march IS. 2002 ?
BOOKS
hen 1 first heard of the legendary
Dusty Springfield it was 1987,1 was
11, and her comeback-making collab
oration with gay synth-pop smarties
the Pet Shop Boys on their hit single “W hat
Have I Done to Deserve This?" was ubiquitous.
W hat 1 didn’t know about her could’ve
filled a book: She was one of Austin Powers-
era England’s most successful singers, she went
on from a string of smash hits in the ’60s to he
acclaimed as an exemplary artiste of the
pop/soul vocal, she is a Rock ’n ’ Roll Hall of
Fame inductee, and she was revered by the
masses and in-the-know hipster rock critics
alike. Fortunately, that book has now been
written, and it goes well beyond her remark
able career to give the reader a complete por
trait of a woman who, like so many public per
sonalities, had the alluring combination of
extroversion and self-destructiveness until her
death in March 1999.
Dancing with Demons: The Authorized Biog
raphy of Dusty Springfield (St. M artin’s Press,
2001; $24.95 hardcover) is, like its subject,
contradictory. Despite the trashy hyperbole on
the dust jacket (“W hat were the demons that
plagued Dusty with the highest highs and low
est lows?” it asks breathlessly— an imaginary
Behind the Music: Dusty Springfield), it’s written
with such empathy that most readers wouldn’t
even consider approaching the triumphs and
travails of this talented, tortured woman with
the kind of voyeuristic, envious superiority
often reserved for celebrities.
The work is by turns startlingly honest and
irksomely apologetic, which we can chalk up to
the authors. The pair were tnisted longtime
Springfield confidants with real involvement in
her life— Penny Valentine as a music journal-
A dusty road
to the horrifying (her bouts
I of
self-mutilation, her unfail
ing ability to develop an
addiction to virtually any
substance), by repeatedly
reminding us that she was
insecure, that she had life
by C hristopher M c Q u a in
long difficulties with anxiety,
that she suffered from bipolar
ist, Vicki Wickham as producer of the English
A n avid
disorder.
television program on which the singer
tennis fan, she
What feels like the authors’
launched her career.
was close to
constant vacillation between
Billie Jean
T he story they tell is of a mousy Catholic
cozy armchair psychology and
King, m ain
schtxilgirl from a strict hut eccentric family
blind defensiveness is the book’s
taining a warm
who, driven by a desire for the attention of her
only real flaw. It’s the downside
friendship with
unflappable, detached parents, eventually rose
of having a biography written
the controver
to fame and acclaim with her gorgeous voice
by friends: Laudably attempting
sial lesbian
steeped in American pop and R & B. She
more than a puff piece, they
tennis
player.
deployed her gift with a self-flagellating perfec
offer so many excuses on
Springfield
tionism, causing major delays in recording stu
Springfield’s behalf that one
admired King’s
dios and at live performances and creating the
wonders whether the brassy,
fortitude and
popular misconception that she was “difficult.”
irreverent woman we meet in
openness after
Springfield’s biggest PR concern and the
the book wouldn’t have been
a divorce pro
most anxiously concealed facet of her life—
exasperated with so many pat,
ceeding
what was, according to the biographers, her
Penny Valentine and Vicki Wickham
tidy answers.
revealed her
exclusive homosexuality— is discussed here
But there’s no question
orientation to
much more thoroughly and confidently than it
Springfield would have been pleased finally to
a hostile public, but the singer had a horror
ever has before, suggesting Valentine and
have someone introduce the world to the real
of appearing “unfeminine" to her own fan
W ickham had her permission to speak frankly
Dusty: a very human star who fought to sidestep
of the matter once she was safely beyond the
base.
showbiz victimization, a recovering substance
Her closeted state didn’t pose a threat to
reach of the tabloids.
abuser, a flamboyant gay icon and friend of the
her relationships, most of which took place
All of her long-term committed relation
community who felt burdened by her own sexual
during a time when hiding one’s homosexuality
ships— and a few minor flings— are described
ity, an animal lover, a restless nomad, a kind and
was the socially enforced norm. Her mood
candidly and expansively. Always a presence in
generous friend.
swings and erratic behavior, however, even
the gay community (she enjoyed the friendship
T he authors have succeeded at that, inter
tually caused irreparable rifts with even the
of gay men and loved to see drag queens “do"
estingly and effectively recasting a pop music
most patient of her partners.
Dusty), Springfield lived with female lovers all
icon and thereby doing Springfield and her
The authors explain Springfield’s trouble
over the world throughout her career: an
(until now incom plete) legend an invaluable
some attributes, from the fairly benign (she
American artist in the ’60s, a film journalist in
service. i n
was fond of throwing things, especially food)
the ’70s, a Canadian rock singer in the ’80s.
Friends offer a candid biography
of lesbian pop star Dusty Springfield
*y ( new f/tol/a/i É8/<s£ro
«_ /c/Hhf/t /r o to f /e
t
éT Iteater
Home of
“ Free Range”
Organic Ales
Wednesday is
Brewer Day!
Pint Specials
All Day Long
Featuring:
“‘Free Range’ Red”
1728 NE 40th • Portland, OR 97212
1/2 Block North of Sandy on 40th
m
ir .
Now serving cocktails
Drink specials every day
5 2 0 NW 1 2 th Ave 5 0 3 - 2 2 8 - 2 4 6 6
Portland. OR 97209
Mon-Frf 11am*11pm • Sat 2pm-Late
701 NE 7TH AVE • 503 234-3465
Wmmm
3200
503 / 282-0622
f/i/w a u A ie
'S 0 3 -2 3 < i-6 T > K S
E ntree w / purchase o f
equal or greater value
f?e¿taura/<t <Sc
Com* watch sports In a
gag friendly environment
video poker
i/d i/tn e r t
1/2 Off
BOGARTS
i i & * * sic, .
_/ it/tef ,~7tte-c7 /V
Ribk.yc Steak • /'<•.</<> Chicken
liawtie • Pork Loin d/eda/liono
l llen.ilnirij Lam b R ack • Crab Cakeo
Pan Seared Salm on • O w n Reacted C bieken
>•
open everyday & night
N E W extended evening hours
YOUNG MEN S CROUP
meets every Wednesday
'•? •
I
Rcoervationo <’ > Con/um.i Rci/aircd
Xi’ other ojjero honored irilb thio coupon
l>71() S I. .Milwaukie \vt* • .)03.2.i2 .!2 h -4'2
W m ätm m m
mm
(<>
7pm
503 - 236-6411
201 SE 12th (corner of 12th & Ash)
Wmmmm