FREE DUSTY: AN INTIMATE PORTRAIT OF A MUSICAL LEGEND PDF Karen Bartlett | 352 pages | 12 Apr 2016 | Biteback Publishing | 9781849548762 | English | London, United Kingdom Jefferson Studios | Dusty Springfield (Women of Atlantic) Her father was a tax consultant, her mother kept house Dusty: An Intimate Portrait of a Musical Legend they took their holidays in Bognor Regis. Her Catholic parents had a deeply unhappy marriage and Dusty, with her brother Dion, found a release in music. As soon as she left school aged 16 she transformed herself. Her distinctive voice brought her chart success in the s. Early in her career she recorded the anti-war song, Broken Blossoms. She championed black American artists, challenging the racism that prevented her black friends finding somewhere to rent in London. When she visited New York in she wandered happily around Harlem. She also took on the sexism that ran through the industry and tried to take control of her song choices and the production of her music. Then she made the front pages for her stand against apartheid in South Africa. Dusty was determined to have it written into her contract that she would only perform to mixed audiences. She Dusty: An Intimate Portrait of a Musical Legend deported from South Africa with a police escort. But by the time she died in from breast cancer, the world was aware of the turmoil behind the smiles. Her battles with addiction, her outbursts and penchant for hurling crockery around, and her long-standing struggle with her sexuality have all been documented. But this book fills in some of the gaps, including the mental health problems that blighted her later years. And perhaps there is the real tragedy of her life. Skip to main content. Search form. Toggle navigation. Issue section:. December Andrea Butcher. Karen Bartlett. Robson Press. Buy from Bookmarks. Dusty: An Intimate Portrait of a Musical Legend - Karen Bartlett - Google книги Dusty was not only an icon, was also an iconoclast who was ahead of her time in both her professional and personal life. And her achievements paved the way for modern English soul sirens like Amy Winehouse and Adele. She exercised a level of control over her work that other female singers dreamed of, but dared not demand. She was a feminist and a civil rights activist by example rather than by word. In order to get ahead, she had to be tough, outspoken, and composed — but she was actually vulnerable, shy, and internally breaking at the seams. And of course, she faced many more challenges in her career as compared to her male peers. So how did this introverted female artist achieve such notoriety and fame despite the numerous obstacles in her path? I certainly have. Dusty had what is known as a meteoric rise to stardom, but after a decade of success, she did what meteors actually do, she fell. She fell from public favor through a cataclysmic combination of bad timing and dysfunctional behavior. Encouraged, she returned to the studio to record a new album of her own, which in turn spun two more UK hits. And as a starting point, I asked her what personal characteristics set Dusty apart from many other Dusty: An Intimate Portrait of a Musical Legend musicians of her generation. Karen Bartlett: She knew what she wanted to achieve and she just went for it. Here was this girl who started life as a convent school girl from a very strict Irish-Catholic family. Now obviously there were stages along the way, but essentially, she knew that this persona was out there and she went out and grabbed it. Her parents were seemingly ordinary people as her father was a tax accountant and her mother a housewife, but they were also somewhat eccentric and dysfunctional. For example, they were prone to off-beat conduct like food fights, even if guests happen to be present. But her parents also exerted a positive Dusty: An Intimate Portrait of a Musical Legend over Dusty: An Intimate Portrait of a Musical Legend two children as they were very musical and listened to a wide array of music outside of the normal pop fair, blues, classical and jazz, especially from American composers like George Gershwin and Duke Ellington, and singers like Peggy Lee were often played in the family home and inspire the young Mary and her brother Dionne. In fact, in an early display of self conviction, Mary was so inspired that at the age of 12, she went to the local record shop where she recorded herself singing an Irving Berlin standard. Karen Bartlett: She went out with her brother and they started singing in little nightclubs around London. And right from the beginning, she knew that she had that talent. And I think everyone thought including him really, that he was the one who was going to be the star, but she had that extra added element to her. And so, she Dusty: An Intimate Portrait of a Musical Legend appreciate all of that, but she really hated all of those constraints. She hated the costume, she hated the fluffy music, she hated all of that. And she knew that she was ready to go on from there into the next stage of her career. And so, it seemed natural that that was the next evolution of her career. And so Dusty became Dusty, Dusty Springfield. In terms of style, they were almost like a British version of pop folk group, Peter, Paul and Mary. Top And despite the amazing success she had enjoyed in her career thus far, she was inspired to make an artistic U-turn. Towards the end ofshe told her brothers she was leaving to start her own solo career. Dusty biographer, Karen Bartlett. The Springfields, people tend to forget because of course then The Beatles came along. But for a few years, The Springfields were a really, really top group, particularly in Britain. They had massive hit records, they were hugely popular and Dusty was very popular. And I think she always knew that she was going to be a solo star. There was going to come point where she was going to go solo. Colleen Murphy: She debuted weeks later with a song that was written for somebody else but that Dusty was adamant, had to be her first solo release, and she was right on the money. She was wearing her influences on her sleeve. Karen Bartlett: She was always a big fan of American music and she was always a big fan of America. One of her earliest friends, a guy called Peter Miles, who actually recorded her very, very first record with her. He said he would remember going round to their house and he would see the magazines lying open everywhere with pictures of America in them. So, she was always fascinated about this idea of America and American potential. And of course, she went there for the first time with The Springfields and fell in love with America, and absolutely fell in love with New York, and the music, and was just swept away by it. So, she always had this enormous love of America. I think American music always influenced her more than anything else really. Colleen Murphy: Now, of course, there were other successful British female singers like Lulu and Cilla Black, contemporaries of Dusty Springfield who also turned their gaze across the pond for inspiration. Karen Bartlett: I was always really struck by the fact that Dusty actually went there. She was this white English girl there with all these great black American acts, and somewhat I think it was quite tough for her. It was really intimidating and she was completely out of her comfort zone. And when you think about it, what a brave thing to do, but she always wanted to go beyond her comfort zone and challenge herself artistically like that. Her support was crucial. She also performed a duet with her friend Martha Reeves. Karen Bartlett: She was the most progressive artist I think in the s in Britain, and she never really gets the recognition for this that I think she deserves. She wanted Dusty: An Intimate Portrait of a Musical Legend bring their sound Dusty: An Intimate Portrait of a Musical Legend to Britain Dusty: An Intimate Portrait of a Musical Legend. And she really worked hard to help those artists get visibility in Britain and further their careers. And in the same vein, she also took a very public stance against Apartheid inand in doing so stirred up quite a bit of controversy. Dusty biographer, Karen Bartlett. It was apartheid South Africa, so the separation between black people and white people, and all of the black South Africans just being treated so, so badly. And so she reluctantly went over to South Africa. Immediately she had to start performing in front of all white audiences. She thought she was going to be arrested, she thought they were going to be deported from the country. Even then it was a huge, huge political issue. It was in the newspapers, there was a debate about it in Dusty: An Intimate Portrait of a Musical Legend, in the House of Commons that Dusty Springfield had done this. She was the first person to ever challenge it in that way. Colleen Murphy: Dusty set herself apart from many other pop stars, not only by standing up for what she believed in, but also through the way in which she recorded. She had a very large record collection and she was well-versed with a huge variety of musical styles.