Miss Shirley Bassey

In 1954, Shirley Bassey was seventeen years old. She had just returned from a cheesy revue tour called 'Hot from Harlem'. Depressed, disillusioned and four months' pregnant, she decided that her dream of being a professional singer was over. A mere ten years later, she was one of the biggest stars in the world. She had sold more records than any other British singer of the day, and was poised to conquer America. Her latest hit, 'Goldfinger', was the theme tune to the year's blockbuster film. No longer the two-bit jazz singer from Cardiff, she was by now an international sex siren, as glamorous and unreal as Bond himself.

Miss Shirley Bassey explores this remarkable transformation, both of an individual and of the British society and British psyche that made it possible. From the vibrant, multicultural oasis of Tiger Bay in the Cardiff docklands through the club-lands of Soho and Las Vegas to New York's Carnegie Hall, it is a journey from mere mortal to international icon. Along the way she would encounter homosexual husbands, predatory managers, newspaper scandals, and a range of friends and acquaintances from Sammy Davis Jr to Reggie Kray.

John L. Williams draws on original research and interviews to provide a portrait of a young woman on the cusp of stardom, whose rise to fame was in many ways symbolic of a changing world. Brilliantly written non-fiction in the style of David Peace's The Damned Utd or Nick Tosches' Dino, this is the story of a woman who set out to be extraordinary and - against all the odds - succeeded.

“'Wildly entertaining. Someone should make a movie' The Times.”

'The rags-to-riches legend of the gritty girl from Tiger Bay' Daily Mail. Daily Mail
'A fascinating history not only of her early career, but of the casual racism and sexism that prevailed in Britain in the Fifties ... and the strength of character Bassey required to overcome it' Mick Brown, Daily Telegraph. Daily Telegraph
'Sensitive and empathetic ... lovely details abound' Guardian. Guardian
'Shirley Bassey has shown that even a triply underprivileged black Welsh woman could make it to the giddy heights of showbiz. This is the story John L. Williams tells in a fascinating book: the way in which she negotiated herself into another world' Independent. Independent
The Times

John L. Williams is the author of six books, most noticeably his Cardiff trilogy and Bloody Valentine (which the police force tried unsuccessfully to ban). He currently writes for the Mail on Sunday, having worked for the Independent, Sunday Times, NME and as contributing editor of GQ magazine. He was born and still lives in Cardiff.

In 1954, Shirley Bassey was seventeen years old. Depressed, disillusioned and four months pregnant, her dream of being a professional singer seemed over. A mere ten year later, with 'Goldfinger' topping the charts, she had become one of the biggest stars in the world. Miss Shirley Bassey traces this extraordinary transformation, recapturing the lost landscape of Fifties Soho, with its smoke-filled jazz clubs, notorious gangsters and predatory managers, in which a raw, but talented, Welsh singer fought to make her name. In this vivid and gripping book, John L. Williams shows how Shirley Bassey battled from Tiger Bay to the top.

In 1954, Shirley Bassey was seventeen years old. She had just returned from a cheesy revue tour called 'Hot from Harlem'. Depressed, disillusioned and four months' pregnant, she decided that her dream of being a professional singer was over. A mere ten years later, she was one of the biggest stars in the world. She had sold more records than any other British singer of the day, and was poised to conquer America. Her latest hit, 'Goldfinger', was the theme tune to the year's blockbuster film. No longer the two-bit jazz singer from Cardiff, she was by now an international sex siren, as glamorous and unreal as Bond himself. Miss Shirley Bassey explores this remarkable transformation, both of an individual and of the British society and British psyche that made it possible. From the vibrant, multicultural oasis of Tiger Bay in the Cardiff docklands through the club-lands of Soho and Las Vegas to New York's Carnegie Hall, it is a journey from mere mortal to international icon. Along the way she would encounter homosexual husbands, predatory managers, newspaper scandals, and a range of friends and acquaintances from Sammy Davis Jr to Reggie Kray. John L. Williams draws on original research and interviews to provide a portrait of a young woman on the cusp of stardom, whose rise to fame was in many ways symbolic of a changing world. Brilliantly written non-fiction in the style of David Peace's The Damned Utd or Nick Tosches' Dino, this is the story of a woman who set out to be extraordinary and - against all the odds - succeeded.

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