Big voices… Shirley Bassey

I’ve always been a sucker for a big voice, far away from the mic, but quality that makes the hairs stand up.
Shirley Bassey has one of those voices that has presence, unlike many artists I hear, she believes in the songs she sings.

I first heard some of her work when my dad used to listen to a couple of her early 70s albums, with his headphones on, at full belt (my dad is almost deaf), every now and again, when I was growing up in the 70s.

Then I caught her in tv specials during the 80s
She then appeared in the Queen’s birthday concert in the 90s and continued to blow me away with her performances and stage presence.

A while ago, I searched the tube for her work and surprisingly enough, didn’t find much on there of her’s, that had any sound quality to it.
Weeks later, Shirl pops up on the timeline now and again and, thankfully, the sound quality is much better.
Shirley Bassey is quality.

The late, great, Joe Longthorne did two tunes of hers, that were superb.

As I do, enjoy.

Deaths and burials.

How I view the whole process.

Dealing with a death of a loved one is a strange thing.
It effects people in different ways of course.
Some I’ve known, simply cannot face it, others have a more pragmatic outlook.

For me, it’s fascinating.
Not so much the act of passing away, but more what comes after it.

To me, I believe their clock simply stops.
“I wonder what they’d think of this film?” or “That artist?” Perhaps explains it best for my view.
I don’t believe they’d have any view of it.
When their clock stops, they simply carry on, in spirit, with the same experiences and memories as they had when they were alive, never crossing the line into the future, of which they didn’t experience.
I don’t believe they ever know they have passed on.

Their place of rest interests me also.
As many do, I find it very moving that their place of rest maybe a place where they can visit, where they may be able to hear or even see, a loved one visiting them.

With this in mind, a youtube page I love watching, is Arthur Dark’s – Hollywood Graveyard (not his real name of course)

https://www.youtube.com/@HollywoodGraveyard/videos

Fascinating to see the resting places of people that, in life, were absolutely unapproachable and often, world reknown.
To know that a once famous person is resting right where they visit in the videos, often a person who we grew up watching/listening to, are right there in front of them, without any of the fame that was around them, always amazes me.

One final thing I like about final resting places, are those head stones, with the person’s picture on.
In victorian times, they used to take photographs with the person who’d passed away before burial, often with their family members.
Macabre it may seem to others, but I love to see what the person looked like during their lifetime.

Odd some would say, but I pay great respect to people and their resting places. Famous or not.

One of THE great days!

Just Wow!

To be a young sprog, in the midst of 80s music, albums and the road to musical and life discoveries, going out into the big wide world on my own, every tune I liked had meaning, was a reminder to a place/mood/occurrence

Such a great time to be alive, when out of nowhere, along came an event that absolutely blew me (and everyone I knew) away!
Live Aid was absolutely superb, from the start to the last tune (a rendition of Do They Know It’s Christmas)

It didn’t matter if some of the vocals were way off, it didn’t affect the day one jot, I cared not if I didn’t like the artist playing, it was quite simply a fabulous occasion, one of the best days ever.