‘Goldfinger’ singer Shirley Bassey to record part of her grand finale album in Prague

Welsh singer Dame Shirley Bassey will release her first new album in more than five years to celebrate her 70-year career.

Recording for the still-untitled record is taking place in Prague, as well as London, Monaco and the South of France, with the team operating under the relevant travel and recording restrictions.

The record, described as a “grand finale,” will be dedicated to her fans. It will include new material written especially for Bassey as well as tracks that reflect her life and career, which spans 70 albums and nearly 140 million records sold.

“My new album is a celebration of 70 years in showbiz –70 years of support from my fans and 70 years of music! I’ve trodden the boards of many stages and kicked up many a diamante heel!” Bassey said in a press release.

“The songs I have chosen all feel very personal and connected to my life. I hope they will do the same for my fans,” she added.

In August 1968, she was in Prague to film segments for a French-German TV show called Europarty. Filming of her segments took place just before the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact invasion on August 20–21.

The clip shows the calm of Wenceslas Square just before the invasion. Her third song, “Big Spender” features her singing as she walks down Národní třída past rather surprised pedestrians and shops with full shelves.

“Dame Shirley Bassey is a living legend and she is still at the peak of her powers. It is a total privilege for us to welcome her to Decca. Incredibly, her career started just after the birth of rock and roll. Every note she sings tells its own story of the adventures she has had, the legends she has encountered or the lives she has enriched,” Decca Records co-managing director Tom Lewis said.

Bassey, now 83 years old, first started singing as a teenager at clubs and pubs in her native Wales, while also working in the Curran Steels factory. She has kept up with current musical trends, and in 2007 she recorded a cover of Pink’s hit “Get the Party Started.”

She became the first Welsh singer to score a UK number one single with “As I Love You” from the album The Bewitching Miss Bassey. It held the top spot for four weeks starting in January 1959.

Her long carrier is filled with honors and awards. She was made a Dame Commander of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II on December 31, 1999, for her services to entertainment. She was also awarded France’s Legion d’Honneur in 1999 due to her popularity and her importance in the culture of France.

Bassey was the first recipient of the Brit Award for best British female solo artist, in 1977, and the first musician to be awarded the Freedom of the City of Cardiff, her home town, in 2019.

The new album will be released later this year.