0:00:02 > 0:00:04You only had to hear three notes and you knew it was her.
0:00:04 > 0:00:08That's a great thing about a singer.
0:00:08 > 0:00:12# The look of love
0:00:13 > 0:00:15# Is in... #
0:00:15 > 0:00:18Part of her attraction was that
0:00:18 > 0:00:23she was a white girl who could sing that fabulous black R'n'B music.
0:00:23 > 0:00:28Because that's what I loved. That, to me, was yes! Yes!
0:00:28 > 0:00:31And that was what girl power was in the 60s.
0:00:31 > 0:00:34# The only one who could ever reach me
0:00:34 > 0:00:36# Was the son of a preacher man
0:00:36 > 0:00:38# The only boy... #
0:00:38 > 0:00:42I think Dusty does sum up the fabness of the 60s
0:00:42 > 0:00:45with her voice and with the hairdo.
0:00:45 > 0:00:48The kind of bouffant hairdo.
0:00:48 > 0:00:53And, of course, the trademark eye make-up made her very iconic.
0:00:53 > 0:00:57# I think I'm going back... #
0:00:57 > 0:01:01There was a vulnerability about her voice
0:01:01 > 0:01:06and her personality which attracted me to her.
0:01:06 > 0:01:08I think that's what attracts the public
0:01:08 > 0:01:12to great singers and personalities from show business,
0:01:12 > 0:01:14is their vulnerability.
0:01:14 > 0:01:17They're waiting for them to crack open at any second.
0:01:21 > 0:01:23# Dusty Springfield
0:01:24 > 0:01:29# That's a pretty name, it even sounds like a game
0:01:30 > 0:01:33# In a green field
0:01:33 > 0:01:37# Hobby horses play the dusty game when it's May
0:01:40 > 0:01:43# Pink and paisley skies
0:01:43 > 0:01:47# Shining in green eyes, a magic pinwheel
0:01:49 > 0:01:52# London flowers fair
0:01:52 > 0:01:55# Blooming in her hair
0:01:55 > 0:01:58# Dusty Springfield. #
0:01:58 > 0:02:03APPLAUSE
0:02:03 > 0:02:06Thank you very much.
0:02:16 > 0:02:23# When I said I needed you
0:02:23 > 0:02:29# You said you would always stay
0:02:30 > 0:02:35# It wasn't me who changed but you
0:02:35 > 0:02:41# And now you're far away
0:02:43 > 0:02:49# Don't you see that now you've gone
0:02:50 > 0:02:54# And I'm left here on my own... #
0:02:57 > 0:03:00Since the death of Dusty Springfield in March 1999,
0:03:00 > 0:03:03just short of her 60th birthday,
0:03:03 > 0:03:05fans and musicians have continued to celebrate
0:03:05 > 0:03:07one of Britain's greatest ever singers.
0:03:07 > 0:03:12# You don't have to say you love me... #
0:03:17 > 0:03:20Born Mary Isobel Catherine O'Brien
0:03:20 > 0:03:22to Anglo-Irish-Scottish parents,
0:03:22 > 0:03:26she became the original 60s Brit girl,
0:03:26 > 0:03:29the so-called "white negress," a gay icon, a diva.
0:03:31 > 0:03:35# ..Till I do, all I see is you... #
0:03:35 > 0:03:38Over a career spanning four decades,
0:03:38 > 0:03:42Dusty's glamorous image was to be as much her hallmark as her voice.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45But it masked a deeply private person.
0:03:45 > 0:03:48Dusty herself was torn between two characters -
0:03:48 > 0:03:51Mary O'Brien, the plain, insecure redhead,
0:03:51 > 0:03:55and Dusty Springfield, the star she created.
0:03:55 > 0:04:00A household name, she both invited attention and shunned it.
0:04:00 > 0:04:03This is the story of the Dusty we thought we knew.
0:04:03 > 0:04:06# You don't have to say you love me
0:04:06 > 0:04:09# Just be close at hand
0:04:09 > 0:04:13# You don't have to stay for ever
0:04:13 > 0:04:16# I will understand
0:04:16 > 0:04:19# Believe me
0:04:19 > 0:04:23# Believe me
0:04:23 > 0:04:26# You don't have to say you love me... #
0:04:26 > 0:04:31I have a theme song. It's Oh, Lord, Please Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood.
0:04:31 > 0:04:36I'm the most misquoted and misunderstood person I know. Honest.
0:04:40 > 0:04:45# Here she comes, here she comes... #
0:04:45 > 0:04:50Dusty hated work. She hated singing, she hated performing.
0:04:50 > 0:04:51Motivation was money.
0:04:51 > 0:04:53It was a means to an end.
0:04:53 > 0:04:56It was the only thing she could think of to do to make any money,
0:04:56 > 0:04:59and so she had to sing.
0:04:59 > 0:05:05# See all her faces... #
0:05:05 > 0:05:07I think she sang because
0:05:07 > 0:05:11she needed to be loved for who she was.
0:05:11 > 0:05:14And she was never sure.
0:05:14 > 0:05:18She didn't trust herself and she didn't trust anybody
0:05:18 > 0:05:23and she never trusted her ability to sing and to move and to touch people.
0:05:23 > 0:05:28# ..I'm looking for someone of the gentle kind
0:05:28 > 0:05:31# Knowing that looks can lie... #
0:05:31 > 0:05:33Basically, she was very shy.
0:05:33 > 0:05:40On stage, I don't know what happened to her because she became another person.
0:05:40 > 0:05:45Before she went on she'd go red all the way down here with sheer panic.
0:05:45 > 0:05:50She couldn't find things, she'd be nervous, she'd be tripping over.
0:05:50 > 0:05:52"Is this right? Is that right?"
0:05:52 > 0:05:56She'd go on and there was the star.
0:05:56 > 0:05:58# Look at her now
0:05:58 > 0:06:02# She needs love so much more, so much... #
0:06:02 > 0:06:05She used to call them somebody else.
0:06:05 > 0:06:09Dusty was Dusty Springfield and she was Mary O'Brien.
0:06:09 > 0:06:11There was two people.
0:06:11 > 0:06:18I mean, she transformed. As soon as the fingernails went on and the hair was done, that was Dusty.
0:06:18 > 0:06:22She became Dusty then. She was two people.
0:06:22 > 0:06:24# ..See all her faces
0:06:24 > 0:06:31# See all her faces... #
0:06:31 > 0:06:35At 13, I was pure St Trinian's.
0:06:35 > 0:06:40The hockey sticks, the works, round glasses, Panama hat, a disaster area.
0:06:40 > 0:06:44And then, I guess it was really an overnight thing,
0:06:44 > 0:06:47that I decided I must change.
0:06:47 > 0:06:52I realised this person looking at me in the mirror would not make it.
0:06:52 > 0:06:57I decided I wanted to be someone else so I became someone else.
0:06:57 > 0:06:59Now I'm trying to find the other one.
0:06:59 > 0:07:06# ..See all her faces... #
0:07:06 > 0:07:09# All together, girls, one, two, three... #
0:07:09 > 0:07:14Dusty shocked the nuns by saying she wanted to be a blues singer.
0:07:14 > 0:07:19After playing the London folk clubs with her brother Tom,
0:07:19 > 0:07:24the 19-year-old Dusty joined vocal harmony trio The Lana Sisters.
0:07:24 > 0:07:26# Did you really
0:07:26 > 0:07:29# Mighty colour of the moonlight
0:07:29 > 0:07:32# Let my baby know I miss him
0:07:32 > 0:07:35# Let him know I long to kiss him... #
0:07:43 > 0:07:49# Silver threads and golden needles Cannot mend this heart... #
0:07:49 > 0:07:54In 1960, Dusty rejoined her brother Tom to form The Springfields.
0:07:54 > 0:07:59Third member, Tim Field was replaced the following year by Mike Hurst,
0:07:59 > 0:08:03in time for their biggest British hit, Island Of Dreams.
0:08:07 > 0:08:11# I wander the streets
0:08:11 > 0:08:15# And the gay crowded places
0:08:15 > 0:08:19# Trying to forget you
0:08:19 > 0:08:22# But somehow it seems
0:08:22 > 0:08:25# That my thoughts ever stray... #
0:08:25 > 0:08:29I was aware immediately how great her voice was
0:08:29 > 0:08:33compared to the other female singers of the day.
0:08:33 > 0:08:371962-63. The quality of her voice was unique.
0:08:38 > 0:08:41# ..High in the sky
0:08:41 > 0:08:45# Is a bird on the wing
0:08:45 > 0:08:53# Please carry me with you... #
0:08:53 > 0:08:59Smile. That was the whole thing. Tom used to say it all the time,
0:08:59 > 0:09:02"Just smile." And he hated it anyway.
0:09:02 > 0:09:07He had this sort of fixed smile on his face which never left him.
0:09:07 > 0:09:11So that's the way it was. It was very, very MOR, very cabaret.
0:09:11 > 0:09:14That isn't what Dusty wanted.
0:09:14 > 0:09:16# Sing a little song that you can't resist
0:09:16 > 0:09:17# Que bonita maraca bamba
0:09:17 > 0:09:19# Maraca bamba
0:09:19 > 0:09:21# Round and round inside your brain
0:09:21 > 0:09:23# Que bonita maraca bamba
0:09:23 > 0:09:24# Hey, maraca bamba
0:09:24 > 0:09:26# Well, now, we're gonna sing again
0:09:26 > 0:09:29# Que bonita maraca bamba
0:09:29 > 0:09:31# Bamba, bamba! #
0:09:43 > 0:09:45# Get ready cos here I come
0:09:45 > 0:09:47# I'm on my way
0:09:47 > 0:09:50# Get ready cos here I come
0:09:50 > 0:09:53# Get ready cos here I come
0:09:53 > 0:09:55# Get ready cos here I come
0:09:55 > 0:09:57# I'm on my way
0:09:57 > 0:09:59# Get ready cos here I come
0:09:59 > 0:10:02# Get ready cos here I come. #
0:10:12 > 0:10:15# I don't know what it is that makes me love you so
0:10:15 > 0:10:19# I only know I never wanna let you go
0:10:19 > 0:10:22# Cos you've started something, oh, can't you see
0:10:22 > 0:10:26# That ever since we met you've had a hold on me
0:10:26 > 0:10:30# It happens to be true
0:10:30 > 0:10:33# I only wanna be with you
0:10:33 > 0:10:34# Yeah
0:10:34 > 0:10:37# It doesn't matter where you go or what you do
0:10:37 > 0:10:41# I wanna spend each moment of the day with you... #
0:10:41 > 0:10:45Dusty the solo singer burst onto the scene in 1963
0:10:45 > 0:10:48and was an immediate success.
0:10:48 > 0:10:52But her rise to stardom was not without difficulty.
0:10:52 > 0:10:56# ..I only wanna be with you, yeah. #
0:10:56 > 0:10:59# You stopped and smiled at me
0:10:59 > 0:11:02# Asked if I care to dance... #
0:11:02 > 0:11:05DUSTY: She's somebody else.
0:11:05 > 0:11:11Basically, I'm quite a shy person to take on the mantle of a performer.
0:11:11 > 0:11:13It's not an easy act.
0:11:13 > 0:11:15She had to go on stage
0:11:15 > 0:11:20and be this big, strong woman
0:11:20 > 0:11:25who had so much power and could captivate thousands of people.
0:11:25 > 0:11:31But when she went home, she was that scared little girl cos that's what she was.
0:11:32 > 0:11:36I identified with her in that situation.
0:11:36 > 0:11:40She was very insecure about the way she looked.
0:11:40 > 0:11:44She had great self-doubt. But that sometimes makes a great artist.
0:11:44 > 0:11:49People think of, you know, the glamorous Dusty that they saw on TV
0:11:49 > 0:11:52but that wasn't probably the real her.
0:11:52 > 0:11:56# Why don't you stop
0:11:55 > 0:11:56Stop
0:11:56 > 0:11:59# And look me over
0:11:58 > 0:11:59Me over
0:11:59 > 0:12:03# Am I the same girl you used to know...? #
0:12:05 > 0:12:09I think she saw Dusty Springfield as a creation
0:12:09 > 0:12:12in many ways.
0:12:12 > 0:12:17And a creation that took a long time to dress up in.
0:12:17 > 0:12:19Getting ready to be Dusty took hours.
0:12:19 > 0:12:24She would have looked great in half an hour, I'm sure.
0:12:24 > 0:12:27But her insecurities were in charge.
0:12:27 > 0:12:29And maybe a bit of obsessiveness too.
0:12:29 > 0:12:32# Am I the same girl?
0:12:32 > 0:12:35# Yes I am, yes I am... #
0:12:35 > 0:12:40She really went through it to be beautiful.
0:12:40 > 0:12:43Because she was small, she was only 5' 3".
0:12:43 > 0:12:50So to have to wear high heels but not too high because she didn't want to look stupid
0:12:50 > 0:12:55and this hair, and people said "Does she take her make-up off?"
0:12:55 > 0:12:59To my knowledge, she kept the black on. She'd blot it.
0:12:59 > 0:13:03But she would keep it on and she could hide behind that.
0:13:03 > 0:13:07I find it an effort to keep up appearances.
0:13:07 > 0:13:11Cos it takes so long. I'd rather be asleep.
0:13:11 > 0:13:16It's very hard to describe oneself anyway because you don't see...
0:13:16 > 0:13:21I'm very short-sighted so I'm constantly peering in mirrors.
0:13:21 > 0:13:26And people say, "God, isn't she conceited!" and I can't see anything.
0:13:26 > 0:13:31I can look in a mirror and I can't see how much eye black I've got on.
0:13:31 > 0:13:35I just know I've got a lot on. I can't see the ends of my fingers.
0:13:35 > 0:13:40She couldn't see people until they were really close up to her
0:13:40 > 0:13:47which, she said, was an advantage because she was so insecure of having to deal with people.
0:13:47 > 0:13:52One of her... One of my favourite of her expressions:
0:13:52 > 0:13:55"Never let yourself be too get-at-able."
0:13:55 > 0:14:00And she said, "Being in my position, being so short-sighted,
0:14:00 > 0:14:05"it means people have to come close in order for me to recognise them.
0:14:05 > 0:14:10"If they're over there, I don't have to speak to them - I can't see them."
0:14:10 > 0:14:15Her and Sandie Shaw were the two blindest pop singers of the 60s.
0:14:15 > 0:14:22Sandie Shaw was known for being barefoot, she should have been known for being partially blind.
0:14:22 > 0:14:27Poor thing. But Dusty did use the make-up as a bit of a mask.
0:14:27 > 0:14:30Everything was all part of a mask.
0:14:30 > 0:14:33# ..Bailando con mi amigo
0:14:33 > 0:14:37# Aqui todos ven por aqui
0:14:37 > 0:14:39# Chicos y chicas
0:14:39 > 0:14:42# Ven a bailar
0:14:42 > 0:14:44# El baile... #
0:14:44 > 0:14:48# Let's take a trip in a trailer No need to come back... #
0:14:48 > 0:14:51With this transformation to glamorous star complete,
0:14:51 > 0:14:55Dusty had a string of hits in the 60s and hosted a TV show.
0:14:55 > 0:14:58# When I throw my arms out wide
0:14:58 > 0:15:02# I find that you're not by my side... #
0:15:02 > 0:15:09She seemed to be able to sing anything whilst remaining distinctively Dusty.
0:15:09 > 0:15:12# ..all I see is you. #
0:15:12 > 0:15:15# Everybody, have you heard
0:15:15 > 0:15:20- # Gonna buy me a mockingbird - Mockingbird
0:15:20 > 0:15:23# If that mockingbird don't sing
0:15:23 > 0:15:24# If that mockingbird don't sing
0:15:24 > 0:15:26# Gonna buy me a diamond ring... #
0:15:28 > 0:15:31She was a great pop singer, a great soul singer,
0:15:31 > 0:15:33a great ballad singer,
0:15:33 > 0:15:35a great folk singer, a great jazz singer.
0:15:35 > 0:15:39She was so good at so many different things.
0:15:39 > 0:15:43I trusted what she sang.
0:15:43 > 0:15:50It didn't make any difference if, once in a while, the note was a bit sharp or a bit flat.
0:15:50 > 0:15:53They were jewels.
0:15:53 > 0:15:57# The look of love
0:15:57 > 0:16:03# Is in your eyes
0:16:04 > 0:16:13# A look your heart can't disguise
0:16:13 > 0:16:16# The look... #
0:16:16 > 0:16:21I love the way Dusty sang The Look Of Love. It was smoky. It was sexy.
0:16:21 > 0:16:22It was restrained.
0:16:22 > 0:16:27It was held in check but underneath it was smouldering.
0:16:27 > 0:16:30It was just on fire.
0:16:30 > 0:16:35Just so much romance and passion and coolness to her, you know.
0:16:35 > 0:16:40# ..well, it takes my breath away
0:16:40 > 0:16:44# I can hardly wait to hold you
0:16:44 > 0:16:48# Feel my arms around you
0:16:48 > 0:16:51# How long I have waited
0:16:51 > 0:16:53# Waited just to love you
0:16:53 > 0:16:58# Now that I have found you
0:16:58 > 0:17:01# Don't ever go... #
0:17:03 > 0:17:08When she sang one of those breathy songs, it was like a reed instrument.
0:17:08 > 0:17:10And it was such a fragile sound.
0:17:10 > 0:17:17But then she was capable of soaring above a great R'n'B song and being so powerful,
0:17:17 > 0:17:23you almost wouldn't believe it was the same woman.
0:17:23 > 0:17:24# Gonna build a mountain
0:17:24 > 0:17:25# Gonna build a mountain
0:17:25 > 0:17:27# Least I know I will
0:17:27 > 0:17:28# I hope I will
0:17:28 > 0:17:29# Gonna build a mountain
0:17:29 > 0:17:31# Gonna build a mountain
0:17:31 > 0:17:34# Gonna build it so high
0:17:34 > 0:17:36# I don't know how I'm gonna build it
0:17:36 > 0:17:39# All I know I'm gonna try
0:17:39 > 0:17:41# Gonna build a mountain
0:17:41 > 0:17:42# Gonna build a mountain... #
0:17:42 > 0:17:44Dubbed the queen of blue-eyed soul,
0:17:44 > 0:17:47Dusty was often assumed to be black
0:17:47 > 0:17:49by those who had heard but not seen her.
0:17:49 > 0:17:52She sometimes admitted to feeling like an impostor.
0:17:52 > 0:17:56But, with a few exceptions, black musicians respected her.
0:17:56 > 0:18:00She was a tireless promoter of black music,
0:18:00 > 0:18:04whether hosting Ready Steady Go, or covering soul on her own show.
0:18:04 > 0:18:07- # Higher and higher - # Yeah, higher and higher
0:18:07 > 0:18:10- # Higher and higher - # Oh, higher and higher
0:18:10 > 0:18:13- # Higher and higher - # Just build a mountain
0:18:13 > 0:18:15- # Higher and higher - # Yeah
0:18:15 > 0:18:18- # Higher and higher - # Gonna build it
0:18:18 > 0:18:19- # Higher and higher - # Yeah... #
0:18:19 > 0:18:23Well, I think she was...
0:18:23 > 0:18:25If you scraped off the Irish
0:18:25 > 0:18:29Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien,
0:18:29 > 0:18:31she was black underneath.
0:18:34 > 0:18:37# Get ready cos here I come
0:18:37 > 0:18:41# If you wanna play hide and seek with love, let me remind you
0:18:41 > 0:18:42# You're all right
0:18:42 > 0:18:48# All the lovin' you're gonna miss in the time it takes to find you... #
0:18:48 > 0:18:52Before Dusty, British female singers were still in the 50s.
0:18:52 > 0:18:55Dusty changed it virtually overnight.
0:18:55 > 0:19:01Suddenly she made records sounding like they were made in America.
0:19:01 > 0:19:03She was singing like an American.
0:19:03 > 0:19:07But it didn't sound like an impression. It was the real thing.
0:19:07 > 0:19:09# Get ready, here I come
0:19:09 > 0:19:12# Get ready cos here I come... #
0:19:12 > 0:19:15Britain suddenly had a soul singer.
0:19:15 > 0:19:19People forget that when you say, "soul singer,"
0:19:19 > 0:19:24you don't mean the person is black, you just mean they sing from there.
0:19:24 > 0:19:27Soul singers don't have a colour.
0:19:27 > 0:19:32Everybody knows that Dusty was mesmerised by black singers.
0:19:32 > 0:19:37She just loved the Martha Reeves and Aretha Franklins and Dionne Warwicks
0:19:37 > 0:19:44and there is a tremendously soulful spiritual feeling
0:19:44 > 0:19:49even though she wasn't raised in a Baptist church shaking a tambourine.
0:19:49 > 0:19:52# Calling out around the world
0:19:52 > 0:19:55# Are you ready for a brand new beat?
0:19:55 > 0:19:56# Yeah
0:19:56 > 0:20:01# Summer's here and the time is right for dancing in the street
0:20:01 > 0:20:04# They're dancing in Chicago
0:20:06 > 0:20:08# Down in New Orleans
0:20:08 > 0:20:11# In New York City
0:20:11 > 0:20:14# All is you need is music
0:20:14 > 0:20:15# Sweet music
0:20:15 > 0:20:18# There'll be music everywhere
0:20:18 > 0:20:23# They'll be swinging and swaying and records playing
0:20:23 > 0:20:26# And dancing in the street... #
0:20:26 > 0:20:30There were other ladies who embraced our music and did cover versions -
0:20:30 > 0:20:36Cilla Black, Petula Clark and Lulu - that I can remember doing our songs.
0:20:36 > 0:20:43However, Dusty was the one who got into the music and did cover versions and glorified the music.
0:20:43 > 0:20:47She was in awe of us and we were in awe of her.
0:20:47 > 0:20:49# Like a heatwave
0:20:49 > 0:20:50# Burning in my heart
0:20:50 > 0:20:51# Heatwave
0:20:51 > 0:20:53# I can't keep from crying
0:20:53 > 0:20:54# Heatwave
0:20:54 > 0:20:56# It's tearing me apart... #
0:20:59 > 0:21:02I come from a white bread English family
0:21:02 > 0:21:07who were brought up on Gilbert and Sullivan and South Pacific
0:21:07 > 0:21:14and I'd never heard a black singer and Dusty was playing me these black soul records and I loved them.
0:21:14 > 0:21:18So over the course of Ready Steady, I could book who I wanted
0:21:18 > 0:21:23so I'd book Otis Reading, Ike and Tina Turner, James Brown and Motown.
0:21:23 > 0:21:30We would play their records and none of them had been to England and they put together a Motown review.
0:21:30 > 0:21:33We had a special and Dusty hosted it.
0:21:33 > 0:21:37# Wishin' and hopin' and thinkin' and prayin'... #
0:21:37 > 0:21:43MARTHA REEVES: She welcomed Smokey, and the Supremes weren't known then.
0:21:43 > 0:21:48The Temptations with My Girl - they were the stars of the show.
0:21:48 > 0:21:52Stevie Wonder did Fingertips and we did a great show.
0:21:52 > 0:21:55The thrill of it all was singing the duet with Dusty.
0:21:55 > 0:21:59Wishin' and Hopin'. I think our voices blended so well.
0:21:59 > 0:22:04That was really a thrill. And we were friends since then.
0:22:20 > 0:22:25Dusty was cast as a hero of the anti-apartheid movement
0:22:25 > 0:22:29when her 1964 tour to South Africa provoked a political storm.
0:22:29 > 0:22:34Her contract stated she would play only to mixed audiences.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37Confronted with a sea of all-white faces at a concert, Dusty rebelled.
0:22:37 > 0:22:41She was forced to abandon the tour and return home.
0:22:46 > 0:22:49Why did you have the anti-apartheid clause written into your contract?
0:22:49 > 0:22:51Do you feel strongly politically about this?
0:22:51 > 0:22:55No, I don't know the first thing about politics.
0:22:55 > 0:22:58All I know is that if... I think anybody,
0:22:58 > 0:23:02if they want to buy a ticket, should be allowed to do so.
0:23:02 > 0:23:04This was the agreement I went under.
0:23:04 > 0:23:08Why was your contract different to previous ones?
0:23:08 > 0:23:10I may be wrong about this,
0:23:10 > 0:23:13but I think most British artists
0:23:13 > 0:23:15that have been there before
0:23:15 > 0:23:17have played one or two
0:23:17 > 0:23:18segregated concerts
0:23:18 > 0:23:20and I didn't want to do it.
0:23:20 > 0:23:23# Can I get a witness?
0:23:23 > 0:23:26# I want a witness
0:23:26 > 0:23:28# Witness, witness
0:23:28 > 0:23:32# Witness, witness
0:23:32 > 0:23:35# Everybody knows
0:23:35 > 0:23:38# Especially you, boy... #
0:23:38 > 0:23:41Dusty was not to become known for her politics
0:23:41 > 0:23:43but the South African incident
0:23:43 > 0:23:47underlined her emerging reputation as a hell raiser.
0:23:47 > 0:23:52Her hot temper and sense of humour meant trouble followed her around.
0:23:55 > 0:23:59Dusty's outsider status was fuelled by rumours about her sexuality
0:23:59 > 0:24:04which were countered with carefully managed publicity
0:24:04 > 0:24:07that presented her both as straight and forever on the verge of romance.
0:24:12 > 0:24:17The flip side was a punishing schedule of touring and recording.
0:24:17 > 0:24:20From the early days, she suffered from nervous exhaustion.
0:24:20 > 0:24:23Her workload was increased by her hands-on approach.
0:24:32 > 0:24:35I would see Dusty actually take charge
0:24:35 > 0:24:40and people weren't always happy she was adamant about what she wanted.
0:24:40 > 0:24:44I've kind of got a bit more like that now.
0:24:44 > 0:24:49But I admired that and I loved that... I saw it as feistiness.
0:25:01 > 0:25:06It was hard, no doubt about it, because she's extremely musical
0:25:06 > 0:25:14and knew sounds and knew what she wanted on her records and was influenced by America.
0:25:14 > 0:25:21So she felt strongly that she wanted certain sounds that English musicians perhaps hadn't played,
0:25:21 > 0:25:29arrangers hadn't thought about and she was constantly playing records saying, "This is what we want."
0:25:29 > 0:25:32# I close my eyes
0:25:32 > 0:25:34# And count to ten
0:25:34 > 0:25:39# And when I open them you're still here... #
0:25:39 > 0:25:42She would like the bass player to use his fingers,
0:25:42 > 0:25:46because that's what she'd seen in America.
0:25:46 > 0:25:51Things that don't mean anything to most people were important to her.
0:25:51 > 0:25:54But she brought them over to the UK.
0:25:54 > 0:25:59A lot of musicians didn't like that. But she knew what she wanted.
0:26:01 > 0:26:04# You don't own me
0:26:04 > 0:26:08# I'm not just one of your many toys
0:26:08 > 0:26:11# You don't own me... #
0:26:11 > 0:26:16People never give women credit for knowing that they can get it.
0:26:16 > 0:26:21And Dusty did and in fairness Johnny France, the producer, was excellent.
0:26:21 > 0:26:29He was older and he was more than happy to sit back, put his feet up and let her get on with it.
0:26:29 > 0:26:32# Don't tell me what to do
0:26:32 > 0:26:36# And don't tell me what to say... #
0:26:38 > 0:26:42When you think about it, in the early 60s and mid-60s,
0:26:42 > 0:26:45it was very male dominated.
0:26:45 > 0:26:49So for this so-called "star" to come along,
0:26:49 > 0:26:51female, telling us what to do,
0:26:51 > 0:26:54it wasn't really accepted.
0:26:54 > 0:26:58But that's why she got the reputation and she used to say,
0:26:58 > 0:27:02When a man stands his ground, it's, "Yeah, he stood his ground,"
0:27:02 > 0:27:05but when a woman stands her ground, she's a B-I-T-C-H.
0:27:18 > 0:27:23My first consciousness of Dusty Springfield was driving to work
0:27:23 > 0:27:26one day in 1965 from Long Island
0:27:26 > 0:27:31into our Atlantic Records office in Manhattan.
0:27:31 > 0:27:36And I had the radio on, of course, and here comes this beautiful voice,
0:27:36 > 0:27:40and I hadn't heard it before.
0:27:40 > 0:27:42And it was mesmerising.
0:27:42 > 0:27:48The song I heard on the radio that day was Some Of Your Lovin'.
0:27:48 > 0:27:53Her voice really struck me and I knew this was somebody very special.
0:27:55 > 0:28:01# I know a man likes to feel that he's been around
0:28:01 > 0:28:08# Before he decides to settle down
0:28:08 > 0:28:14# I've no doubt, some day, you're gonna feel that way too
0:28:14 > 0:28:21# But, baby, just remember, until you do
0:28:21 > 0:28:27# You gotta give me some, give me some of your lovin'
0:28:27 > 0:28:33# You gotta give me some of your lovin'
0:28:33 > 0:28:36# Now I'm not a greedy girl
0:28:36 > 0:28:40# I don't need the world
0:28:40 > 0:28:41# Give me some of your lovin'
0:28:41 > 0:28:44- # Oh, some of your lovin' - # Some
0:28:44 > 0:28:47# Oh-oh-oh-oh... #
0:28:47 > 0:28:49Attracted by Jerry Wexler's work
0:28:49 > 0:28:53with artists like Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin,
0:28:53 > 0:28:57Dusty teamed up with the legendary producer to make her next album,
0:28:57 > 0:29:00the classic Dusty In Memphis.
0:29:00 > 0:29:02But it was to be a rocky road.
0:29:09 > 0:29:14So we scheduled for American Studios in Memphis. The band was brilliant.
0:29:14 > 0:29:18But, to my dismay, Dusty absolutely would not sing a note.
0:29:18 > 0:29:23I don't know how many days we spent in Memphis. Probably about two weeks.
0:29:23 > 0:29:24She just wouldn't sing.
0:29:34 > 0:29:37Jerry's said I'm the most insecure singer he's ever come across,
0:29:37 > 0:29:39and at that time, he was quite right.
0:29:39 > 0:29:43What he didn't realise was how intimidated I was.
0:29:43 > 0:29:47They were telling stories and talking about Aretha
0:29:47 > 0:29:50and I'm going, "Why are they recording me?"
0:29:50 > 0:29:55And that showed in the time it took to get performances out of me.
0:30:03 > 0:30:09We ended up in New York in a hired studio on 57th Street
0:30:09 > 0:30:12and that's where we did the vocals.
0:30:12 > 0:30:20And there were just Arif, Tom Dowd and myself in there to work with her.
0:30:20 > 0:30:25And er... There was one...
0:30:25 > 0:30:29During one song, I had to duck a flying ashtray!
0:30:29 > 0:30:32I haven't told that before. I don't think I put it down!
0:30:38 > 0:30:43Dusty had the stigmata of perfectibility.
0:30:43 > 0:30:46So when she did perform,
0:30:46 > 0:30:51she was afraid to let it go because her standards were so high
0:30:51 > 0:30:54and it might not come out right.
0:30:55 > 0:30:58# Just a little loving
0:30:58 > 0:31:02# Early in the morning... #
0:31:02 > 0:31:04DUSTY: There was an element in me
0:31:04 > 0:31:09that always...often thought I was a sham anyway.
0:31:09 > 0:31:11It took a lot to break that down,
0:31:11 > 0:31:14that critic in me.
0:31:14 > 0:31:18And they did it. They got it out of me somehow.
0:31:18 > 0:31:20# I don't wanna hear it anymore
0:31:20 > 0:31:23# I don't wanna hear it... #
0:31:23 > 0:31:29She contravened all the received and perceived notions of how to do a vocal.
0:31:29 > 0:31:35Because the band has finished and she has earphones on
0:31:35 > 0:31:39and Dusty kept calling for more track, more track
0:31:39 > 0:31:43and finally it reached the point, I couldn't believe it,
0:31:43 > 0:31:47she's doing a vocal and says, "More track, I can still hear myself."
0:31:47 > 0:31:52Imagine. She wanted so much track
0:31:52 > 0:31:57that she couldn't hear the vocal that she was projecting at the time.
0:31:57 > 0:31:59I can't imagine how she did it,
0:31:59 > 0:32:03how she stayed in tune, stayed in time,
0:32:03 > 0:32:09and sang with Dusty's personality and created these marvellous vocals.
0:32:11 > 0:32:13# Billy Ray was a preacher's son
0:32:13 > 0:32:17# And when his daddy would visit, he'd come along
0:32:17 > 0:32:19# When they'd gather round and started talking
0:32:19 > 0:32:22# That's when Billy would take me walking
0:32:22 > 0:32:25# A-through the back yard we'd go walking
0:32:25 > 0:32:28# Then he looked into my eyes
0:32:28 > 0:32:30# Lord knows to my surprise
0:32:30 > 0:32:33# The only one who could ever reach me
0:32:33 > 0:32:35# Was the son of a preacher man
0:32:35 > 0:32:38# The only boy who could ever teach me
0:32:38 > 0:32:40# Was the son of a preacher man
0:32:40 > 0:32:43# Yes, he was, he was
0:32:43 > 0:32:46# Oh, yes, he was... #
0:32:48 > 0:32:50If you'd left it to her,
0:32:50 > 0:32:53I don't think half her material would have been released.
0:32:53 > 0:32:58She was always striving to be better and saying,
0:32:58 > 0:33:02"I'd like to have sung that like Aretha sung it."
0:33:02 > 0:33:04Her own stuff was never good enough.
0:33:04 > 0:33:07She always came away going, "I could have done that better."
0:33:07 > 0:33:13# You've been crying, your face is a mess
0:33:13 > 0:33:20# Come here, baby, you can dry the tears on my dress
0:33:20 > 0:33:27# She's hurt you again, I can tell
0:33:27 > 0:33:32# Oh, I know that look so well
0:33:32 > 0:33:34# Don't be shy... #
0:33:34 > 0:33:36In 1970, Dusty gave an interview
0:33:36 > 0:33:39to Ray Connolly of the London Evening Standard
0:33:39 > 0:33:42in which she admitted her bisexuality for the first time.
0:33:42 > 0:33:46Though many have claimed she was simply a lesbian,
0:33:46 > 0:33:48Dusty was adamant she would not be confined
0:33:48 > 0:33:50by other peoples' categories.
0:34:16 > 0:34:19I always felt that the whole gay scene was very open.
0:34:19 > 0:34:22I mean, there was never any problem with it.
0:34:22 > 0:34:25For non-stars, it was absolutely fine.
0:34:25 > 0:34:30But for the business, nothing's changed. It's the same today.
0:34:30 > 0:34:34People don't announce their sexuality because it's not good for business.
0:34:34 > 0:34:40Although she has gone public on two or three occasions,
0:34:40 > 0:34:46I sometimes had the impression that she wished she hadn't.
0:34:46 > 0:34:50Although I believe she'd have been a happier person,
0:34:50 > 0:34:55if she'd been absolutely clear and got the subject out of the way,
0:34:55 > 0:34:59she obviously couldn't do it, for whatever reason.
0:34:59 > 0:35:02I think that was a pity.
0:35:02 > 0:35:05If she did find out she was bisexual,
0:35:05 > 0:35:11I think she would have thought, "Oh, that's against my religion".
0:35:11 > 0:35:15Maybe that's why she became a lapsed Catholic.
0:35:15 > 0:35:19I think it made her more introvert about it.
0:35:21 > 0:35:25She ALWAYS felt guilty.
0:35:26 > 0:35:31I don't know if she'd have been as brave as Ellen DeGeneres.
0:35:33 > 0:35:36But she was as outrageous,
0:35:36 > 0:35:39or would have liked to have been,
0:35:39 > 0:35:43as Madonna, on occasion, has been.
0:35:45 > 0:35:50The outrageousness of certain people really appealed to her.
0:36:06 > 0:36:08Dusty's love of the outrageous,
0:36:08 > 0:36:13and a public persona that at once suggested AND hid her sexuality,
0:36:13 > 0:36:16ensured her status as a gay icon.
0:36:16 > 0:36:18Her camp wit was to land her in trouble
0:36:18 > 0:36:20when she gave a concert in front of Princess Margaret
0:36:20 > 0:36:23at the Royal Albert Hall in 1979.
0:36:23 > 0:36:26By then, Simon Bell had become her backing singer.
0:36:29 > 0:36:35Dusty noticed that the audience was largely gay, especially at the front.
0:36:35 > 0:36:42She made a remark that it was nice to see that royalty wasn't confined to the box.
0:36:42 > 0:36:46Apparently, Princess Margaret didn't like that.
0:36:46 > 0:36:52I find it hard to believe that Princess Margaret hasn't had a sense of humour.
0:36:52 > 0:36:55Apparently, she was not amused.
0:36:55 > 0:36:58A letter came from St James' Palace
0:36:58 > 0:37:03instructing Dusty that she had to sign an apology
0:37:03 > 0:37:06for having insulted the Crown.
0:37:06 > 0:37:10Dusty signed it. I was very surprised.
0:37:10 > 0:37:15That proves she's not quite the hell-raiser that we'd think.
0:37:15 > 0:37:20DUSTY: This is for all the people who have been legends in their time,
0:37:20 > 0:37:24I'm sure you know... CHEERING
0:37:28 > 0:37:34Sometimes the ladies I'm speaking of give too much of themselves,
0:37:34 > 0:37:37sometimes not enough.
0:37:37 > 0:37:43This song is really for all those people, all those women,
0:37:43 > 0:37:45no matter where they are now.
0:37:45 > 0:37:48She was a great dramatic singer.
0:37:48 > 0:37:54She fitted into the mould drawn by Judy Garland.
0:37:54 > 0:38:01And...later when she wasn't at her peak, vocally,
0:38:01 > 0:38:05there was always that element of, "Was she going to make it?"
0:38:05 > 0:38:09Again, drawing on the same source as Judy.
0:38:09 > 0:38:15It was easy to see why she was going to be a gay icon.
0:38:15 > 0:38:19She made wonderful, heart-rending songs
0:38:19 > 0:38:24that a certain kind of gay man, and woman,
0:38:24 > 0:38:26loved to sit and listen to, you know.
0:38:26 > 0:38:34# Quiet please, there's a lady on stage
0:38:34 > 0:38:40# She may not be the latest rage
0:38:40 > 0:38:46# But she's singing and she means it
0:38:48 > 0:38:53# That deserves a little silence
0:38:54 > 0:38:59# Quiet please, there's a woman up there
0:38:59 > 0:39:03# She's been honest through her songs... #
0:39:03 > 0:39:07She was a diva, and the fact that she wasn't easy to deal with
0:39:07 > 0:39:10and the vulnerability, that appeals to gay people.
0:39:10 > 0:39:17They see themselves, and they're a bit tortured. She was a bit tortured.
0:39:17 > 0:39:22# ...Put your hands together and help her along
0:39:22 > 0:39:26# All that's left of the singers
0:39:26 > 0:39:29# All that's left of the song
0:39:29 > 0:39:34# Rise to the occasion... #
0:39:34 > 0:39:37Two things made Dusty a gay icon.
0:39:37 > 0:39:41Firstly, the music.
0:39:41 > 0:39:43Then, the look.
0:39:43 > 0:39:48Dusty made a remark in the 1980s,
0:39:48 > 0:39:52"I must be getting popular again, the drag queens are doing me!"
0:39:52 > 0:39:56She was just camp. That's what attracted them.
0:39:56 > 0:40:00Every drag queen wanted to look like her.
0:40:00 > 0:40:06I can't tell you how many parties I've been to where some drag queen turned up like her!
0:40:06 > 0:40:10She was a camp icon.
0:40:10 > 0:40:14Also, the hand movements. The whole package.
0:40:14 > 0:40:18At her funeral, Lulu told this story that Dusty developed it
0:40:18 > 0:40:20because she wrote the lyrics on her arm.
0:40:20 > 0:40:25Ah! I loved it when she'd go...
0:40:25 > 0:40:28I can't remember which song. Say it was:
0:40:28 > 0:40:31# Where did our love lie?
0:40:32 > 0:40:34# In the middle of nowhere. #
0:40:34 > 0:40:37Because she'd forget the next... That wasn't a good example.
0:40:37 > 0:40:41But she'd have the words up her arms, on her hands.
0:40:41 > 0:40:45There was ink everywhere.
0:40:45 > 0:40:50Because she'd forget. She'd forget lines, which we all do.
0:40:50 > 0:40:53But hers were so obvious, but she turned it into...
0:40:53 > 0:40:56# Where did our love lie? # And she'd do that.
0:40:56 > 0:41:00Cos she was partly blind, she'd have to go right up to her nose!
0:41:03 > 0:41:06- # So if I give up - # Yes, I'm packin' up
0:41:06 > 0:41:08- # Movin' out of the town - # Movin' out of the town
0:41:08 > 0:41:12- # Packin' up - # Yes, I'm packin up
0:41:12 > 0:41:15# I'm not chained and I'm no longer bound
0:41:15 > 0:41:17# So I'm packin' up... #
0:41:17 > 0:41:20Dusty had left England at the start of the 70s.
0:41:20 > 0:41:22Her sales were dropping,
0:41:22 > 0:41:25she had a horror of ending up on the nostalgia circuit,
0:41:25 > 0:41:28and she wanted to escape the prying into her sexuality.
0:41:28 > 0:41:29With her enduring love
0:41:29 > 0:41:32of both the American pop scene and Hollywood movies,
0:41:32 > 0:41:35Dusty felt the time had come to pursue her American dreams.
0:41:39 > 0:41:41She got an American manager
0:41:41 > 0:41:44who said he could do this, he could do that.
0:41:44 > 0:41:50But when she got there, they had no idea what type of artist she was.
0:41:50 > 0:41:56They thought she was a Peggy Lee who sat down at the piano,
0:41:56 > 0:42:00had a pianist and sang in a nightclub.
0:42:00 > 0:42:05That wasn't Dusty at all. That wasn't her scene.
0:42:05 > 0:42:08# She's a sweetheart, except when she's moody
0:42:08 > 0:42:12# It's hard to get through to her then...#
0:42:12 > 0:42:14She'd been so big in England
0:42:14 > 0:42:18and it had been relatively easy, I think she thought
0:42:18 > 0:42:20that would happen in America.
0:42:20 > 0:42:22She was inherently lazy,
0:42:22 > 0:42:25and when it didn't happen immediately,
0:42:25 > 0:42:31she just went, "Shit! This isn't so easy. "I'll find another way."
0:42:31 > 0:42:36You think you have all the time in the world and you really don't.
0:42:36 > 0:42:39And suddenly it's too late for that.
0:42:41 > 0:42:44# ...Cos she might take a drink with the housework
0:42:44 > 0:42:49# Or when Michael stayed late at the shop
0:42:49 > 0:42:53# A martini or two before dinner
0:42:53 > 0:42:56# But she always knows when to stop. #
0:42:56 > 0:42:59What went wrong was a combination.
0:42:59 > 0:43:05Yes, it was bad management. It was also the drugs and the drink.
0:43:05 > 0:43:11She was impossible. Nobody could have helped her, made her do things.
0:43:11 > 0:43:16Her decisions were wonky. They just weren't right.
0:43:16 > 0:43:19I'm hearing all these stories coming back from different sources.
0:43:19 > 0:43:23And I must own up, I did sometimes feel guilty and think,
0:43:23 > 0:43:27"I wish I had gone, because I might have made a difference."
0:43:27 > 0:43:32On the other hand, I might not have and I'd have had to watch it.
0:43:32 > 0:43:35I'd rather have not seen that period of her life.
0:43:35 > 0:43:38# ...She was doing the dishes
0:43:38 > 0:43:43# When a glass fell and broke on the tiles
0:43:45 > 0:43:49# She cut her wrist, quite by mistake
0:43:49 > 0:43:55# It was real touch and go for a while. #
0:43:55 > 0:44:00A part of me was worried when you'd pass newspaper stands and see,
0:44:00 > 0:44:04"Pop Star..." and something tragic had happened to them.
0:44:04 > 0:44:08I always expected to see something like that.
0:44:08 > 0:44:14She was a self-destructive type person as well. So...
0:44:27 > 0:44:30In the hills above Los Angeles,
0:44:30 > 0:44:34the Wildlife Waystation takes in abused and neglected animals.
0:44:34 > 0:44:38It became a place of sanctuary for Dusty in her "Lost Years".
0:44:38 > 0:44:42After her albums of the early 70s met with indifference,
0:44:42 > 0:44:45she mostly dropped out of the music scene for several years
0:44:45 > 0:44:49and turned her attention to the women's tennis circuit and Beverly Hills parties.
0:44:49 > 0:44:50Increasingly depressed,
0:44:50 > 0:44:53she attempted to replace the highs of stardom
0:44:53 > 0:44:56with alcohol, Mandrax and cocaine.
0:44:56 > 0:44:59Eventually, she attempted suicide several times.
0:45:08 > 0:45:14Dusty met Helene Sellery in 1976, at an alcoholics' support group.
0:45:14 > 0:45:17Helene was on hand when Dusty started recording again in the late 70s,
0:45:17 > 0:45:21And together, they were frequent visitors to the Wildlife Waystation.
0:45:24 > 0:45:30If I had to say where her heart was in California, it would be here.
0:45:30 > 0:45:32This was peace and quiet for her.
0:45:32 > 0:45:34It was one-to-one rapport with the animals.
0:45:34 > 0:45:36Yes, she had her cats and adored them,
0:45:36 > 0:45:42but this was special, she came to get renewed here.
0:45:42 > 0:45:48She would sit in front of the cat cages for hours, in silence.
0:45:48 > 0:45:51She would try to mimic their sounds.
0:45:51 > 0:45:55When I first knew her, she'd said,
0:45:55 > 0:45:59"It gets lonely in the studios and there's a lot of cocaine around.
0:45:59 > 0:46:04"I'd like you to come to rehearsals." I did for two-and-a-half albums.
0:46:04 > 0:46:07She'd rehearse from 6pm till 4am.
0:46:07 > 0:46:12Which is, in part, why this issue is difficult.
0:46:12 > 0:46:17She was used to night performances, that's when her voice was ready.
0:46:17 > 0:46:20I'd sit with earplugs reading Scientific American!
0:46:33 > 0:46:35After the years of virtual silence,
0:46:35 > 0:46:39Dusty's latest albums proved that although her voice was still alive,
0:46:39 > 0:46:42her records were no longer selling.
0:46:42 > 0:46:44Disillusioned, with America,
0:46:44 > 0:46:47she stopped speaking of her old self, Mary O'Brien,
0:46:47 > 0:46:50as someone to erase, but rather as the answer to her problems.
0:46:58 > 0:47:02DUSTY: I've been singing all my life since I left convent school.
0:47:02 > 0:47:05I hadn't a chance to grow up, I just became this monster
0:47:05 > 0:47:08that I invented for myself to become.
0:47:11 > 0:47:19# ...I was so frustrated, wanted to tear my hair out
0:47:19 > 0:47:24# Can't seem to get a grip on your love. #
0:47:24 > 0:47:28You get to Hollywood, and find yourself playing mental games
0:47:28 > 0:47:32by looking down your hill and saying, "Well, it looks like Spain,"
0:47:32 > 0:47:34because Spain is closer to England.
0:47:34 > 0:47:38Did you ever really feel you belonged there?
0:47:38 > 0:47:41- Did you ever emotionally accept your life in Hollywood?- Never.
0:47:41 > 0:47:44I never came to terms with it.
0:47:44 > 0:47:46I loved the last house I lived in
0:47:46 > 0:47:49because it was five minutes above Sunset Strip,
0:47:49 > 0:47:53but I had coyotes and racoons and it was utterly quiet.
0:47:53 > 0:47:57I could look over the whole city. That's an unbeatable feeling.
0:47:57 > 0:48:03But outside of that, and that breeds extreme laziness...in me.
0:48:03 > 0:48:11I handle idleness badly. I had to kick myself in the butt and get out.
0:48:11 > 0:48:15My contribution was to get her out of LA, into Amsterdam.
0:48:15 > 0:48:19LA is a desert land. It's disastrous.
0:48:19 > 0:48:22The sun shines every bloody day.
0:48:22 > 0:48:28There's nothing to do, unless you're rich and famous. She wasn't either.
0:48:29 > 0:48:31# You always wanted a lover
0:48:33 > 0:48:35# I only wanted a job... #
0:48:36 > 0:48:40I didn't get involved until The Pet Shop Boys.
0:48:40 > 0:48:43The reason I got involved was because
0:48:43 > 0:48:46I just felt it was criminal that nothing was happening.
0:48:46 > 0:48:51She was trying to get herself together, in terms of the drinking.
0:48:51 > 0:48:55The record was brilliant, and if I didn't do it, I felt,
0:48:55 > 0:48:59"Nobody's gonna do it. It'll be one record and she'll slip back again."
0:48:59 > 0:49:05I think, by the 80s, Dusty thought it was all over.
0:49:05 > 0:49:09Then we did this record with her, What Have I Done To Deserve This?
0:49:09 > 0:49:13It was such a big hit, it's quite remarkable to think now.
0:49:13 > 0:49:17It was Number Two in America. Number Two in Britain.
0:49:17 > 0:49:19Number one in the US sales chart.
0:49:19 > 0:49:21# What have I, what have I...
0:49:21 > 0:49:26# Since you went away, I've been hanging around
0:49:26 > 0:49:30# I've been wondering why I'm feeling down
0:49:30 > 0:49:34# You went away, it should make me feel better
0:49:34 > 0:49:37# But I don't know, oh
0:49:37 > 0:49:41# How I'm gonna get through
0:49:41 > 0:49:44# How I'm gonna get through. #
0:49:44 > 0:49:47So suddenly she realised it wasn't all over. That she could be back.
0:49:47 > 0:49:51And she really took that very, very seriously.
0:49:51 > 0:49:56Later, we said, "Do you want to do this song from the film Scandal?"
0:49:56 > 0:50:01It was set in 1963, Dusty was around then,
0:50:01 > 0:50:04yet she was around in the late 80s,
0:50:04 > 0:50:07so it seemed very resonant to get her to do it.
0:50:07 > 0:50:12# It's a scandal It's a scandal, such a scandal. #
0:50:12 > 0:50:16She was very creative, and a perfectionist.
0:50:16 > 0:50:21So her way of recording was to stand behind the microphone,
0:50:21 > 0:50:23with a cigarette and a cup of coffee
0:50:23 > 0:50:26and the lyric sheet with lots of pencil marks on it,
0:50:26 > 0:50:30and she would record word-by-word, or syllable-by-syllable,
0:50:30 > 0:50:34gradually changing it. Very like someone doing a painting.
0:50:34 > 0:50:40# Mandy's in the papers, cos she tried to go to Spain
0:50:40 > 0:50:45# She'll soon be in the dock, then the papers once again
0:50:45 > 0:50:51# Vicki's got her story about the mirror and the cane
0:50:51 > 0:50:53# It may be false... #
0:50:53 > 0:50:59So in every verse and chorus, the melody would be changed slightly.
0:50:59 > 0:51:03Then, the last chorus would go through the ceiling.
0:51:03 > 0:51:05# ...they may be false
0:51:05 > 0:51:08# They may be true
0:51:09 > 0:51:15# But nothing has been proved. #
0:51:19 > 0:51:21That's one with The Pet Shop Boys.
0:51:21 > 0:51:24It's quite important because it was them that brought her back,
0:51:24 > 0:51:26bless their little hearts.
0:51:28 > 0:51:30She'd be enormously grateful.
0:51:30 > 0:51:34I didn't realise I had quite so many.
0:51:35 > 0:51:39My favourite album. I loved that.
0:51:41 > 0:51:45She did have beautiful eyes, didn't she?
0:51:48 > 0:51:53# Tell me where is a woman to go?
0:51:55 > 0:51:57# When she's feelin' low
0:51:57 > 0:52:04# And all she wants to do is feel a little better... #
0:52:04 > 0:52:07In 1994, soon after the completion
0:52:07 > 0:52:10of the Nashville-recorded album, A Very Fine Love,
0:52:10 > 0:52:13Dusty was diagnosed with breast cancer.
0:52:13 > 0:52:19She'd only ever allowed her closest friends to see her out of character, without make-up.
0:52:19 > 0:52:22She saw no reason now to challenge
0:52:22 > 0:52:25the fans' image of Dusty Springfield.
0:52:25 > 0:52:27She retreated to the Berkshire countryside,
0:52:27 > 0:52:28away from the public gaze.
0:52:28 > 0:52:35- # ...All she wants to do is - # Is feel a little better
0:52:35 > 0:52:38- # Tell me where - # Where
0:52:38 > 0:52:40# Pretty girl
0:52:41 > 0:52:44# When she's feelin' low
0:52:44 > 0:52:51# And all she wants to do is feel a little better
0:52:52 > 0:52:57# Do, da, do, da, do, da, do, da, day
0:53:00 > 0:53:04# Ahh! Do, da, do, da, do, da, do, da, day
0:53:07 > 0:53:22# Do, da, do, da, do, da, do, dah, day. #
0:53:25 > 0:53:31Dusty was a complete survivor. She lived to be nearly 60.
0:53:31 > 0:53:34Her life simply wasn't tragic.
0:53:34 > 0:53:39When she died, she was on an up. She'd sorted herself out financially.
0:53:39 > 0:53:42She got the OBE from the Queen.
0:53:42 > 0:53:47She got a beautiful house because she knew she'd be ill
0:53:47 > 0:53:51and she wanted lovely views and friends nearby.
0:53:51 > 0:53:53She wanted her cats around.
0:53:55 > 0:54:00She was thrilled that the illness took away the need to work.
0:54:00 > 0:54:05She didn't have to feel guilty about not working. That was gone.
0:54:10 > 0:54:14# I think I'm goin' back
0:54:14 > 0:54:19# To the things I learned so well
0:54:19 > 0:54:23# In my youth
0:54:24 > 0:54:29# I think I'm returning to
0:54:29 > 0:54:34# Those days when I was young enough
0:54:34 > 0:54:39# To know the truth
0:54:39 > 0:54:43# Now there are no games
0:54:43 > 0:54:47# To only pass the time... #
0:54:47 > 0:54:51Dusty's funeral was her last great performance.
0:54:51 > 0:54:53She'd planned the horse and carriage
0:54:53 > 0:54:56and stopped the traffic, just as she had wanted to,
0:54:56 > 0:54:58and received a standing ovation
0:54:58 > 0:55:01as her coffin left the church to the strains of Goin' Back.
0:55:01 > 0:55:09# ..Growing older is no sin... #
0:55:09 > 0:55:13It was an occasion that summed up the contradiction and complexities
0:55:13 > 0:55:16of being Dusty.
0:55:16 > 0:55:20She was quoted as saying she wanted to die as Mary O'Brien,
0:55:20 > 0:55:25yet her funeral had the flourishes of Dusty, the star.
0:55:25 > 0:55:31# ...To reach out to a friend
0:55:31 > 0:55:37# And now I think I've got a lot... #
0:55:37 > 0:55:41The Dusty I saw was different with different people.
0:55:41 > 0:55:46She could be charming and she could be an absolute pain in the ass.
0:55:46 > 0:55:50# ..Now there's more to do... #
0:55:50 > 0:55:54Mary was a nice person. Dusty had to be Dusty.
0:55:54 > 0:55:57# ..And every day can be... #
0:55:57 > 0:56:02Mary was the real Dusty with Dusty bursting to get out!
0:56:05 > 0:56:07# ..And I can play... #
0:56:07 > 0:56:12It's easy to decide there were two people - Mary and Dusty -
0:56:12 > 0:56:16but they were the one person.
0:56:16 > 0:56:19Dusty was most definitely Dusty right to the end.
0:56:19 > 0:56:26# ...I'm going back. #
0:56:26 > 0:56:28I don't honestly think anybody
0:56:28 > 0:56:33can truthfully say, "I know Dusty Springfield."
0:56:33 > 0:56:36Or, "I know Mary O'Brien."
0:56:36 > 0:56:41She always kept part of herself back from everybody.
0:56:41 > 0:56:44I think that was her security.
0:56:44 > 0:56:48Cos she knew she had a bit that didn't belong to anyone else.
0:56:48 > 0:56:51She always had that hint of mystery.
0:56:51 > 0:56:55# You don't have to say you love me
0:56:55 > 0:56:58# Just be close at hand
0:56:58 > 0:57:02# You don't have to stay for ever
0:57:02 > 0:57:05# I will understand
0:57:05 > 0:57:12# Believe me, believe me
0:57:12 > 0:57:15# You don't have to say you love me
0:57:15 > 0:57:18# Just be close at hand
0:57:18 > 0:57:22# You don't have to stay for ever
0:57:22 > 0:57:25# I will understand
0:57:25 > 0:57:32# Believe me Ah! Believe me
0:57:32 > 0:57:39# Believe me. #
0:57:39 > 0:57:43APPLAUSE AND CHEERING
0:57:50 > 0:57:52MUSIC: "See All Her Faces" by Dusty Springfield