# The Performance

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/The_Performance
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/The_Performance.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Performance
> Source revision: 1344634850
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

{{other uses|Performance (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox album
| name       = The Performance
| type       = studio
| artist     = [Shirley Bassey](/source/Shirley_Bassey)
| cover      = DSB the performance.jpg
| alt        =
| released   = 9 November 2009
| recorded   = 2009
| studio     =
| genre      = [Pop](/source/Pop_music)
| length     = 42:11
| label      = [Geffen](/source/Geffen_Records)
| producer   = [David Arnold](/source/David_Arnold)
| prev_title = [Get the Party Started](/source/Get_the_Party_Started_(album))
| prev_year  = 2007
| next_title = [Hello Like Before](/source/Hello_Like_Before)
| next_year  = 2014
}}
{{Music ratings
| rev1 = [AllMusic](/source/AllMusic)
| rev1score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-performance-mw0001788366|title=The Performance - Shirley Bassey - Songs, Reviews, Credits - AllMusic|website=[AllMusic](/source/AllMusic)|accessdate=3 October 2017}}</ref>
| rev2 = [BBC Music](/source/BBC_Music)
| rev2score = favourable<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/wrzb/|title=BBC - Music - Review of Dame Shirley Bassey - The Performance|last=Hocknell|first=Tom|access-date=30 April 2017}}</ref>
| rev3 = ''[Daily Telegraph](/source/Daily_Telegraph)''
| rev3score = {{Rating|3|5}}<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/cdreviews/6501901/Shirley-Bassey-The-Performance-CD-review.html|title=Shirley Bassey: The Performance, CD review|last=Sweeting|first=Adam|newspaper=[The Telegraph](/source/Daily_Telegraph)|access-date=30 April 2017|language=en}}</ref>
| rev4 = ''[The Observer](/source/The_Observer)'' 
| rev4score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/nov/01/shirley-bassey-performance-review|title=Shirley Bassey: The Performance|last=Robinson|first=Peter|date=31 October 2009|newspaper=[The Guardian](/source/The_Guardian)|access-date=30 April 2017|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref>
| rev5 = ''[The Scotsman](/source/The_Scotsman)'' 
| rev5score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/features/Album-review-Dame-Shirley-Bassey.5785013.jp|title=Album review: Dame Shirley Bassey|newspaper=[The Scotsman](/source/The_Scotsman)|language=en|access-date=30 April 2017}}</ref>
| rev6 = ''[The Times](/source/The_Times)''
| rev6score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/cd_reviews/article6895666.ece|title=The Times & The Sunday Times|newspaper=[The Times](/source/The_Times)|language=en|access-date=30 April 2017}}{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>
| noprose = yes
}}

'''''The Performance''''' is an album by the Welsh singer [Shirley Bassey](/source/Shirley_Bassey), released on 9 November 2009. It is her first studio album of original compositions in three decades. The album was executive produced by music executive Paul Carey. English [film composer](/source/film_music) [David Arnold](/source/David_Arnold) co-produced the entire album with Mike Dixon. Songs on the album were written specifically for Bassey by renowned writers such as [Rufus Wainwright](/source/Rufus_Wainwright), [Gary Barlow](/source/Gary_Barlow), and [Pet Shop Boys](/source/Pet_Shop_Boys). The recording of the album became the subject of a [BBC](/source/BBC) documentary titled ''The Girl from Tiger Bay'' named after the song written for the project by [James Dean Bradfield](/source/James_Dean_Bradfield) and [Nicky Wire](/source/Nicky_Wire) of [Manic Street Preachers](/source/Manic_Street_Preachers).<ref name="songfacts">{{cite web
  | url = http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=18109
  | title = The Girl From Tiger Bay
  | work = Songfacts.com
  | accessdate = 19 February 2010
}}</ref> The album gained favourable reviews and was certified gold in the UK for sales of over 100,000 copies.

== Background ==
Music Executive Paul Carey came up with the concept for The Performance. He approached music producer David Arnold about the album project who had recently produced music scores for the James Bond franchise. Having entered semi-retirement and not having toured for a few years, Bassey was unsure about recording again until she heard that a number of famous songwriters were keen to contribute to the album. With artists such as [Manic Street Preachers](/source/Manic_Street_Preachers), [Gary Barlow](/source/Gary_Barlow), [Nick Hodgson](/source/Nick_Hodgson) (the then-drummer and backing vocalist of the [Kaiser Chiefs](/source/Kaiser_Chiefs)), and the [Pet Shop Boys](/source/Pet_Shop_Boys) involved, Bassey felt honoured by the contributions and agreed to do the album. The first song ready for the album was the [Rufus Wainwright](/source/Rufus_Wainwright) composition, "Apartment". The recording took place during 2009 with the orchestral arrangements taking place sometime before the vocals were laid down - a process Bassey was unfamiliar with. The vocal sessions took place in Grouse Lodge Studios, [Westmeath](/source/Westmeath), [Ireland](/source/Ireland).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dameshirleybassey.com/?page_id=5|title=諸経費をチェック！ - 中古車を買う前に|website=www.dameshirleybassey.com|access-date=3 October 2017}}</ref>
 
Bassey commented that the songs were very different from anything she had recorded before, with songs such as "After the Rain" being in a much lower-key than she would normally use, while the Arnold composition "As God Is My Witness" was almost scrapped due to a disagreement about the arrangement. Gary Barlow said that he had struggled to complete his song, "This Time", and as Bassey found it lyrically too long, some sections were abandoned. Barlow came into the studio to play it to them, having been unable to record a demo in time. The only female writer, [KT Tunstall](/source/KT_Tunstall) revealed that her song "Nice Men" was originally titled "Nice Boys", but thought that a 72-year-old woman referring to 'boys' was perhaps distasteful. Of the [Pet Shop Boys](/source/Pet_Shop_Boys) composition, "The Performance of My Life", Bassey remarked that the lyrics hit close to home and moved her to tears during recording. Songwriter [Neil Tennant](/source/Neil_Tennant) said that it was about a diva, who lived her life on stage but was not specifically about Bassey. At the end of the recording, Bassey said that the experience was both "frustrating, but exhilarating".<ref>''Imagine: The Girl from Tiger Bay'', [BBC Television](/source/BBC_Television), November 2009</ref> Also of note is the song "Our Time is Now," a collaborative effort between veteran Bond composer and long-time Bassey collaborator [John Barry](/source/John_Barry_(composer)) and lyricist [Don Black](/source/Don_Black_(lyricist)), with the duo having previously penned the Bond theme song "[Diamonds Are Forever](/source/Diamonds_Are_Forever_(soundtrack))" for her in 1971. Of the finished album, she was said to be "ecstatic".

No singles were released from the album, although separate sources{{who|date=April 2019}} named both "Apartment" and "This Time" as the first release. Ultimately, neither was made available. The album spent 8 weeks on the UK albums chart, peaking at No. 20.<ref name=Charts>{{cite web|url=http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/4336/shirley-bassey/|title=SHIRLEY BASSEY - full Official Chart History - Official Charts Company|website=www.officialcharts.com|accessdate=3 October 2017}}</ref> The album was certified gold by the BPI for sales of over 100,000 copies in the UK indicating that while it did not chart as highly as her previous album ''[Get the Party Started](/source/Get_the_Party_Started_(album))'', it ultimately outsold it.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bpi.co.uk/certified-awards.aspx|title=BPI Awards Database - Shirley Bassey|publisher=|access-date=3 October 2017}}</ref>

==Track listing==
{{Track listing
| headline        = ''The Performance'' track listing
| title1          = Almost There
| writer1         = [Tom Baxter](/source/Tom_Baxter)
| length1         = 4:52
| title2          = Apartment
| writer2         = [Rufus Wainwright](/source/Rufus_Wainwright)
| length2         = 3:29
| title3          = This Time
| writer3         = [Gary Barlow](/source/Gary_Barlow)
| length3         = 4:10
| title4          = I Love You Now
| writer4         = [Nick Hodgson](/source/Nick_Hodgson)
| length4         = 3:45
| title5          = Our Time Is Now
| writer5         = [John Barry](/source/John_Barry_(composer)), [Don Black](/source/Don_Black_(lyricist))
| length5         = 3:10
| title6          = As God Is My Witness
| writer6         = [David Arnold](/source/David_Arnold), [David McAlmont](/source/David_McAlmont)
| length6         = 4:33
| title7          = No Good About Goodbye
| writer7         = Arnold, [Don Black](/source/Don_Black_(lyricist))
| length7         = 4:21
| title8          = The Girl from Tiger Bay
| writer8         = [Manic Street Preachers](/source/Manic_Street_Preachers), Arnold
| length8         = 4:17
| title9          = Nice Men
| writer9         = [KT Tunstall](/source/KT_Tunstall)
| length9         = 2:53
| title10         = After the Rain
| writer10        = [Richard Hawley](/source/Richard_Hawley)
| length10        = 3:05
| title11         = The Performance of My Life
| writer11        = [Neil Tennant](/source/Neil_Tennant), [Chris Lowe](/source/Chris_Lowe)
| length11        = 3:33
}}

==Charts==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}

===Weekly charts===
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+Weekly chart performance for ''The Performance''
! scope="col"| Chart (2009)
! scope="col"| Peak<br />position
|-
{{album chart|Germany|81|id=120534|artist=Dame Shirley Bassey|album=The Performance|rowheader=true|access-date=3 November 2021}}
|-
! scope="row"| Greek Albums ([IFPI](/source/IFPI_Greece))<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://greekcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Dame+Shirley+Bassey&titel=The+Performance&cat=a |title=Greekcharts.com - Dame Shirley Bassey - the Performance |access-date=23 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724035956/http://greekcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Dame+Shirley+Bassey&titel=The+Performance&cat=a |archive-date=24 July 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
| 37
|-
{{album chart|Ireland2|91|artist=Dame Shirley Bassey|rowheader=true|access-date=3 November 2021}}
|-
{{album chart|Scotland|20|date=20091115|rowheader=true|access-date=3 November 2021}}
|-
{{album chart|UK2|20|date=20091115|rowheader=true|access-date=3 November 2021}}
|}
{{col-2}}

===Year-end charts===
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+Year-end chart performance for ''The Performance''
! scope="col"| Chart (2009)
! scope="col"| Position
|-
! scope="row"| UK Albums (OCC)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/end-of-year-artist-albums-chart/20090104/37502/|title=End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2009|publisher=Official Charts Company|access-date=3 November 2021}}</ref>
| 96
|}
{{col-end}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Shirley Bassey}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Performance}}
Category:Shirley Bassey albums
Category:2009 albums

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [The Performance](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Performance) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Performance?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.