Dusty An Intimate Portrait of a Musical Legend
Known the world over for her unique musical style, distinctive look and a voice that propelled her into the charts time and time again, Dusty Springfield was undoubtedly one of the biggest and brightest musical stars of the twentieth century.
Never one to be shy of the spotlight, Dusty broke the mould as the first female entertainer to publicly admit she was bisexual, and was famously deported from South Africa for refusing to play to segregated audiences during apartheid in 1964, just a year after the launch of her solo career.
Combining brand-new material, meticulous research and frank interviews with friends, lovers, employees and confidants, journalist Karen Bartlett reveals sensational new details about the soul diva’s unconventional upbringing, tumultuous relationships and unbridled addictions, including a lifelong struggle to come to terms with her sexuality.
Named one of the Sunday Times’s best musical biographies of 2014, this is the intimate portrait of an immensely complicated and talented woman – the definitive account of one of music’s most legendary figures.
Reviews
4/5: Karen Bartlett’s biography sends you back to the music – to the extraordinary, dusky vulnerability of her voice. I’m re-touched every time I hear it.
The Telegraph
This is fertile rock biog territory and Bartlett spins the tale adroitly, never surrendering to the impulse to sensationalise... the author’s chief concern is to locate the shy frightened woman behind the iconic exterior.
Irish Independent
[A] lucid biography.
Sunday Business Post
[This book] is rich with information on some of her most significant personal relationships... paint[s] a vivid portrait of a tortured soul.
Out in the City
A definitive biography of the singer
International Express
A well-researched and revealing biography … Those last few years, however, make for a heartbreaking read, but [are] handled sympathetically and without sensationalism.
Record Collector
It’s an incredibly sad story but Bartlett gets the balance right, celebrating a talent with few equals, while never shying away from the pain involved.
MOJO
Dusty is a fascinating read, desperately sad and painful though it is to discover its heroine’s Californian dark night of the soul.
The Tablet
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- Paperback, 352 pages
- ISBN: 9781849548762
- 23 June 2015
- £9.99
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- eBook
- ISBN: 9781849547635
- 17 June 2014
- £6.99