Shirley Bassey

A quivering lip, a voice that can melt pig iron, more sequins than Liberace . . . the legendary Shirley Bassey steeled her act on the tough Northern club circuit in the '50s then let her magnificent belter of a voice carry her into the 21st century via Vegas — just one blistering note, and we're weak at the knees.

Shirley sings every song like her life depends on it, whether it's a James Bond theme — she did "Crazy", "As I love you", and "Climb Ev'ry Mountain" — or a cover of the Beatles' lilting, melancholic "Fool on the Hill", which in Shirley's hands demands a cocktail, some high heels, and a shimmy.

Not content to retire in luxury, Shirley descended triumphantly from her mansion in Switzerland to kick up a collaborative storm with the likes of Propellerheads on the tight and classy "Ave Maria". Re-mixers Groove Armada and Wild Oscar also get their hands on Shirley's uncontainable talents.

Shirley Bassey's stellar rise from Tiger Bay factory worker to Dame Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, no less, and her conquering of the re-mix circuit, shows that there's not a heart in the world she cannot wrap her tonsils around. Her incredible catalogue takes in both the cheeky calypso of "Kiss Me Honey, Honey Kiss Me" and the emotional thundercrack of "I (Who Have Nothing)" — and we're powerless to resist.