When Shirley Bassey sang Diamonds Are Forever in 1971, she can have had little idea that her own career would demonstrate the same longevity.
Today Bassey, 72, re-entered the album charts with her first album of original material in 20 years. The album, titled The Performance, entered the charts at number 20.
Her success is the latest example of a veteran artist who has found critical and commercial acclaim beyond retirement age. "It's been a vintage year for veteran artists," said Martin Talbot from the Official UK Charts Company. "The success of older acts has been growing over recent years but it has peaked in 2009."
There are a number of factors behind the twilight glory of older artists, including the changing retail landscape, said Talbot. "High street retailers like Zavvi and Woolworths have gone but supermarkets, where older music fans tend to buy their music, are playing a much bigger part in album sales. It is very easy for a £10 CD to get lost in a £150 shop," he said.
At Glastonbury in June, Neil Young, 64, drew breathless accolades from fans old and young, while 60-year-old Bruce Springsteen's staying power on the Pyramid stage put younger acts to shame.
Leonard Cohen has played to the biggest audiences of his life, aged 75, and when 67-year-old Barbra Streisand's 63rd album climbed to the top spot on the UK charts last month she became one of a handful of artists to have a number one album in five decades. And, at the age of 92, Vera Lynn became the oldest living artist to top the UK album chart with her greatest hits album in September, knocking Arctic Monkeys off top spot and outselling the positively embryonic Jamie T.
Labels are realising that chasing the grey pound makes sense when a generation of younger music fans are used to getting their tunes for free, said Will Page, chief economist at PRs for Music. "With so much ambiguity around the return on an investment in a new record by an emerging band, a safer bet might be to exploit existing records from established acts," he said.
It is not just over-50s' spending power but their willingness to pay for music that makes the difference, according to Eric Garland, head of online media measurement company BigChampagne. "Younger music fans will invest time and passion into music, but are much more likely to reach into their wallet for a video console than music," he said.
This could have profound implications for the industry: "It is beyond worrying, it is a veritable crisis," he said. "Where are these career artists, the likes of REM, Coldplay, U2, going to come from in the future?
"I don't think we are seeing the swan song of the music industry just yet, but we may be seeing it in 20 years' time."