Dusty Day 2005
The Final Celebration?

Simon Bell performed an excellent set of Motown classics. The highlight here was Madeline Bell and Kay Garner singing background vocals for Simon, as he belted out Edwin Starr’s SOS.

Click here for exclusive video of this song (Windows Media, 10.9 MB).*

Simon and Madeline then performed a brilliant rendition of Private Number together, with many humorous asides providing evidence of their long and abiding friendship.

There was much amusement at the close of this song as a painting of Dusty, hung on the curtains behind them, fell to the floor as the song concluded (see below!). One wonders what message Dusty may have been communicating here!
 

To sing this particular song before an audience of die-hard Dusty fans was a very brave thing to do – and she pulled it off perfectly.
 

Dusty Day is something of a pilgrimage for many fans, and once again Dusty’s memorial stone gathered many floral tributes throughout the weekend. This picture was taken early on Sunday 17, but by Monday 18 many more flowers and plants had been lovingly laid in her memory.
 

After years of hard work and dedication to the task, both Colin and Noel are stepping down from their respective roles, leaving the future of Dusty Day in the balance.

In a long and heartfelt speech, in which he praised and thanked Colin for the lead role he has taken in organising the celebration, Noel spoke of how the ‘many detractors’ and armchair critics had caused both of them personal pain over the years and now it was time to draw this aspect of their lives to a close.

 
The fans left Henley cheerful after a great day, but concerned that this annual celebration of Dusty’s life and music has come to an end. However, these are early days and it is hoped that Dusty Day will continue, but just how definite this is, and what the format will take, remains unsure.

Update: It looks like there WILL be a Dusty Day 2006, on Sunday April 16 (Dusty's birthday), but the venue and plans have yet to be confirmed. Early indications are that it will be a scaled-down day. More news on our News page as we get it! 

* Amateur footage of Simon Bell singing 'SOS' at Dusty Day 2005, with Madeline Bell and Kay Garner on backing vocals.

Due to server limitations we are unable to offer this clip of Simon singing as "streaming video", so Media Player has to buffer the file before playing. Unfortunately the file is slow to download, but it is well worth it! Our thanks to DSC member Dustycat for making this unique recording available.