Dusty

Dusty Springfield's contribution to music over the last 25 years has been phenomenal. From her international hit "I Only Want to be With You", in 1963 through to the chart-topping single "What Have I Done to Deserve this", with the Pet Shop Boys in 1987, her musical career has been as varied as it has been important. As a presenter of the pioneering TV show "Ready Steady Go", she was credited as the person responsible for introducing Motown music to Britain, and her 1968 album "Dusty in Memphis" revolutionized the expected methods of production and delivery for white British singers. Suddenly, in 1974, at the very height of international success, she fled to Los Angeles, tired with the pop business and the constant invasion of her private life by tabloid press hounds. She became entangled in legal arguments with uninspiring managers and her old record company. It was only in the 1980s that she re-emerged as a major talent, achieving cult status among a younger generation of fans with her powerful voice and striking sicties-style appearance. There are comments in the book from personalities such as Cilla Black, Annie Lennox, Lulu and Alison Moyet, as well as Dusty herself and her longtime friend and current manager, Vicki Wickham.