Dame Shirley Bassey is one of Britain’s best-loved performers and the first female vocalist whose albums have charted in the UK top 40 over seven consecutive decades. Born in 1937 in Tiger Bay, Cardiff, Dame Shirley toured theatres and revues until she signed a record deal with Philips and scored the number one hit, ‘As I Love You’, in 1959. By the 1970s, she was an international star with numerous hit albums spanning contemporary pop, show tunes and soundtracks. Some of her greatest work was with film composer John Barry, creating the James Bond themes ‘Goldfinger’, ‘Diamonds Are Forever’ and ‘Moonraker’, which became her signature songs. In the 1990s and 2000s, she attracted a whole new audience, performing the official song for the 1999 Rugby World Cup with Bryn Terfel and attending the 2007 Glastonbury Festival in diamante wellington boots. She was awarded a CBE in 1994 and a DBE in 1999.
Royal Mail is celebrating the unique voice and iconic status of Dame Shirley Bassey 70 years on from the start of her career in 1953 with a set of eight special stamps capturing her spellbinding performances. A Miniature Sheet with an additional four stamps shows a more natural side of Dame Shirley with photographs taken during recording sessions and rehearsals.
1st Class: Performing at the Pigalle nightclub, London, 13 September 1965
1st Class: Performing in Bournemouth, October 1974
1st Class: Performing at the BBC Electric Proms, The Roundhouse, London, 23 October 2009
1st Class: Performing at the Safeway Picnic in the Park 2002
£2.00: Hyde Park, London, 29 June 2002
£2.00: Performing in Brighton
£2.00: Singing ‘World in Union’ (with Bryn Terfel) during the Opening Ceremony of the Rugby World Cup, Cardiff, 1 October 1999
£2.00: Performing during the Oscars held at the Dolby Theatre, Hollywood, California, 24 February 2013
