Episodes

11 episodes in this season

Armando Iannucci

60 min

Now Playing

Manga Mania

60 min

John Rutter

60 min

PD James

60 min

Dusty Springfield

60 min

Seu Jorge

60 min

Romeo and Juliet

60 min

George Michael: I'm Your Man

60 min

E10

Peter Blake

60 min

E11

Nick Park & Aardman Animations

60 min

E12

Steve Reich

60 min

The South Bank Show

TV Series

19781h5.6

DocumentaryTalk

Now playing

Manga Mania

Season 30 · Episode 2 · Feb 19, 2006

The iconic Dusty Springfield remains the 'white lady of soul' and in this compelling South Bank Show, her moving and dramatic story is told in its entirety for the first time. An array of intimate friends, lovers and show business talents go on record to describe the intense highs and lows of Dusty's swinging life, before her untimely death in 1999. Born Mary O'Brien in London as war began in 1939, in the 60's as Dusty Springfield, she came to represent renewed British optimism and modernity, epitomising swinging London. A plain convent educated girl, Dusty's transformation of herself into a blonde glamour icon was a remarkable act of will. A lesbian with a great deal to lose and a great deal to hide, Dusty hid for many years behind the mask of the Girl Singer. The unique qualities of her voice attracted the creme de la creme of songwriters and producers; she had close relationships with Burt Bacharach, Carole King, and Gamble and Huff, the men who created the sound of Philadelphia Soul. Dusty made herself an expert on black American soul music after she fell in love with Motown. Her career waned in the seventies and she fled to America, where she floundered in variety shows. She moved to Los Angeles where she struggled with drink, drugs and self harming. She later returned to Britain to critical acclaim when she re-invented herself in partnership with Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe better known as the Pet Shop Boys. Dusty's life is nothing if not dramatic, although this can never obscure her remarkable gifts as a musician and performer, which have continued to be rediscovered by new generations. A soul searching South Bank Show, on arguably Britain's greatest ever Pop Diva, Dusty Springfield.

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The South Bank Show

TV Series

19781h5.6

DocumentaryTalk

Now playing

Manga Mania

Season 30 · Episode 2 · Feb 19, 2006

More details