DUSTY SPRINGFIELD by Mark H. Evans

Dusty Springfield

by Mark H. Evans

“Many other people say I'm bent, and I've heard it so many times that I've almost learned to accept it ... I know I'm perfectly as capable of being swayed by a girl as by a boy. More and more people feel that way and I don't see why I shouldn't.” 

– Dusty Springfield, 1970

I had been exposed to the sweet sound of Dusty Springfield’s voice at an early age, thanks to my mother playing her home-made soul mixtapes in the kitchen while she washed dishes and I sat at the table drawing. However it wasn’t until my 13 year old self first listened to the Pulp Fiction soundtrack that I really began to fall in love with her voice. Soon enough, listening to “Son Of A Preacher Man” on my CD walkman became a daily event. I couldn’t get enough. 

My new-found fondness for Dusty didn’t go unnoticed by my mother, who began to lend me her mixtapes to listen to, and would often chat about how much she adored Dusty as a teenager growing up in the 60’s. From discovering her early hits like “I Only Want To Be With You” and “I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself”, through to realising that she was the same fierce blonde from The Pet Shop Boys’ video for “What Have I Done To Deserve This”, Dusty became a constant part of my musical life. 

What I later learnt about Dusty, such as being responsible for introducing many Motown recording artists to a UK audience for the first time, only served to cement my fondness for her. But when I came to learn about her difficult later years, where rumours of her sexuality swirled and gurgled around the tabloid gutter press and she became increasingly withdrawn from public life, I felt genuinely sad for her. Why would anybody seek to scandalise this amazing artist just because she dated girls? Who gave the tabloid press the right to harass her to the point that she self-harmed? Her music took on a new poignancy, as I began to understand the isolation and atmosphere of suspicion that she must have felt during this period. This sense of being surrounded by an atmosphere of gossip and suspicion resonated even more deeply for me later on, as I struggled with my own sexual identity during my late teens and early twenties. 

Though I managed to turn out okay in the end Dusty, like so many other greats, was struck down too soon after losing her fight against breast cancer. But when I listen to Dusty now, I don’t just hear the beautiful melancholy in her voice but also her determination and strength. To me, she will always serve as a reminder to just be yourself and do what you love as best as you can. Cheers, Dusty.

Mark H. Evans is a graphic designer who currently lives in Manchester.