Shirley Bassey appears on the Sunday, Sunday TV Show in 1984. She is first interviewed by host, Gloria Hunniford, and then she performs one of her signature songs, "This Is My Life".
NOTE: This video footage is of very poor condition. Unfortunately, not much can be done when the original video quality is this bad. But, as always Shirley's vocals come shining through.
ABOUT this song:
This Is My Life (La vita) is a 1968 album by Shirley Bassey that was released in Italy on the United Artists label (UA 9035).
Bassey had started living as a tax exile in 1968, and was not permitted to work in Britain for two years. In 1968 Bassey performed at the Sanremo Music Festival in Italy singing the song "La vita." This song was originally written by Bruno Canfora, with (Italian) lyrics by Antonio Amurri. For the song Bassey sang at the festival, the lyrics were partially rewritten in English by Norman Newell.
Side one of the album included only Italian songs with the exception of "La vita" which is the version with a mix of Italian and English lyrics. Side two is an edited version of the This Is My Life album that was released in Britain and the USA, with the addition of "To Give" which was only included in this album and on a single. Of the six songs recorded in Italian on this album only "La vita" has had a CD release. It appeared on the 1994 boxset Bassey - The EMI/UA Years 1959 - 1979. While in exile Bassey recorded several songs that were exclusively released in Italy and also performed frequently on Italian television.
In the next step in the evolution of "La vita," Newell wrote English lyrics for the remaining Italian parts and the result was "This Is My Life." This English-only version became one of Bassey's signature songs, often the final encore that she performs in concert.
LYRICS:
Funny how a lonely day, can make a person say:
What good is my life
Funny how a breaking heart, can make me start to say:
What good is my life
Funny how I often seem,
to think I'll find never another dream In my life
Till I look around and see,
this great big world is part of me
And my life
This is my life
Today, tomorrow, love will come and find me
But that's the way that I was born to be
This is me
This is me
This is my life
And I don't give a damn for lost emotions
I've such a lot of love I've got to give
Let me live
Let me live
Sometime when I feel afraid,
I think of what a mess I've made Of my life
Crying over my mistakes,
forgetting all the breaks I've had
In my life
I was put on earth to be,
a part of this great world is me
And my life
Guess I'll just add up the score,
and count the things I'm grateful for
In my life
This Is my life
Today, tomorrow, love will come and find me
But that's the way that I was born to be
This is me
This is me
This is my life
And I don't give a damn for lost emotions
I've such a lot of love I've got to give
Let me live
Let me live
This is my life
This is my life
This is my life
ABOUT Gloria Hunniford:
Gloria Hunniford (born Mary Winifred Gloria Hunniford on 10 April 1940 in Portadown, County Armagh, Northern Ireland) is a TV and radio presenter, and formerly a singer.
Hunniford was born in Portadown, Northern Ireland, into a Protestant family, her father was a member of the Orange Order. Named after actress Gloria Swanson, Hunniford was originally a singer. She was popular in her native Northern Ireland, worked in Canada and has made many records. She returned to Northern Ireland as a BBC production assistant in Belfast, and a local radio broadcaster. In the 1970s and 1980s she was the presenter of Good Evening Ulster and on network ITV Sunday Sunday and We Love TV.
Hunniford was the first woman to have her own daily radio show on BBC Radio 2, starting off with the lunchtime show before moving to the early afternoon slot in 1985 where she remained for 10 years. She also hosted Sounding Brass a music phone-in request programme with a live brass band, the idea devised by radio producer Owen Spencer-Thomas.
As a television presenter and celebrity, Hunniford has appeared on numerous programs including Gloria Live, Wogan, Holiday, Songs of Praise, That's Showbusiness, Kilroy and Sunday, Sunday and Open House with Gloria Hunniford. She has won awards including TV Personality of the Year and Best Dressed Female, and has made a health and exercise video called Fit for Life. In 2005, she appeared on the BBC's pro-celebrity ballroom dancing show, Strictly Come Dancing, dancing with Darren Bennett.
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