Latest news with #Bassey
The Guardian
10-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
She's got the Midas touch: Shirley Bassey songs – ranked!
Shirley Bassey apparently hated this Bond theme, protesting that the lyrics were nonsensical. She never performed it live. It's certainly not up to previous standards, but the disco version that accompanies the film's end credits is worth hearing – better than her attempt to rejig This Is My Life for the 70s dancefloor. Classic early Shirley in that it's both sexy and powerful, a combination that the writer Bob Stanley once brilliantly suggested evoked 'the hardest girl in the school taking a shine to you and repeatedly slamming you against her locker door'. That's exactly what the chorus of You, You Romeo sounds like. Another should-have-been-a-hit culled from Bassey's stock of latterday covers: Slave to the Rhythm's commanding tone suits her voice perfectly. She first recorded it in the mid-90s, but the 2007 version is the one, its production far less indebted to Trevor Horn's original, its breakbeat pilfered from Primal Scream's Loaded. Anyone who felt Bassey was underserved working with British bandleaders and orchestras had their prayers answered by her sixth album, Let's Face the Music, recorded with New Jersey arranger Nelson Riddle and his orchestra while they were touring the UK. As Long As He Needs Me was the big hit, but this is the killer cut: luscious and pillow-soft. It was bested in the UK singles chart by Andy Williams' original soundtrack recording, but Bassey's take on the theme from the film Love Story may be the definitive version. She is certainly more intense in her approach to the song than Williams was, cutting against the super-slick easy listening arrangement. It was inevitable that the 90s easy listening revival would burnish Bassey's career: it resulted in her biggest hit single in decades, a collaboration with big beat duo Propellerheads. Big beat wasn't a subgenre noted for subtlety, but History Repeating is impressively respectful in its updating of Bassey's sound. It's a strong song that fits her perfectly. Bassey's debut single was a succès de scandale, banned by the BBC. Its hymning of 'straight and simple sex' was remarkably frank for the mid-50s, and amplified by the 19-year-old singer's innocent delivery. She later claimed, not entirely convincingly, that she simply hadn't understood the lyrics. Of all Bassey's recent(ish) attempts to tap into modern pop culture, her 2009 album The Performance is the best. Written by James Dean Bradfield and Nicky Wire of Manic Street Preachers, The Girl from Tiger Bay is a particularly majestic song, worth it just to hear her confidently essay a lyric about situationism as if that were the most normal thing in the world. The album Something, big on rock covers, was a concerted effort to make Bassey more contemporary. Rediscovered during the 90s easy listening revival, her version of Blood Sweat and Tears' 1969 hit is great: funky and commanding enough to make you wish she'd tried this approach more often. One of Bassey's weirder hits: a version of the Carpenters' song clearly influenced by the string-bedecked reggae singles that populated the British charts in the early 70s. Whether Shirl was a quiet admirer of the skinheads' soundtrack of choice remains unknown, but she sails through it with aplomb. Bassey apparently wasn't keen on Nobody Does It Like Me, an album she recorded in LA. But this is a wonderful, overlooked track, a kind of MOR/soft soul crossover that sets her voice against Motown stalwart James Jamerson's incredible bass playing and a sumptuous arrangement by Barry White collaborator Gene Page. A collaboration with Swiss electronic duo Yello, co-written by the Associates' Billy MacKenzie, The Rhythm Divine appeared at a commercial low point in Bassey's recording career. It's a wonderful song that sets her voice amid moody electronics to glamorous effect – a reminder of what she could do, given the right partners. Her cover of the George Harrison-penned Something was a hit, but the best example of Bassey tackling contemporary rock was her CinemaScope rendition of the Doors' breakthrough single. Rediscovered by DJs in the 90s, it's just fantastic, drenched in strings that aid her transformation of the song from slow burn into high drama. Bassey had a line in repurposing Italian-language ballads for an anglophone audience, as on the show-stopping This Is My Life. Never, Never, Never, meanwhile, began life as Grande, Grande, Grande. You can see why it pricked her interest: the melody is beautiful, the key changes dramatic, and she sings the hell out of it. The great Shirley Bassey deep cut. Goodness knows how she came across Jezahel – it was a single by an Italian prog band called Delirium – but her version is incredible, her voice soaring over a subtly funky backing, punctuated by thrilling blasts of brass. It was sampled on Public Enemy's Harder Than You Think. Restrained isn't the first adjective that springs to mind when considering Bassey's voice – one critic approvingly compared her to a flamethrower – but her version of Till, a ballad originally recorded by Percy Faith, is all about restraint. There's an affecting tenderness to her delivery, and the results are beautiful. More so than any of her Bond themes, This Is My Life is the archetypical Bassey belter: lavishly orchestrated musical melodrama, with a lyric so filled with defiance – 'and I don't give a damn for lost emotions!' – it requires a voice that communicates believable passion without slipping into histrionics. It's hard to imagine anyone singing it better. In the musical Sweet Charity, Big Spender is slow, almost creepy, sung by blank-eyed 'dance hostesses'. Bassey sped it up, making its come-ons more straightforward and forthright. There's ice in her voice – this is still a transactional proposition – but when she offers you a 'good time', you know you're going to get one. Co-lyricist Anthony Newley was supposed to sing Goldfinger, but declined because the song was 'weird'. Enter Bassey, whose performance was so full-throttle she was forced to remove her bra midway through the recording session. Her vocal has power, conviction and a faint but detectable sense of camp: no wonder it became her signature song. By 1971, the shine was starting to tarnish on the Bond franchise, and employing Bassey for the theme song was a deliberate attempt to hark back to its heyday – but Diamonds Are Forever caught John Barry and Don Black at the peak of their powers. Barry's melody is stunning, with an arrangement that is atmospheric to the point of being almost eerie, and Black's lyrics are a fabulously cynical melding of eroticism and materialism. Always good with songs that suggested wealth had more value than love, Bassey was the perfect fit: she sounds utterly authoritative, as if bitter experience has led her to mean every word. A new compilation, Dame Shirley Bassey: The Singer (Classic and Undiscovered Gems from the EMI/UA Years 1962-79), is released 18 April on Strawberry
CBS News
31-03-2025
- Sport
- CBS News
Brandin Podziemski scores 27 as Warriors rout Spurs 148-106
Brandin Podziemski scored 27 points and the Golden State Warriors rang up their highest total of the season in a 148-106 rout of the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday night. San Antonio also gave up the most points to an opponent this season in losing its fourth straight. Moses Moody scored 20 points, Buddy Hield added 19 and Draymond Green had 14 for the Warriors, who led by 47 points and sat their starters in the fourth quarter. Golden State remains sixth in the Western Conference. Keldon Johnson scored 19 points and Sandro Mamukelashvili added 14 for the Spurs, who have led for only 15 seconds in their past two games. Spurs acting head coach Mitch Johnson received his first technical foul during a sloppy first half. Warriors: Stephen Curry had 13 points on 4-for-10 shooting in 25 minutes. Curry exited with 3:14 remaining in the third quarter and did not return as Golden State led 111-73 entering the fourth. Spurs: San Antonio center Charles Bassey was scoreless in 10 minutes in his first game since playing six minutes against New Orleans on Feb. 23. Bassey reaggravated a left knee bruise against the Pelicans. Bassey's return gives the Spurs their first player taller than 6-foot-9 since 7-3 center Victor Wembanyama was lost for the season with a blood clot in his right shoulder following the All-Star break. San Antonio committed four turnovers in the opening four minutes as Golden State raced to a 19-6 lead. Golden State is 18-5 with Jimmy Butler in the lineup. Butler had 13 points in 23 minutes. The Warriors visit Memphis on Tuesday. The Spurs host Orlando on Tuesday to close out a three-game homestand.
Associated Press
31-03-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
Podziemski scores 27 and Warriors have highest point total this season in 148-106 rout of Spurs
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Brandin Podziemski scored 27 points and the Golden State Warriors rang up their highest total of the season in a 148-106 rout of the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday night. San Antonio also gave up the most points to an opponent this season in losing its fourth straight. Moses Moody scored 20 points, Buddy Hield added 19 and Draymond Greeen had 14 for the Warriors, who led by 47 points and sat their starters in the fourth quarter. Golden State remains sixth in the Western Conference. Keldon Johnson scored 19 points and Sandro Mamukelashvili added 14 for the Spurs, who have led for only 15 seconds in their past two games. Spurs acting head coach Mitch Johnson received his first technical foul during a sloppy first half. Golden State had 44 points in the first quarter, the most San Antonio has allowed an opponent in the opening period. The Warriors were shooting 62% from the field three minutes into the second quarter. Takeaways Warriors: Stephen Curry had 13 points on 4-for-10 shooting in 25 minutes. Curry exited with 3:14 remaining in the third quarter and did not return as Golden State led 111-73 entering the fourth. Spurs: San Antonio center Charles Bassey was scoreless in 10 minutes in his first game since playing six minutes against New Orleans on Feb. 23. Bassey reaggravated a left knee bruise against the Pelicans. Bassey's return gives the Spurs their first player taller than 6-foot-9 since 7-3 center Victor Wembanyama was lost for the season with a blood clot in his right shoulder following the All-Star break. Key stat Golden State is 18-5 with Jimmy Butler in the lineup. Butler had 13 points in 23 minutes. Up next ___
New York Times
04-03-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Breaking down the Fulham corner routine Manchester United just can't deal with
It's uncommon for a team to score the same goal against the same opponent at the same ground three years in a row. Yet Fulham's goal in the fifth round of the FA Cup against Manchester United on Sunday was the third consecutive season where Marco Silva's side scored from a right-sided outswinging corner at Old Trafford. Advertisement Calvin Bassey's header last Sunday was similar to Aleksandar Mitrovic's goal in the sides' FA Cup encounter in 2022-23. Last season in the Premier League, Bassey scored from another outswinging corner towards the near post, albeit without the flick towards the far one. In Sunday's game, which Fulham won on penalties after a 1-1 draw, United were defending in their adjusted setup under Ruben Amorim but were beaten once again. In the grab below, United have six zonal markers around the edge of the six-yard box, two man-markers (red) in Rasmus Hojlund and Manuel Ugarte, and Christian Eriksen and Bruno Fernandes (white) defending the area around the penalty spot and the short corner. Meanwhile, Fulham are using Alex Iwobi as a short option to drag Fernandes away from the area near the penalty spot, where Adama Traore and Timothy Castagne (red) are ahead of Rodrigo Muniz, Joachim Andersen and Sander Berge (white), with Bassey (yellow) looking to attack the far post. As Andreas Pereira starts his run-up to take the outswinging corner… … Castagne and Traore (red) move towards United's zonal markers at the near post to disrupt their jump and prevent them from defending the cross. Behind them, Fulham's runners (yellow and white) have a three-versus-two advantage against Hojlund and Ugarte, who cannot catch Muniz (yellow). Muniz initially uses Andersen and Berge (white) as a screen to distance himself from United's man-markers, before attacking the space towards the near post (vacant because Fernandes was dragged out to defend Iwobi's fake short option) and blocking Joshua Zirkzee and Matthijs de Ligt (red) who are the zonal defenders in that area. Towards the far post, Bassey (yellow) is waiting for the right moment to start his run… … and he dashes forward to be in a goalscoring position as the ball approaches Muniz. Bassey's movement at the far post readies him for the rebound or the flick, which pays dividends when Muniz heads the ball into his path… … and the centre-back scores to give Fulham the lead. Fulham's trio of corner goals against United weren't specially designed to give them an advantage against this specific opponent. The right-sided outswinging corner attacked at the near post has been Fulham's trademark set piece since their return to the Premier League in 2022-23. This season, Marco Silva's side has played 69 per cent of their right-sided corners as outswingers, mainly targeting the near-post zone as illustrated by the graphic below. In another example, from the 2-1 victory against Nottingham Forest last month, Fulham are facing a zonal-oriented setup with Anthony Elanga (Forest No 21) defending the short corner, Chris Wood (white) protecting the far post, and Elliot Anderson, Danilo and Morgan Gibbs-White (red) keeping track of the runners. Fulham's setup is almost identical to the one they scored from against United: Castagne and Traore (red) are ahead of three runners in Raul Jimenez, Berge and Andersen (white), and Bassey (yellow) is lingering towards the far post. As Sasa Lukic prepares to play the outswinging corner, Castagne (red) moves up to block Neco Williams (Forest No 7) and Traore (red) pins Anderson… … to create space for Jimenez (yellow) to attack towards the near post. Meanwhile, at the far post, Bassey (yellow) takes a couple of steps forward when the cross is played… … which puts him in position when Jimenez flicks the ball towards that area. Bassey attacks the flick-on and heads the ball into the far corner to score the winner. Flicking the outswinging corner towards the far post is one variation of this move. It is targeted when the opponent looks vulnerable in that area, but it's also seen as more of an insurance policy when the player attacking the near post can't head the ball directly on target. Fulham have also scored directly through the runner attacking the near post. In this example, against Bournemouth in December, the opponents are defending in a hybrid setup with four zonal players around the six-yard area, four man-markers (red) and two players defending the area near the penalty spot and the short corner (white). Again, Fulham's setup is familiar with Iwobi and Castagne (red) ahead of three runners, and Bassey (white) in position to attack the far post. Jimenez's marker is Milos Kerkez and the centre-forward uses Andersen and Issa Diop (white) as a screen to distance himself… … which gives him an advantage when Pereira swings the ball towards the near post. Aiding the move are Iwobi and Castagne (red), whose roles are to disrupt Bournemouth's zonal defenders, Ryan Christie and Dean Huijsen, towards the near post and vacate that area for Jimenez… … who connects with the cross and heads the ball into the far bottom corner. It's also important to note Bassey's movement, which puts him in position to attack the rebound if the header is saved. Fulham haven't been as effective from attacking corners this season as the last two, with their goals-per-100-corners rate in all competitions dropping from 6.2 in 2022-23 and 3.7 in 2023-24 to 2.7 this campaign. However, their signature corner isn't easy to stop because the players have been perfecting the delivery and the timing of their movements for three seasons, while the far-post option acts as an insurance policy. It won't come as a surprise if Fulham score this corner goal again. GO DEEPER Near-post weakness and exposing Onana: Why Manchester United are so bad at defending corners
Washington Post
04-03-2025
- Sport
- Washington Post
Fulham condemns 'vile' racist and homophobic online abuse aimed at defender Bassey
LONDON — English soccer club Fulham has condemned the 'racist and homophobic abuse' aimed at defender Calvin Bassey on social media following the FA Cup win at Manchester United on Sunday. The 25-year-old Bassey, who is Black and plays for Nigeria, shared some of the abuse he received online following the penalty shootout win at Old Trafford. He scored the opening goal in the fifth-round game, which finished 1-1.
