Dancing with Demons: The Authorized Biography of Dusty Springfield

By Vicki Wickham and Penny Valentine

Book Overview

Dusty Springfield led a tragic yet inspiring life, battling her way to the top of the charts and into the hearts of music fans world-wide. Her signature voice made songs such as, "I Only Want to Be With You," "Son of A Preacher Man," and You Don't Have to Say You Love Me," international hits. In Dancing With Demons , two of her closest friends, Valentine and Wickham, capture, with vivid memories and personal anecdotes, a Dusty most people never glimpsed in this no-holds-barred yet touching portrait of one of the world's true grand dames of popular music.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312282028
• ISBN13: 9780312282028
• Release Date: September 2001
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press
• Length: 306 Pages
• Weight: 1.41 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.5" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

biography

The book was discribed as used excellent condition, it looked brand new. Fast shipping too.

Fascinating

Many here do not seem to like this book and that's ok. I've always loved Dusty's voice, but of course there was a real person behind that voice and when you know what someone has gone through I think it makes you not only feel closer to that person, but to appreciate their talent even more. The book certainly covers her musical career, though of course not definitively, but also covers her life, warts and all. I have even more respect and love for Dusty after reading this. It was well worth my time.

Gifed Singer... Troubled Soul...

"Dancing with Demons" is probably one of the most controversial accounts ever written on the late British songstress, Dusty Springfield. From her mediocre rise in Europe with "I Only Want To Be With You" to the tumultuous 70's, which saw her career evaporate and her songs disappear from the charts, and hitting an all-time low with drugs and alcohol. You will also read about Dusty's stormy, somewhat peculiar lesbian relationships, her struggles to get her career back on track, her moves from the UK to America and Toronto, then finally back to the UK. A truly heartwarming account of this dearly missed lady who ruled 60's pop charts. Although Dusty may be gone in a physical sense, those of us who remember her will always treasure her memory and celebrate the days when she was one of the most glorious and talented singers who ever graced the stage. The magic she could do with a song endures today, and very few singers can evoke the same type of emotion with a song like she could. In summary, "Dancing with Demons" is a must for any true Dusty fan, and although the book might seem a little "gossipy" at times, it still should be read as it paints Dusty as a gifted, caring, beautiful, albeit troubled woman who was in conflict with herself, her music, her sexuality and the world around her. We miss you Dusty! Rest in Peace.

Dancing with Demons

This book was informative, funny, and a great glimpse of what it must have been like to be a friend of Dusty Springfield. The revealing of what it might have been like to be Dusty herself. It is a well written, poignant look at Dusty's career. Everyone assumes being famous is wonderful, however, this portrait shows both of fame's sides. If you enjoy Dusty's music, and want to know more about her as a person, this is the book for you. Several of those she worked with spoke to the authors. The authors' themselves provide a backstage glance into the career, personal life, and heartbreak of Dusty's life with complete honesty.

A POWERFULLY TALENTED ARTIST!

If Dusty Springfield was alive today, the road to fame might have been a little smoother. Today, life style no longer holds the barriers it did back in the 60's when the words "gay" and "lesbian" were only mentioned behind closed doors, and sometimes not even then. Regardless of Springfield's sexual orientation, she was by far one of the greatest superstars in her day.Through the pages of this book, as written by her former manager and a close personal friend, the reader will come to understand this phenomenal artist in a way never before revealed. She did have many demons in her past to deal with, some imposed by others, many self-inflicted. For all the fame and glory she had in her "moment in the sun", the reader cannot help by feel that Springfield's life was such a tragedy filled with alcohol, drugs, self-mutiliation, insecurities and, finally, cancer which finally ended her tumultuous life. Springfield could belt out a song with such power and gusto, but how many fans really knew the tormented, insecure woman behind the voice. This is an excellent book written by two of the people who knew her best.