Dame Shirley Bassey Sings Manic Street Preachers Song

Yes, it's true, Dame Shirley Bassey is back. The famous Welsh diva with unforgetable tracks like "Goldfinger" and "Diamonds Are Forever" has released a new single. The song is called "The Girl From Tiger Bay", and was written by fellow countrymen James Dean Bradfield and Nicky Wire both of Manic Street Preachers.

Hearing the song today it was unmistakably a Manics song. Shirley's delivery was warming and should garner her many new fans. Her new album is called "The Performance" and it sees Dame Shirley performing tracks written by the likes of artists such as Tom Baxter and the Pet Shop Boys.

"The Performance" album track listing is:

• "Almost There" (Tom Baxter)


• "Apartment" (Rufus Wainwright)


• "This Time" (Gary Barlow)


• "I Love You" (Nick Hodgson)


• "Our Time Is Now" (John Barry/ Don Black)


• "As God Is My Witness" (David Arnold/ David McAlmont)


• "No Good About Goodbye" (David Arnold/ Don Black)


• "The Girl From Tiger Bay" (Manic Street Preachers)


• "Nice Men" (KT Tunstall)


• "After The Rain" (Richard Hawley)


• "The Performance Of My Life" (Pet Shop Boys)

David Arnold steps in to produce Dame Shirley Bassey's first album of original material in 20 years. Now at 72, Bassey's voice seems as powerful as ever, and with talent like hers she will always be relevant. Arnold was quoted in the press as saying "All these songs were just songs, until Dame Shirley Bassey sang them. There's something about a Bassey performance that can knock the wind out of your sails, make you laugh, make you cry, let you in on the joke or be led to a more exotic place."

The whole concept reminds me of a similar idea from another welsh singer the "Not Unusual" Tom Jones. His Album Reload was more of a duets album though with James Dean Bradfield again taking part, as well as a host of many other greats from 2000.