Shirley Bassey - Divas Are Forever DVD

Shirley Bassey is show business royalty and Divas Are Forever is an inspired attempt to create a documentary around a concert given during the Diamond Awards Festival in Belgium. The setting is perfect, with the Dame rising supremely above the innate vulgarity of the event. You can cut straight to the songs if you want, and you won't be disappointed: all her hits are here, from "Goldfinger" to "Big Spender". The voice is clearly one of the great instruments of popular music. She seems to regret being pigeonholed as "Bassey the belter", but her vocal chords weren't... built for small rooms or smoky nightclubs. Each number is a high-octane emotional set piece in which she always stops just short of travestying her own inimitable style. The real interest, though, lies in the glimpses of the star's life on the road. There are some splendidly sticky moments that leave her flunkies dodging the barbs. The tantrum she throws during the video shoot with the Propellerheads for "History Repeating" is a gem. And the negotiations for her to be presented with a jewel as the "surprise" climax to her concert leave you with no doubt that this diva knows her own worth. --Piers Ford [show more]

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