Cocktails: Shirley Bassey’s “You Only Live Twice” (2007)

Cover art for Dame Shirley Bassey’s album, “Get The Party Started”, released in 2007 on the Lock, Stock and Barrel label.

Today’s Dame Shirley Bassey “song of the day” is “You Only Live Twice“, written by John Barry and Leslie Bricusse. “You Only Live Twice” was first recorded by Nancy Sinatra, as the title track for the 1967 James Bond 007 film of the same name. Dame Shirley recorded the song in 1987, as part of an album of Bond themes. She decided, however, not to release that album, for reasons unknown. We suspect that she not happy with the recordings.

In 1992, an album of Dame Shirley‘s recordings called, “The Bond Collection: 30th Anniversary“, was released by ICON Records without her consent. Another album, “Bassey Sings Bond“, was released in 1994 by TRING Records, again without Dame Shirley‘s consent. She sued in court successfully, in 1995, to have both albums withdrawn from sale to the public. 

Dame Shirley Bassey, backstage at the 2007 Glastonbury Music Festival, proudly showing off her diamante-encrusted Wellington boots.

Dame Shirley released “You Only Live Twice” on 2007 on her album, “Get The Party Started“. That album, which also featured her cover of Pink‘s “Get The Party Started“, was a huge success for Dame Shirley, peaking at #6 on the UK Albums Chart. The vocals for “You Only Live Twice” are from the original 1987 recording, remixed by Mark de Clive-Lowe. This song has a smooth Latin jazz feel. We at DiamondBassey.org love this song, and hope you will find it as a nice groove to close out your hectic work week, and move into a relaxing weekend. Enjoy!

Video courtesy of YouTube channel 365emmanuel

On Spotify: Shirley Bassey’s “You Only Live Twice”