THE perhaps little known fact that singer Dusty Springfield spent a lot of time in Dorset before she hit the big time elicited many responses from readers!
Many of you remember her as a fledgling singer, attending an awards ceremony at Weymouth Pavilion with her brother, performing as a member of folk pop trio The Springfields and even taking her driving test in Dorchester!
A rather brilliant memory comes from Anthony Dodgson, who at the time Dusty was in Dorset, staying in Franchise Street at a house she rented, acted as her local ‘unofficial’ chauffeur.
He writes: “She was very short sighted and referred to me as “the boy with the black Rolls-Royce.
“I had a £300 black Armstrong Siddeley at the time -which I abandoned later that year on Osmington Hill in the snowstorm to walk into town to go to a party!
“One wet evening (they had no show to do on Wednesday nights) I took her, with Matt Monro and his wife to the Odeon - I’ve forgotten the film we saw.”
Heather Hooper remembers working as a waitress at the Pavilion and her father, who was the chef there, used to give Dusty any chipped china and remembered throwing it off the pier with her one afternoon!
She tells us: “There were two restaurants in the Pavilion Theatre. The Grill room that was used in winter and was over the front of the building and The Ballroom, which was at the side overlooking Weymouth Bay.
“I met many of the pantomime stars in the grill room and the summer show stars in the ballroom.
“My favourite was Anne Shelton who always travelled with her mother and was very caring to the dancers. My favourite pantomime stars were Jimmy Jewel and Ben Waris who were lovely gentlemen.”
READ MORE: Singer Dusty Springfield's links to Weymouth
We also heard from Emily Cable, whose father introduced Dusty to American folk music in the 1950s in London.
She said that many winter evenings were spent with family friend Tim Field on the guitar and her father whistling in Purbeck. Emily said she would be interested to known if anyone has a recording of him whistling?
Thanks to all those who got in touch and do keep your memories of Dusty in Dorset coming - if you remember her being in the area email me at this address.
Nick Horton, former chief sub at the Dorset Echo, interviewed drumming legend Dougie Cooper on the occasion of his 90th birthday, back in 2019.
Dougie told Nick of the time he was playing at the Pavilion in Weymouth, backing Matt Monro and Dusty Springfield, when he fell backwards off a collapsing drum kit and riser which hadn’t been securely set up by a stage crew who were clearly very refreshed after celebrating the end of a long summer season.
On the sad occasion of Dusty’s death in 1999, the then-Dorset Evening Echo did an article about Dusty’s links to Weymouth.
Nick writes: “As you know, whenever a celebrity dies, newspapers trawl their libraries for any local links.
“The Echo’s trawl revealed she had indeed taken her driving test in Dorchester so we tracked down her instructor.
“He’d also passed away but his son had inherited the business and recalled his father’s tales of teaching Dusty to drive.
“I’m still rather proud of my headline on the story… The Dusty I Knew, By Son of a Teacher Man.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here