Surviving Divas

Love 'em or hate 'em, you have to give 'em credit. They are the human equivalent of the cockroach - indestructible. Even if their music is not to your taste, you still have to admire their hard work and determination to still 'be' in today's overly plastic music industry. Some say they should give up, some say its desperation personified... I say keep going! I am, of course, talking about the long standing, amazing voiced, gravity defying over 60's diva extraordinaires. I realise just how gay this makes me sound, but I feel they need some (more) recognition now and again.

Cher is 62, and thanks to the pioneering efforts from plastic surgeons, she hasn't even started puberty yet. Putting her silicone to one side though, so to speak, her music career has spanned over 40 decades with numerous hits. Her Living Proof farewell tour lasted from 2002 until 2005 (jeeez, GO already!) with 325 shows and grossed over $250 million, the highest grossing tour ever for a female artist. A few more facts for you: her single 'Believe' is the 3rd biggest-selling single released by a female singer worldwide, the biggest-selling dance song selling over 10 million records worldwide, the Guinness World Records list her as the only female recording artist to have top 10 hits in every decade of her career and the oldest female artist to reach number one. She's a massive gay icon, a dedicated humanitarian, a mother of 2, an ex wife twice and still going! Shes recently made a come back in Vegas' Caesars Palace signing a deal for $180 million, adding to her estimated $600 million net wealth. I think at 62 she's still doing amazingly, and even though she is no longer recording new material, she is still singing with that unforgettable voice.

Tina Turner is 69 and is still going. She married Ike and they subsequently shot to fame with their Review show The Ike and Tina Turner Review. Their marriage was based largely on music and his drug and abuse habits. He regularly hit her but she was scared to leave until their divorce in 1978 where she walked away with nothing but debts and her stage name (her real name is Anna Mae Bullock). She has been acknowledged as one of the world's most popular and biggest-selling music artists of all time and is the most successful female rock artist of all time with record sales exceeding 180 million. She announced that her last tour, Twenty Four Seven, would be her last. That was until she announced her newest tour kicking off in October and coming to London in March 2009.. i guess she needs money for a few more wigs! Shes a true survivor.

Dame Shirley (made DBE in 1999) is the only singer to ever record more than one James Bond theme song and has had many hit songs and won numerous awards. She has been married twice and has 2 daughters and one adopted son. Unfortunately one of her daughters was found dead after jumping from a bridge in Bristol. The Welsh singer had her first hit in 1957 and had continued success until she took 'semi retirement' in the 80's when she chose to take up charity work. She made a come back in 2006 when she covered Pink's Get the Party Started and then performed at Glastonbury in 2007 wearing a dress fit for a (drag) queen and customised wellies. She lives in Monte Carlo and swans around looking fabulous saying 'darling' a lot. I've met her and she's amazing and can still hit those notes!

It seems that the older Diva's are getting bored with their pensions and bus passes and coming out of the old age home for a good old sing song once again. Chaka Khan (shes a young one at 55) is just about to release her new album 'Funk You' and her new single with Mary J is faab. Dolly Parton (62 years old and by far the most surgically enhanced) has just released her new album, Backwards Barbie. Her voice hasn't changed in years, still just as good. And then there's Liza Minnelli, and at 62 she is definitely still going! I saw her show recently and even though you can hear what 20 Marlboro lights an hour does to your voice, her performance is spectacular! She needs help on and off the stage but can sing and dance once up there for hours. Having said that, seeing a grandma in a leotard is NEVER nice! She really is a survivor... her mother dying young, an illness that nearly killed her, 2 knee replacements, chain smoker, an Oscar, a glittering stage/film/music career and still going!