Albert I’m back! part 3

From the 1973 Royal Albert Hall concert: Without you & Goldfinger

About the dress Dame Shirley Bassey is wearing for the Royal Albert Hall concert:
A dramatic stage gown by Douglas Darnell, the fitted bodice and peppermint green silk chiffon ground encrusted with pale green iridescent sequins, the halterneck and scooped back edged with strands of imitation pearls graduating in size from the imitation emerald jewelled clasp at the base of the neck, the back elaborately embellished with fifteen additional strands of imitation pearls graduating in size from neck to lower back and cascading from the clasp in a decorative cage effect, the skirt with flowing train lined in silver silk tissue; and a corresponding pair of stiletto heeled sandals customised by Darnell, stamped on the insole Hand Made By Peppino Vasso and with the retailer’s name F. Pinet;

Weight of gown: approx. 2kg.

She wore the gown for the cover shoot of various albums including: Love, Life And Feelings, 1976, Twenty Greatest Hits and Let Me Sing And I’m Happy.
Sold at Christies for £4,500

From Russia With Love.

Pop Collection CD from Russia

I have spent quite a lot of my spare time and money looking for Shirley’s CDs from around the world.  Most of my family and friends think I’m crazy but it’s my passion.  I also have a very large vinyl collection and cassettes by Shirley but these days I concentrate on CDs.

While doing a search on the internet one afternoon I came accross a CD called ‘Star Profile’.  I’d never heard of it but saw that it was a CD from Russia.  I had previously managed to get an album that had been released in Russia.  I ordered the CD and about two weeks later got an email from the seller saying that the copy they had in stock had been sold.  He apologised and explained that he doubted that he would get another copy in stock as they didn’t usually get further supplies.  I was disappointed but it was just one of those things.  I put it to the back of my mind.

Several months later I arrived home from work feeling pretty fed up.  I’d had a miserable day and was not in the best of moods.  I just wanted to close the door and not be bothered by anyone or anything!  I picked the mail up as I opened the door and just put it on the table and then forgot about it.  I changed, ate and probably watched some TV.  It was getting quite late and I was thinking I should go to bed when I noticed the mail lying on the table.  I realised there was a jiffy bag amongst it so picked it up.  I t was hand written and addressed to me.  I noticed that it had a postmark Kiev.  I didn’t know anyone in Kiev so was totally puzzled.  I couldn’t believe my eyes when I opened it.  Inside was a CD with a note from the seller in Russia saying he hoped I would like the enclosed.

It was a Shirley CD called ‘Pop Collection’ and was a compilation CD.  On the Warner Bros label and containing 17 tracks, a scan of the cover is at the top of article.  My bad mood instantly lifted and it amazed me how someone I didn’t know could be so kind.

It’s the only Russian CD I have but one I treasure.  There are probably more out there but I haven’t found any yet.  I’ll keep searching.  There is one available in Ukraine which I think is called ‘Forever Gold’ but alas is only for sale in the Ukraine.  Is anyone from Ukraine reading this??

Albert I’m Back! part 2

From the 1973 Royal Albert Hall concert: And I love you so & Let me sing and I’m happy & I’d like to hate myself in the morning.

What now my love? (Et maintenant ?)

By special request from Walter for the weekend this extra Video Showcase. Four different renditions of “What now my love”.
Judge for yourself which one is the best (?Shirley?). They are all good in their own right.
(Elvis even has subtitles)
Wishing everybody a great weekend! Pieter.

Shirley Bassey

Grégory Lemarchal

Elvis Presley

Agnetha Fältskog

What Now My Love?
Music written by Gilbert Bécaud and English lyrics penned by Carl Sigman.
(Original French lyrics by Pierre Delanoë.)

What Now My Love?
recorded: July 4, 1962
released:
UK: July, 1962 on Columbia single DB 4882
US: August 10, 1962 on United Artists single UA 503
charted: single UK: #5, August 30, 1962
In 1962 released on the album Let’s Face The Music and on some singles. The single reached position number five in the UK singles charts and stayed in the charts for 17 weeks.
The song is available on CD on a digitally remastered album. A new studio recording with the London Symphony Orchestra was released in 1984 on the album I Am What I Am. A live recording is available for example on the 1997 The Birthday Concert and on the video Shirley Bassey Live In Cardiff.

This was originally the French song “Et Maintenant” by Gilbert Bécaud 1961.

Gilbert Bécaud was born as François Silly 1927 in France. He began to earn his money with music by the age of 20, playing piano and composing film music, alias Francois Bécaud. 1948 he met the lyricist Pierre Delanoë, who became his friend and they wrote many successes together. In the 1950′s Bécaud also wrote for Edith Piaf. From 1952 on he finally used the name Gilbert Bécaud and pea-cravats became his brand. Because of his temperament on his appearances, he became “Monsieur 100.000 Volt”, “Monsieur Dynamite” and “Le champignon atomique”. Bécaud wrote many successful chansons, sometimes mixed with jazz-elements. He has also had some success with cantatas, operas and music for film. Gilbert Bécaud published a new album 1999 and gave great concerts until he died 2001.

Other songs of Gilbert Bécaud recorded by Shirley Bassey are Love On The Rocks, and It Must Be Him.

“Et Maintenant” has been re-recorded more than 150 times. With the English lyrics by Carl Sigman as “What Now My Love” it became famous all around the world.
1966 Sonny and Cher reached position number 14 in the US Billboard with this song.

In the ‘Let’s face The Music’ album sleeve notes Kenneth Hume wrote:

“One of the last arrangements being What Now My Love, was written by Nelson Riddle the morning of the recording session and parts of the orchestra score only arrived halfway through the session – the copying being done by an extraordinary organisation, appropriately called Panic Music…”

What Nelson Riddle obviously wrote in the morning was the great orchestral arrangement for the recording, because the composition itself was not by him.

Lyrics

What now my love?
Now that you’ve left me
How can I live Through another day?
Watching my dreams Turning to ashes
And my hopes Into bits of clay

Once I could see
Once I could feel
Now I’m numb
I’ve become unreal
I walk the night
Without a goal
Stripped of my heart
My soul

What now my love?
Now that it’s over
I feel the world
Closing in on me
Here come the stars
Tumbling around me
There’s the sky
Where the sea should be

What now my love?
Now that you’re gone
I’d be a fool
To go on and on
No one would care
No one would cry
If I should live
Or die

What now my love?
Now there is nothing
Only my last Good-bye

(Transcribed by Roman)