More Dusty news

Dusty Day 2005

Celebrating the Life and music of Britain's White Lady of Soul, Dusty Springfield, the 6th Annual Dusty Day took place Sunday, April 17th 2005.

Click here for our exclusive report and photos.

News update: Pat Rhodes has contacted Colin Lench to ask him to carry on with Dusty Day.

After much thought, Colin has agreed to organise a 'Dusty Something Special', which will contain Dusty footage and Dusty music for fans to get together.

Colin would like to thank everyone for their support, e-mails and cards etc, in which many have asked him to carry on with the event. He will give out more information when details become available and the White Lady Of Soul will publish this information as soon as it becomes available. Watch this space!

Dusty The Musical

The musical Dusty had its media launch in Melbourne, Australia and opens in Melbourne on January 12th 2006, before moving to Sydney the following March.

Company members include Tamsin Carroll (right, as Dusty), Denni Hines and Trish Noble (below).

Carroll played Dusty Springfield in the workshop production of the musical, and recently appeared in Grease: The Arena Spectacular across Australia.

Read some of the reviews here:
The Age - Oh beehive!

The Age - Wishing, hoping for a hit

The Herald Sun - Soulful praise for diva Dusty

The Herald Sun - Dusty's a tearful, soulful diva-delight

Broadwayaustralia.com confirms the  show's opening as January 12, and the Sydney season to commence March 23: "Dusty The Musical is expected to have its official opening night on January 12 next year at the State Theatre in Melbourne, BroadwayAustralia.com understands.

"The show is likely to open in Sydney on Thursday, March 23 at Star City's Lyric Theatre. It will then tour to Burswood Theatre in Perth, the Adelaide Festival Centre and the Lyric Theatre in Brisbane.

"Dusty The Musical - which will focus on the life of 1960's music sensation Dusty Springfield - is to star Tamsin Carroll, Deni Hines, Kaye Tuckerman, Mitchell Butel, Trisha Noble and Glen Butcher.

"Auditions for the ensemble roles in the production have just been announced.

"Carroll being tied up with Dusty for almost a year would rule her out of contention to play the coveted role of Elphaba in the Australian production of the Broadway musical Wicked, which many believe will commence performances in Sydney from June next year. Carroll has been installed by many as a favourite to secure the role made famous by Idina Menzel on Broadway."

Dusty will be directed by Stuart Maunder and produced by Dennis Smith and Sue Farrelly.

The show is co-written by John-Michael Howson, who wrote the musical Shout, and lyricist Melvyn Morrow. After creating and appearing in the ABC's children's television program Adventure Island, Howson went on to write for The Mike Walsh Tonight Show. He then became the entertainment reporter for The Don Lane Show and The Mike Walsh Show. Living in West Hollywood, Howson relays entertainment news and views from the US, giving weekly reports to Ernie Sigley on 3AW.

Weblink: www.dustythemusical.com
 

Tamsin Carroll set to star in
Dusty The Musical

BroadwayAustralia.com is reporting that Dusty The Musical, a musical based on the life of music superstar Dusty Springfield, will open in Melbourne in December with Tamsin Carroll in the lead role.

Carroll played Dusty Springfield in the workshop production of the musical, which has been in the works for some time. She is about to appear in Grease: The Arena Spectacular across Australia.

The show is co-written by John-Michael Howson, who wrote the musical Shout, and lyricist Melvyn Morrow. After creating and appearing in the ABC's children's television program Adventure Island, Howson went on to write for The Mike Walsh Tonight Show. He then became the entertainment reporter for The Don Lane Show and The Mike Walsh Show. Living in West Hollywood, Howson relays entertainment news and views from the US, giving weekly reports to Ernie Sigley on 3AW.

It is reported that the original script for this production has been rewritten. After reading the original script, the WLoS supports the decision to rewrite and hopes that this production will provide Dusty with the respect and dignity she justifiably deserves.

More news as we get it!
 

Dusty Day 2005

Celebrating the Life and music of Britain's White Lady of Soul, Dusty Springfield, the 6th Annual Dusty Day will be on Sunday, April 17th 2005 at  Henley Rugby Club, Dry Leas, Henley on Thames, Oxfordshire. Click here for a local map.

Special guests confirmed to appear at Dusty Day 2005 are:
Simon Bell, Pat Rhodes, Maggie Stredder, plus extra-special guest star and friend of Dusty's - Madeline Bell. Madeline was a regular backing singer for Dusty and a firm friend, whilst also enjoying her own and critically acclaimed solo career. It's being reported that Madeline will perform a number of duets with Simon Bell and will sing a solo.

Other performers making their first appearance at Dusty Day 2005 are Martine Harry Davies with the Matthew Jones Orchestra & Singers.

Regrettably, Karen Noble is unable to appear, as she has a gig in NW England that day.

As in previous years, the owner of the Henley CD store World Of Music, does Dusty and Dusty Day proud, as shown in this wonderful window display!

Call the Dusty Day hotline on 07989 710713 for up-to-date information. Tickets are priced at £15 each + £1 P&P UK and £2 P&P for non-UK requests. Cheques should be made payable to C J Lench. Tickets are available NOW from:

Dusty Day UK 2005, 9 St Mary's Way, Linslade,
Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire LU7 2RX
 

Karen Noble on tour as Dusty

Karen Noble has worked professionally for thirteen years and has travelled extensively performing her Dusty Springfield tribute. She has been a regular at Dusty Day for a number of years, but sadly is unable to appear this year. However, she is currently touring and you can see Karen, as Dusty, as follows:

Dusty's Royal Albert Hall Concert on DVD!

The WLoS is delighted to report that the very long-awaited, legendary Royal Albert Hall concert is at last released on DVD!

Iconic director Mike Mansfield and producer Hilary McLaren Tipping remastered the Royal Albert Hall concert to a digital format for TV and DVD release. A digitally remixed 'Five Point One' soundtrack was produced to replace the original stereo, so those with a home cinema audio configuration will feel like they are there!

Previously unseen footage is also included. Mike and Hilary filmed interviews with those who were Dusty's nearest and dearest. 

Producer Hilary McLaren Tipping commented: "We are really excited, as our production has never before seen the light of day; in all its glorious colour and with the new fabulous sound it will be a classic 'must have' DVD.

"Director Mike Mansfield and I were amazed at how well the original footage holds up. The new digital tapes are stunning technically but, most of all, the performance is Dusty at her best, not only vocally but her interaction with the audience is so real and touching."

Mike Mansfield said: "It is utterly, utterly heartbreaking when she sings songs like Goin' Back and Quiet Please, There's A Lady On Stage - the sadness is that now the stage is empty!"

The DVD was released October 17, 2005.

Next: Dusty

Dusty features on Next, a new Jacques Brel tribute CD.

Released March 8 on the DRG label, the CD features 12 top artists who have covered Brel's sometimes challenging songs over the years, and includes Dusty's definitive version of If You Go Away. The full track listing is below.

Click here to go to the Amazon page.

Dusty is 'Best Of British'

The March issue of Best of British magazine features a two-page article about Dusty, as well as a cover spot.

We understand that the article also includes a reference to The White Lady Of Soul. The author, Mark Willerton, says: "I only hope I have done justice to her career and the fans approve!"

More details at www.bestofbritishmag.co.uk

Dusty Springfield - A Celebration

A new musical event celebrating the music of Dusty Springfield will be presented at Solihull Arts Complex on Thursday 14 July, 2005.

From the makers of The Carpenters UK, Matthew Jones Productions proudly present an exciting and collaborative concert celebrating the life and music of the late Dusty Springfield.

Complete with the Matthew Jones Orchestra, Singers and Youth Choir, Musical Director Matthew Jones shares the stage with vocalist Martine Harry-Davis. The Concert, narrated by Janet Johnson, features all the favourite songs, including Son of a Preacher Man, The Look of Love, I Close my Eyes and Count to Ten and You Don’t have to Say You Love Me.

Suitable for any age range, tickets for this one night performance are £14 each (£12 concessions). Booking information here

See the full programme for Solihull Arts Complex here.

Our thanks to Carole Gibson for this item.
 

New Son of a Preacher Man!

Dusty fans now have the opportunity to influence a new release of Son Of A Preacher Man, this time recorded by Kelly Marie.

Right click on the link below and select 'Save Target As...' to download the demo track to your machine. Once you've given it a listen, drop in at the Dusty Community and let us all know what you think!

Download MP3 here (2 MB)

Paul Bond of LINBO1 records, based in Bristol says:

“We have reworked the Son Of A Preacher Man track, keeping it as original as possible but with a Now sound. The original production of the song was phenomenal, so what we have done (we hope) is not to have done a sample track but to have recreated it in a manner that we hope Dusty would have appreciated.

“We are trying to incorporate some of Dusty's vocal so that people know that its a DUSTY TRACK, and both younger and older generations will relive the MASSIVENESS of this unique artiste DUSTY SPRINGFIELD.”

So what do you think? Paul is looking for your views and he hopes that this track will be massive selling single. Apparently it has already attracted lots of interest. So, if you've not joined already, join the Dusty Springfield Community and let us know your thoughts!

Read about LINBO1 Records and Kelly Marie here.
 

Son of a Preacher Man to download!

The dance remix version of Dusty's Son Of A Preacher Man has just been made available as a legal download from www.mycokemusic.com, where it is currently featuring on the Home page (once you get past the introduction and choose Take Me To The Shop).

A 30-second clip is available free, but to download the full track you will need to register with the site and purchase 99 credits (at a cost of 99p) from the site, via a secure transaction.

A search facility is also provided, in case you are unable to find the Dusty link.

Once you've downloaded it, drop in at the Dusty Springfield Community and let us know what you think!

It is believed that original plans to release this as a single have not materialised, so this may be our only opportunity to get this version!

Please note, neither the White Lady of Soul or the Dusty Springfield Community are affiliated in any way with MyCokeMusic.com

RIP Nicholas

Dusty's much beloved cat, Nicholas, has died at the grand age of 21.

Nicholas, a Californian Rag Doll, was the focal point of Dusty's life and, following her breast cancer diagnosis, his welfare was one of her major concerns.

Lee Everett-Alkin, Kenny Everett’s widow, took care of Nicholas after Dusty's death and at her request. It was reported that Dusty specified that Nicholas's bed was to be lined with her night-gown, her recordings played to him at night and that he should dine on imported American baby food for at least another year after her death.

Lee Everett-Alkin kept this promise as well as moving the cat’s 7-foot indoor tree house into her own home!

Mike Gill, RIP

Mike Gill died on 18 September 2004 after suffering a heart attack.

Mike was Dusty’s publicist when she was with Philips records and went on to manage the release of Dusty’s back catalogue onto CD, providing remixes of many of Dusty’s songs. In total Mike Gill has been associated with Dusty for over 30 years.

Colin Morris, speaking for Mike Gill’s family and friends said of the tributes paid to Mike by members of the Dusty Springfield Community:

"On behalf of Michael's family and friends, I'd like to thank everyone for the kind messages on this forum. He was justifiably proud of the work he did with and for Dusty. Your thoughts would have meant a lot to him.

"I was with Michael when he passed away. He was in a coma after suffering a heart attack from which he did not regain consciousness.

"Michael lived fast, died young and stayed pretty. Wherever he is, I'm sure he and Dusty are keeping the rest of the inhabitants entertained.”

Classics & Collectibles

Universal Records released the double CD Classics & Collectibles on September 6, 2004.

The set contains 51 tracks, including previously unreleased recordings, mono versions, alternate takes and remixes. See the full tracklisting here.

Web retailers eil.com were carrying this item for pre-order at £12.99, USD 23.77, €19.10

Dusty look-alike contest at
Don't Knock The Rock

This year Don't Knock The Rock Film And Music Festival  honoured Dusty with a Dusty Springfield look-alike contest.

The contest will be held at the Beauty Bar Los Angeles (which,  curiously, is actually in Hollywood) at 1638 North Cahuenga Blvd. on Saturday August 14 at 4:30 pm (sign in from 4pm).

Contestants are to show up in Dusty drag and parade their best Dusty moves before the "special guest judges". The winner will receive a subscription to the Dusty Springfield Bulletin purchased for them by Dusty songwriter Allee Willis, who is also a member of the DKTR board.

The contest will be followed up by a screening of "Full Circle" in the same venue.

See the Don't Knock The Rock website for updates and further information.

Dusty at RAH

The Dusty Springfield Bulletin also reports that Universal are having high level discussions surrounding the long awaited and much anticipated release of the Royal Albert Hall concert on CD and DVD. Although not confirmed as yet it is anticipated that it will be released in late 2004.

The Dusty Springfield Bulletin will be releasing a video exclusively to their members, which will contain two of Dusty's appearances on The Hollywood Palace in 1969 and 1970. One performance features Dusty appearing and singing with Robert Goulet, and the other shows Dusty appearing with Burt Bacharach and Angie Dickinson. Both shows are on one tape and are of excellent quality.

It also rumoured that the Dusty movie will be going ahead. Joely Fisher is tipped for the starring role and it is anticipated that she will sing Dusty’s songs as opposed to lip sync, as was previously expected.

It looks as though 2004 could be an excellent year for Dusty fans!

Join the the largest Dusty Springfield Community on the Internet and discuss this and more with almost 200 other Dusty fans by clicking here.

Later... With Jools Holland Giants DVD

Competition results

The Dusty Springfield Community recently held a  special competition with two Later... DVDs as prizes, kindly donated to The White Lady Of Soul by Warner Music Vision. More details of this exciting new release are given below.

Two Dusty Community Members have won themselves a copy of the DVD by providing the ten correct answers to the lyric competition. This competition has been exclusive to Dusty Community members.

We are proud to announce that our two lucky winners are:

• Carole Robinson
• Carole Gibson

Congratulations to our two winners!

Dusty on new Jools’ Giants DVD

The new Later With Jools Holland...Giants DVD contains performances from some of the greatest musicians to grace the stage of BBC2's flagship music show.

Released by Warner Music Vision with a RRP of £19.99, the DVD contains a fantastic performance from Dusty Springfield singing Where Is A Woman To Go, taken from the series which aired in June 1995, plus an interview with Dusty, as part of the DVD's special features.

Other artists featured include Paul McCartney, Tom Jones, Elvis Costello, Robbie Williams and Paul Weller. A full track listing can be found here.

The press release for this latest in the successful series of Later...  collections states:

Click the picture for a larger image

On Later with Jools Holland GIANTS, our host introduces us to some of the greatest musical legends of the last thirty years. Performances from massive selling artists Paul McCartney, Johnny Cash, Dusty Springfield, Tom Jones, R.E.M., Tony Bennett, Blondie, Willie Nelson and Page & Plant set the stage alight, presenting a must-have DVD. Continuing the theme of special features of previous releases, Later... GIANTS explores the Later experience further, with ten interviews with the performing artists featured. Paul McCartney recalls the magic of the Beatles which he describes as “...a good little band”, Leonard Cohen talks of his early country music influences and Tony Bennett tells how Bob Hope discovered, renamed and set him off to stardom. Other interviewees at the piano with Jools include Cash, Springfield, Nelson and more.

Later... producer Alison Howe commented of the DVD, “We regard this collection of performances as some of our own crown jewels and we are made up that finally they can be enjoyed over and over again.”

The DVD, with a full running time of over two hours, includes a feature which enables you to programme your favourite six tracks and play them in your preferred order.

Amazon are selling the Region 2 DVD at £16.99. We are advised that the DVD supports all the regions listed below, so those outside Region 2 with multi-region DVD players should be able play it but please check first!

Running time: 141 minutes
Format: PAL 16:9
Catalogue no,: 2564-60610-2
Subtitles available in English, French, Dutch and Spanish
Regions: 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6

Dusty Sings Classic Soul

Dusty Sings Classic Soul was released by Mercury on 20 October 2003 and available through Amazon at £7.99.

The track listing as follows:

The “Ultimate” CD Collection

Dusty Springfield – The Ultimate Collection is a new triple CD  released by Universal on 26th October 2003, and should not be confused with the single CD of the same title released by Hip-O Records in 2001.

There are 47 tracks, the most intriguing of which is a track entitled Will You Marry Me Tomorrow! One assumes this is a misprint of Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow.

The overview on CD Universe describes it as:

“32bit digitally remastered triple disc set with a generous heap of the late Ms. Springfield's hits from her entire dazzling singing career, from her early days with brother Tom in The Springfields to her pop revival in the 80s and 90s with The Pet Shop Boys and her final recording sessions in Nashville.”

Unfortunately there is no cover artwork to show as yet, but the full tracklisting can be found by clicking here.

Thanks to Dusty Community Members Karl and Linton for this information.

Dusty stage show

MELBOURNE to host the world premiere of new musical

This new show, with a budget of Au. $8 million, has been written by John-Michael Howson, David Mitchell and Melvyn Morrow, all of whom collaborated to produce the Johnny O'Keefe show “SHOUT”. Mike Walsh will be producing the show, with Vicki Wickham acting as consultant.

Howson is quoted as saying that the show places the dramatic emphasis on Dusty’s “star persona” and how this is at odds with “the very fragile, bespectacled school girl” that she could never quite distance herself from.

After its Melbourne debut, the show will head to Sydney.

The announcement was made on “Good Morning Australia” on  September 8, 2003. They inferred that it had been a real effort to keep it secret so as not to jeopardise the production before all ends were tied up. The show will premier at Her Majesties where Ben Elton's West End show We Will Rock You is currently playing. Her Majesties is the premier live theatre in Melbourne.

Speaking from London, promoter Mike Walsh said: “There have been some splendid tribute shows based on Dusty Springfield's music, but this show is the full-on big musical staging that her life and career deserves.

“The show will open at Her Majesty's Theatre on June 24 next year. Seasons in London and the US will follow the Australian season.”

There are rumours that a sound-track album of the show will follow... Watch this space for further details!

Thanks to White Lady Of Soul visitor Ian for the original information

New look for Dusty Community

The Dusty Community goes from strength to strength, and recently received a dramatic makeover, with the addition of several new features.

If you're not yet a member, call in for a look. Members can chat with other Dusty fans, join in polls and swap and sell Dusty memorabilia.

Catch up with past news on our Archive page