The performance continued with a number of Bassey classics, such as ‘I Get A Kick Out Of You’, ‘What Kind Of Fool Am I’ and ‘With These Hands’, all of which confirmed her amazing talent. Then came the dramatic ‘I, Who Have Nothing’. As Shirley ended the number she slowly walked offstage, hugging her dress like a matador, as the trumpeter from the orchestra stood tall and blew out those final, memorable notes. The audience was cheering and shouting for more, the applause continuing until Shirley reappeared, which generated an even greater show of appreciation from the audience.
We were offered a few more wonderful numbers, Shirley using the entire stage area during her singing, adjusting her performance to reach every member of her audience. As a fan I was overwhelmed by Shirley’s performance and for a moment drawn to look at Eartha Kitt, who sat at a table close to the stage. She certainly seemed to be enjoying Shirley’s act, but as a performer herself I wondered if it was possible for Miss Kitt to enjoy the performance, in the same way I was – as a fan!
Fun songs, show songs, dramatic songs, the audience loved them all and as the end of the performance drew near the audience dug deep and produced more applause, with shouts for more, more until finally Shirley returned for a further encore. I just couldn’t remain at our table any longer and rushed down the few steps, along the edge of a row of seats, to find myself calling out ‘more’ as I stood at the edge of the stage. Shirley, having spotted me, came and reached out for my outstretched hand, which I offered together with my thanks for a wonderful evening. With a lovely smile, Shirley thanked me before returning to the microphone for a final number. Making my way back to our table, I was elated.
It took several minutes before any form of normality returned to The Talk of the Town once Shirley finally left the stage. The orchestra eventually returned, playing ‘I Could Have Danced All Night’ as the stage lowered to floor level. Someone from a nearby table came up to me to tell me how pleased they were to see me shake hands with Shirley. I wanted to reply, ‘Not half as pleased as I was,’ but thought better of it, so I simply thanked them. Mum and Dad looked on with their usual pride whilst I continued discussing Shirley’s performance. Unfortunately, the party really was coming to a close and we had to think about leaving. Mr Tricker would soon be waiting for us outside, so Dad paid our bill, we gathered up our programmes, collected our coats and joined the crowd emerging from venue. Soon we spotted Mr Tricker and once inside the car, I don’t think I stopped talking until we arrived home in the early hours of the morning.
Mum, Dad and I had enjoyed a truly wonderful experience that evening, one of the best during our time together and certainly the best I had experienced up until then. Shirley had been fantastic and seemingly very relaxed and happy at The Talk of the Town, which gave us every confidence in believing she would be back one day soon.
Like every good fan I would be off to the record store whenever I heard or read of a new Shirley Bassey release. As well as singles (45s), record companies also released EPs, an abbreviation for ‘extended play’, which usually contained four tracks instead of two, on a disc the same size as a single. I did not always buy them because sometimes an EP would be compiled from a combination of previously issued material. One new track, however, was usually sufficient to get me hooked and I would purchase the disc, to the delight of the record company, I’m sure.
Following the success of ‘I Who Have Nothing’, which put Shirley in the Top Ten of the pop charts, Columbia released ‘My Special Dream’, soon to be followed by ‘Gone’, in an attempt to establish another big hit. Unfortunately neither of these songs, in my opinion, was going to be as successful as ‘I, Who Had Nothing’. They lacked that something special, in spite of Shirley’s excellent performance. However, a fan wants anything ever recorded, so I bought both singles and enjoyed my form of karaoke, prior to its invention. I would sing-along with Shirley, in our front room at home, until I had learned the lyrics and phasing of each tune, to perfection. Personally, I thought we made a great duo but whether Mum, Dad and the neighbours were of the same opinion hearing our free ‘concerts’ is another matter.
The year 1964 was proving to be a rather topsy-turvy one for Shirley, with illness causing her to spend a short time at The London Clinic. Whenever I read such news in the tabloids, I would be off to the shops to buy a lovely get-well card for Shirley, which I immediately sent. If, after a day or so, no further news was forthcoming from the press, I would phone her management’s office to seek information on her progress. Occasionally, I phoned the clinic direct, prompted by my feelings of a need to know that Shirley was well.
I know many, many fans cared and although I recognised the improbability of fans get-well messages reaching Shirley, I do hope Shirley knew, in some way, that we all cared.
Good news soon followed when it was reported in the music press that Shirley would be singing the theme song for the next James Bond movie, to be called Goldfinger. The composer, John Barry, who had toured with Shirley earlier in the year, asked Shirley to listen to the music, even though the lyrics had yet to be written. Hearing that haunting introduction and the melody was enough for Shirley to recognise that ‘Goldfinger’ had that something special and immediately agreed to record the number. John had called upon Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse to provide the lyrics, then it was into the studio with Shirley and a mighty sixty-piece orchestra… and the rest is history. Probably not quite as simple as that, but the result was phenomenal. Columbia issued the single, stating ‘Goldfinger’ from the film of the same name, as if we needed to be told. I remember when I first heard that mighty orchestral introduction and Shirley’s first ‘G-o-o-o-l-d finger’, I shuddered. I longed to hear it at the cinema and when the film finally reached our local cinema, Mum, Dad and I sat in awe as Shirley sang, engulfing the audience with the power of her voice, and transporting them into the mind of Goldfinger.
‘Goldfinger’ entered the UK charts and sold reasonably well, but it was America where it’s greatest success was achieved, selling over one million copies and topping the US charts. This success was instrumental in propelling Shirley to a new level of worldwide-star status, and in doing so generating a new legion of fans spread across the entire face of the globe. I was delighted by Shirley’s success, and enjoyed watching the additional guest appearances her popularity had generated on television. However, all this meant we soon had to learn to share Shirley with the world and it was announced she would be embarking on a lengthy tour of America and Australia. But before embarking on a trip across the pond, Shirley had a little shopping to do!
London’s Chester Square was, and still is, one of the best addresses in town and according to press reports at the time, Shirley had recently purchased a property there, which was now being decorated to her specifications.
As a family we would sometimes go to London on a Sunday for a day out, often going for a walk through Green Park or Hyde Park, so on our next visit we planned a detour to Chester Square. It required only a little detective work as only one house in the square had scaffolding outside, so it had to be Shirley’s new home (later this was confirmed, but that’s another part of the story).
I gained a little more information about Shirley’s new house, surprisingly, from a girl in my class at school. Celia (or it may have been Cynthia) and I did not usually share much in the way of conversation but on this particular day, Celia enjoyed telling me about her father who had an important job at Harrison Gibson furniture store, in Ilford. The store was very well known for its range of quality furniture as well as for its building, which housed on the top floor, the Room At The Top