UK NEWS

SHIRLEY BASSEY ‘IS ON THE MEND’

BASSEY: Expects to be well for Mandela concert

Wednesday May 28,2008

By Elisa Roche Showbusiness Editor

DAME Shirley Bassey is in hospital recovering from an emergency stomach operation, it was confirmed last night.

The 71-year-old singer was admitted to hospital in Monaco, where she lives, with abdominal pains after calling out her private doctor last week.

The Welsh star, who coined the phrase, “You don’t get older, you get better,” is said to be making a good recovery and is still expected to perform at a landmark concert next month.

She will be one of the top acts at Nelson Mandela’s 90th birthday concert in London’s Hyde Park. Last night her spokesman, Paul Carey, said: “She is making a very good recovery and doctors are happy with her progress.

“She underwent a small emergency operation to relieve stomach complications after complaining of abdominal pains, but is already feeling much better. She would hate to let her fans down.”

Dame Shirley has enjoyed chart success since the late 1950s, most notably for singing the theme tunes to three major James Bond films – Goldfinger, Diamonds Are Forever and Moonraker. Among her other hits are Big Spender, Lady Is A Tramp and History Repeating.

Last year she performed at the Glastonbury festival, arriving in a helicopter and wearing diamond encrusted Wellington boots emblazoned with her initials.

Dame Shirley was then ushered on to the stage by her own team of bodyguards to stop fans from throwing mud at her priceless Julien Macdonald outfit.

In 2000, she had a small operation on her hand at the same Monaco hospital after a recurring injury cased her tendon pain. Dame Shirley, famous for her youthful looks, is a self-confessed health freak. She recently told OK! magazine: “I work out every day. I exercise my voice and I watch what I eat. I also drink lots of water. It’s not a chore because I like the results.

“It helps if you have the right genes. When my mother was 80, she didn’t look a day over 60.”

She has kept an apartment in Monaco for over 20 years. “I like walking home with all my jewels on and not being afraid of being mugged,” she recently joked.