Bassey slams Church's binge-drinking

Music

13:30 06 July 2005

Charlotte Church has come under fire from Dame Shirley Bassey - for turning into a heavy-drinking rock chick.

The Cardiff-born diva claims her fellow Welshwoman has "let herself down" by partying hard with pals, and says Charlotte has made a "very bad choice" by ditching classical music for pop rock.

Dame Shirley has advised Charlotte to take a year off to rethink her image and career.

She said: "She needs to take a long rest - a year off to go away and think. Because she made a very bad choice moving into rock music. She was once the classical voice of an angel. Not now."

The 'Goldfinger' singer has also warned Charlotte will damage her voice if she continues to drink so much.

She added in an interview with Britain's Daily Telegraph: "I think Charlotte has let herself down. When I was that age, there was no such thing as binge drinking. We used to say, 'Let's go to a dance and see what gorgeous fellows we can meet.'

"Now girls like Charlotte say, 'Let's go and see how many drinks we can knock back.' I think it's dreadful. You damage the liver and it is not good for the voice."

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