[ Post a Response | The Dame Shirley Bassey Message Board ]
Posted by Marc on July 2, 2008, 3:41 pm, in reply to "South African cultural boycott in the 80's when Miss Bassey performed "
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I saw the Nelson Mandela birthday concert as an opportunity for DSB to atone for appearing in South Africa during apartheid. However, someone else wrote in another thread that she would have been 'out of place' at the tribute and I guess I can understand that. While I understand that she does not consider herself political, from a personal standpoint I think it is important for her to acknowledge the harm she did by appearing in South Africa -- as someone who was half Nigerian and should have been enraged by the situation. Dusty Springfield was deported from South Africa years earlier for denouncing apartheid so I can't imagine how it escaped DSB's notice. It was great that she apologized (although I don't know when or how she did it).
In an unauthorised Tina Turner biography the author recounts an encounter between DSB and Tina Turner wherein DSB says of her appearance in South Africa -- I'm paraphrasing -- "I needed the money and my fans will understand." I am DSB's biggest fan but I do not understand her decision. I will be enormously comforted when she owns up to her ignorance or naivete or whatever it was, and makes a generous donation to some global human rights cause.
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