Life’s a Song for Bond Bombshell

Talk about divas.

Shirley Bassey has outfits that are older than some of today’s claimants to the diva label. And she has legitimately owned the title since the early ‘60s, when her only real competition in divadom came from her idol, Judy Garland.

In the intervening years, divas have come and gone; Bassey has endured. Early last year, she celebrated her 60th birthday with a United Kingdom television special, culminating an extended tour of Britain in which she was heard in concert by more than 100,000 avid fans.

And she now has become highly visible to a younger generation by performing with the English duo the Propellerheads on “History Repeating,” from their debut U.S. album, “DECKSANDDRUMSANDROCKANDROLL” (DreamWorks Records). The song is also featured in the film “There’s Something About Mary.”

Bassey brings her big, dramatic voice, her commanding stage persona, her fabulous costumes and her string of greatest hits to the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts today and Saturday, and to the Thousand Oaks Performing Arts Center on Oct. 23.

What can her audiences expect to hear from Bassey?

“Oh that’s a surprise,” the Welsh-born Bassey said with a throaty laugh, still cheerful and animated after an 11-hour flight from London. “I’m very superstitious. I never tell what I’m going to sing; I never say what I’m going to wear.”

Even so, there’s a strong possibility that Bassey will be doing numbers long associated with her--perhaps “As Long as He Needs Me” (from “Oliver!”)--and she undoubtedly will launch at least one of her trademark renderings of such James Bond movie themes as “Diamonds Are Forever” and ‘Moonraker” and her biggest hit of all, “Goldfinger.”

Unlike many singers of her generation, Bassey has never really had a down period in a career spanning more than 40 years. She had her first Top 10 hits on the British charts in 1957 and has been an international favorite ever since, still touring seven months a year, continually appearing--even throughout all the rock, disco, hip-hop and rap years--to sold-out crowds.

How has she managed to maintain such a loyal, and continually growing, base of fans?

In part, because she has always been an extraordinarily powerful live entertainer with one of the most instantly recognizable voices in popular music.

“It’s solid gold,” wrote Sydney’s Daily Telegraph, describing her singing during Bassey’s 1997 tour of Australia, “belting out the big notes over the backing brass, raunching it up, then slipping to a soft, sweet ballad with professional ease.”

Equally important, Bassey is a highly personable performer who manages to combine a magnetic presence with an easygoing audience interaction.

“Ms. Bassey arrived on stage to a standing ovation,” wrote the Sydney Morning Herald, “then set about turning admiration into adoration. This is good, old-fashioned show biz.”

Bassey has her personal recipes, both for her professional success and for the good health that has sustained her voice and her career throughout a grueling schedule of travel and public appearances.

“First of all,” she said in an interview, “I make sure that I keep the backbone of my act--the songs people want to hear, like ‘Goldfinger.’ Then, I always try to slip in between some new numbers. I added Beatles songs, for example, very early on, and I’m always looking for good new material.”

Bassey is equally precise about the way she handles her inner life.

“My two secrets are drinking lots of water and working out every day before the show. I go to the gym, I do the treadmill and I lift tiny weights. I exercise my voice, and I watch what I eat. And it’s not a chore for me because I like the results.

“Of course, it also helps if you have the right genes. My mother, when she was 80, still didn’t look a day over 60.”

And at the pace Bassey is going now, she’ll probably continue to draw adulatory crowds when she celebrates her own 80th birthday.

“I think the real secret may be that I’m doing exactly what I want to do. I’ve never acted, never really wanted to be an actress, never wanted to do anything but sing. And that desire just came out of nowhere.

“No one in my family was particularly musical, and then suddenly there I was, the youngest of seven children, with this big voice.

“So maybe it’s as simple as that,” Bassey concluded. “Maybe it was just meant to be.”

* Shirley Bassey sings today and Saturday at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, 12700 Center Court Drive. 8 p.m. both nights. $42-$57. (800) 300-4345 or (562) 916-8500.