Shirley

Ruth Negga stars in a tele-film from BBC2, about the life of the one, the ONLY, Dame Shirley Bassey.

SHIRLEY follows in the standard pattern of bios of 'fabulous talent, from hardscrabble beginnings,' but, maybe because I love her music, but, also, because of a terrific cast (featuring Lesley Sharp - familiar to WHOVIANS as Sky Silvestry, in the terrific episode MIDNIGHT - as Bassey's mother).

For those not familiar with Shirley, she's the singer of several James Bond title themes - GOLDFINGER, DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER, MOONRAKER.

Dame Shirley's powerful voice, and glamorous image, belie a life that started in Wales, in the '30's, as a mixed-race child. Through sheer talent and drive, Dame Shirley became the toast of London, and then, internationally through a slew of hits from the 1960's up til today.

I usually am not a fan of 'true life' bio-pics, but, this one is truly wonderful.

Hopefully, it'll be shown here, in the States, soon.

See it, and, listen to that voice! 

This is a pathetic review of an outstanding and talented personality who became part of British musical history. As a long time fan of Shirley Bassey and who later had the chance to meet her albeit briefly I was utterly disappointed with this effort. It's a boring, straight laced account of biographic detail that a school boy could have written. It's poorly acted and scripted. There's no humour even though Shirley was known for it. Worst of all, in a tale of some of the best songs ever written and sung by one of the best ever singers, there was hardly any music at all. They could at least have put in a couple of complete songs but no we just get a few lines here and here. On top of that the actress does not portray Shirley Bassey's mannerisms- there's no Bassey passion, no shake of the head, no twist of the mouth, no movement of the body. My advice is watch something else or take the dog for a walk.

When I was a child Shirley Bassey was a big draw as she had her own Saturday night show on BBC television. She was one of the few black performers to have their own prime time show.

This drama tells a condensed version of Shirley's life at breakneck speed. Growing up as a mixed race child in poverty in Cardiff, her natural father was jailed and the family seem to move from one squat to another.

However Shirley had a big voice which brought her attention to a showbiz manager who booked her to various theatres and also got a recording deal but by 16 years of age she had already become pregnant.

However despite finding fame their are setbacks. Her first husband (who was also gay) cannot get her film or theatre roles such as Nancy in Oliver because of her colour.

The drama is very much meat and potatoes. Ruth Negga looks fabulous as Shirley Bassey, Charlie Creed-Miles fares well as her manager but it just felt too straightforward, clichéd and humourless.

I'm no fan of divas and their, to borrow a phrase "tantrums and tiaras" lifestyles plus the music of Shirley Bassey means absolutely nothing to me, but this dramatisation of her early career and breakthrough caught my interest although I'll admit it struggled to hold it. Initially held back by stilted dialogue and clichéd situations, it doesn't improve much afterwards and before long the future same is talking about herself in the third person. We're meant to feel sorry for Bassey as she chases the big-time leaving her infant daughter in the care of her similarly-minded mother and her sister who improbable as it seems soon teach the little girl to call her mother "auntie", while Shirley brings home the bacon financially. Then there are the star's relationships with men which are fairly ill-starred too, taking in her cheapskate manager and homosexual first husband but the problem with the production is that it's all crammed into one hour, giving the characters outside Ruth Negga's Bassey little time to develop. In the title role Negga manages the Welsh accent well, boyo, but struggles to lip-synch the singing. I wouldn't have thought it difficult to act spoilt but I was reasonably convinced that I was watching the young Bassey The support acting was competent, nothing more in fact the whole production struggled to really engage the viewer and in trying to find a hook overplays the race card throughout. At the end I knew a few more facts about Bassey's background but next to nothing about her personal make-up and was rarely gripped by a story that I wondered needed to be told at all.

My point of interest with seeing Shirley was the subject itself, the great Shirley Bassey. This BBC drama is good, lifted by the cast, but considering how great a singer Bassey is and the cast itself part of me thought it could have been better.

The flaws with Shirley aren't apparent all the time, but when they are there they're quite glaring. Most of the drama is well-paced, compelling and fascinatingly written, not to mention moving. However some moments drag a tad, are a little clichéd in some of the situations and characters(like the scene where Mike Sullivan hears a teenage Bassey for the first time) and suffer from moments of stilted writing.

Shirley however is beautifully photographed and the attention to detail shows a lot of care and love. The soundtrack is wonderful, with the mix of Bassey's best tunes and intimate and expansive incidental music, but part of me wanted more of it. Colin Teague directs thoughtfully.

The cast are the main draw, with Lesley Sharp in fine form as Bassey's mother and Charlie Creed-Miles as Sullivan faring best in support. Ruth Negga however is astonishing, the lip-synching is not quite perfect but better than expected, however not only does Negga do a fine job with Shirley Bassey's on-stage manner and persona, but she really shines in the quieter and more introspective moments too. The sad-eyed desolation when her daughter sings her Happy Birthday is proof of this.

Overall, could've been better, but Negga, soundtrack and support cast lift it. 7/10 Bethany Cox