course dinner, dancing to two famous orchestras, a spectacular floorshow at 10pm and the star cabaret at 11.30pm. All this made it the ideal venue to celebrate