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Dusty An Intimate Portrait of Dusty Springfield
an intimate portrait of Dusty Springfield
244 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2008
12 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 3, 2024
First thing first. A two star rating is no reflection on its subject. Dusty Springfield was, as far as I'm concerned, one of the greatest singers this country has ever produced.
But this book...
"I hope I've done her proud" writes Sharon Davies in the introduction. Well no, you haven't, Sharon. Her writing is so dry and stilted and littered with unnecessary exclamation marks and her portrayal of Dusty lacks depth. I'm sure there must have been more to Dusty than being a crockery smashing diva who suffered from insecurity and liked animals. I don't doubt that she was any of these things but that is pretty much how she is painted here. Over and over again.
There are also annoying errors. The Animals hailed from the North East not Manchester. And describing the Pet Shop Boys as 'the gay scene's darlings of extreme sounds' beggars belief. They were, at that time, mainstream pop stars and their records were great pop records and not in the least bit 'extreme'.
I could go on (and probably have done already) but in a nutshell, a great star like Dusty deserves better than this.
But this book...
"I hope I've done her proud" writes Sharon Davies in the introduction. Well no, you haven't, Sharon. Her writing is so dry and stilted and littered with unnecessary exclamation marks and her portrayal of Dusty lacks depth. I'm sure there must have been more to Dusty than being a crockery smashing diva who suffered from insecurity and liked animals. I don't doubt that she was any of these things but that is pretty much how she is painted here. Over and over again.
There are also annoying errors. The Animals hailed from the North East not Manchester. And describing the Pet Shop Boys as 'the gay scene's darlings of extreme sounds' beggars belief. They were, at that time, mainstream pop stars and their records were great pop records and not in the least bit 'extreme'.
I could go on (and probably have done already) but in a nutshell, a great star like Dusty deserves better than this.
February 4, 2018
A very interesting read. Born Mary O'Brien, Davis traces Dusty's life from her birth in London, through her early singing career with her brother Tom in the Springfields, her solo career in the 60s with some of Britain's biggest hits with such as I only want to be with you, I just don't know what to do with myself, You don't have to say you love me and Son of a preacher man. From her quiet times in the 70s and early 80s, through to her rejuvenation with The Pet Shop Boys with What have I done to deserve this, through to her sad passing in February 1999.
Arguably the best female vocalist in Britain alongside Shirley Bassey and Adele, and one of the world's best vocalists alongside Aretha Franklin, she is easily in the top four. In the 1980s during her run with the Pet Shop Boys, them up high were trying to find the best singers in Britain. With the males there was George Michael, Cliff Richard etc, with the females there was Dusty Springfield (who was outselling George Michael easily at the time) and, no one else. Britain didn't have any modern music female vocalists, only Diana Ross and Madonna in America and Shirley Bassey who could sing a whole range of types of music were her rivals. Her other rivals (Cilla Black, Sandie Shaw, Lulu, Petula Clark and Aretha Franklin) had not been in the major charts for some time and the likes of Madonna, Kylie Minogue and others were challenging but never showing the effectiveness of Dusty (although Madonna and Minogue would be the best female vocalists in the late 80s and 90s). Indeed in modern times Adele has only really got near the vocal talent of Dusty, the saying is if you like Adele you would like Dusty and vice versa is certainly the point today.
Arguably the best female vocalist in Britain alongside Shirley Bassey and Adele, and one of the world's best vocalists alongside Aretha Franklin, she is easily in the top four. In the 1980s during her run with the Pet Shop Boys, them up high were trying to find the best singers in Britain. With the males there was George Michael, Cliff Richard etc, with the females there was Dusty Springfield (who was outselling George Michael easily at the time) and, no one else. Britain didn't have any modern music female vocalists, only Diana Ross and Madonna in America and Shirley Bassey who could sing a whole range of types of music were her rivals. Her other rivals (Cilla Black, Sandie Shaw, Lulu, Petula Clark and Aretha Franklin) had not been in the major charts for some time and the likes of Madonna, Kylie Minogue and others were challenging but never showing the effectiveness of Dusty (although Madonna and Minogue would be the best female vocalists in the late 80s and 90s). Indeed in modern times Adele has only really got near the vocal talent of Dusty, the saying is if you like Adele you would like Dusty and vice versa is certainly the point today.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews