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Dame Shirley Bassey attracts the stars at BBC Electric Proms show

24-Oct-2009 • Event

Dame Shirley Bassey attracted the stars in London last night (October 23) as she celebrated her 50 year career with a spectacular Electric Proms show with the BBC Concert Orchestra - reports NME.

The theatrical singer pulled in Manic Street Preachers frontman James Dean Bradfield, Richard Hawley and Tom Baxter for her performance at the Camden Roundhouse which was also watched by Jarvis Cocker, Pet Shop Boys singer Neil Tennant, Boy George and actress Kathy Burke.

Bassey made a dramatic entrance as a huge curtain came down to reveal the songstress in a sparkling silver dress slashed to the hip before she kicked off the show with the first of her James Bond anthems 'Diamonds Are Forever'.

"It's nice to be back for the first time since Glastonbury," she told the crowd before she quipped. "I gather you were all there in your wellies, like me?"

The singer went on to mix her set with a host of old classics, a series of covers and four tracks from her first album in 20 years 'The Performance'.

The first of her collaborations saw her album producer David Arnold step up to perform on acoustic guitar for her cover of the Rufus Wainwright track 'Apartment' before Tom Baxter played on 'Almost There'.

Before she introduced the track she joked: "Aren't we missing somebody? This is my new toy boy."

Then she took another flirtatious dig as Hawley set up to perform on guitar for 'After The Rain'. "All these young men you have to wait until they plug in," she quipped.

Earlier, Hawley warmed up the crowd with a series of tracks from his own new album 'Truelove's Gutter' including 'As The Dawn Breaks', 'Open Up Your Door' and 'For Your Lover, Give Some Time'.

For 'What Now My Love' Bassey introduced four drum beating soldiers before she was greeted with huge cheers for 'Big Spender'.

At one point a member of the crowd called out her name and handed her a bunch of roses which she dispersed into the audience before covering Pet Shop Boys' 'The Performance Of My Life'.

She did two further covers – The Beatles classic 'Something' and The Doors 'Light My Fire' – before James Dean Bradfield backed her with the orchestra for 'The Girl From Tiger Bay'.

Dame Shirley Bassey ended the show with a stomping rendition of 'Goldfinger' which saw the crowd showered in gold and red ticker tape.

The singer performed:

'Diamonds Are Forever'
'I'm Still Here'
'Apartment' (with David Arnold)
'Never Never Never'
'Kiss Me Honey Honey'
'Almost There' (with Tom Baxter)
'After the Rain' (with Richard Hawley)
'What Now My Love'
'Big Spender'
'Lady Is A Tramp'
'The Performance of My Life'
'As Long As He Needs Me'
'Something'
'Light My Fire'
'The Girl From Tiger Bay' (with James Dean Bradfield)
'I Am What I Am'

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