Product Description

Dusty Springfield is Britain’s greatest ever pop diva and the possessor of one of the finest and most soulful voices of all time. She dominated both the UK and US charts throughout the sixties with a string of hit singles that have stood the test of time as true classics. Originally a member of the folk trio The Springfields, from whom she took her stage name, she became a solo artist in 1963 after being exposed to the magic of Motown whilst playing in America and became probably the finest ever white soul singer. Diagnosed with breast cancer in the mid-nineties she died in 1999 at the age of just 59.

This concert, recorded at the Royal Albert Hall in 1979 in the presence of HRH Princess Margaret, captures Dusty at the height of her career. The show is packed with hits (including 9 UK top 10 singles), which are delivered with all the glitz and panache that were Dusty’s trademark and have made her a major gay icon as well as beloved of music fans everywhere.

As a bonus feature there is an extensive interview with Dusty’s long time manager, her friends and one of the backing singers from the Albert Hall show.

All of the existing visual footage from the concert has been used on this DVD, however there are additional tracks that exist as audio only and these are included on the companion CD release which is being simultaneously released on Eagle Records (ER 20081-2).

Tracklisting:
1. I Close My Eyes And Count To Ten
2. We Are Family
3. Lose Again
4. All I See Is You
5. This Will Be
6. Hits Medley: Goin’ Back / I Only Want To Be With You / Stay A While / Just A Little Lovin’ (Early In The Morning) / Some Of Your Lovin’ / The Look Of Love / Wishin’ And Hopin’ / I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself / Losing You
7. Son Of A Preacher Man
8. You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me
9. Quiet Please There’s A Lady On Stage
10. Put Your Hands Together

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #72485 in DVD
• Brand: Springfield
• Released on: 2005-11-01
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, DVD, Live, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 100 minutes

Customer Reviews

The Bitch is Back!
From the opening musical intro (a wonderfully tongue in cheek version of "The Bitch is Back", sung by her backing vocalists), to the very last notes of "Put Your Hands Together", this concert is a MUST see for any music fan, and of course, a total treat for anyone who calls themselves a true Dusty Springfield afficionado.

The evening is full of energy and shows Dusty Springfield in the best light perhaps since her 60s hey dey. Not since then had we seen her so relaxed, so laid-back, so fully committed to entertain her audience.

And entertain she does, going through a wonderfully varied repertoire for this concert. She covers disco ("We Are Family", "You Can Do It", Grace Jones' "On Your Knees"), delivers the big ballads she was known for ("All I See Is You", "I Close My Eyes and Count To Ten", "You Don't Have To Say You Love Me"), delivers a rousing medley of her well known hits, (starting with a mesmerizing few lines of Carole King's "Goin' Back") and as if that weren't enough, she throws in a few brilliant covers of Karla Bonoff's "Lose Again" (made popular by Linda Ronstadt) and Peter Allen's "Quiet Please, There's A Lady On Stage" in which she reaches Judy Garland-like proportions of showwomanship.

The picture quality is absolutely AMAZING and I love the Main Menu and the other Menus graphics..great sound effects and wonderful pictures of the White Queen of Soul. The sound quality is not as strong as the picture quality, but I guess they did the best they could with what was available on the master tapes.

Dusty looks radiant and performs majestically! The liner notes are actually quite good this time (in my view) and they capture perfectly the spirit of the concert. Dusty does seem more laid-back than ever on this one and yes, there are several small glitches and hiccups vocally as well as technically, but nothing major...and whatever precision is lost is made up for with a wonderful energy and enthusiasm that's wonderful to see.

The interviews are also fantastic..especially Pat Rhodes, Madeleine Bell and Simon Bell. Simon almost made me cry on several occasions, especially towards the end, when it was clear he was also moved and missing Dusty. He is a great guy, and it's clear to see why Dusty wanted him near in her final days.

While Springfield seems to excel at the ballads, what is most surprising is to watch her take command of her audience with an assurance and strength that is still encased in a warm, vulnerable glow. No one else but perhaps a Garland or maybe a Piaf, could make 3,000 people feel as if she was singing only to each of them...individually. That sort of ability is a rare thing indeed, and Dusty Springfield shows it fully during this concert. She has every single audience member in the palm of her hand from beginning to end. This is not something you see very frequently nowadays from a performer. It is something of legend, indeed.

There's a Lady on Stage
Dusty Springfield performed live all too infrequently, especially in the second half of her career. Even less frequently did she appear before the camera. So these few moments caught on film are especially poignant. This performance, before Princess Margaret at the Royal Albert Hall, has a thrown-together feel, and Dusty doesn't always look like she knows what to do with the stage, but the rapport she establishes with her fans is immediate and real. I like the drama she brings to a song like "Quite Please, There's a Lady on Stage," a song she never recorded for an album and which was written by Peter Allen with Judy Garland in mind, but which provided the perfect coda to what was essentially a comeback performance, following her decade-long "exile" in America. But it's the hits that her fans want to hear, and she delivers these in spades. From "I Close My Eyes and Count to Ten" to "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me," her catalog is among the most recognizable in the history of pop (for insights into her career, one couldn't ask for more than the interviews with Pat Rhodes, Simon Bell, and others on the DVD). She looks great; she sounds great; and the songs hold up. So put your hands together and enjoy.

Dusty in fine voice, but...
I have mixed feelings about this performance. Filmed for British TV in 1979, ten years after Dusty's last chart hit, there is an air of "lounge act" to this show, with its medley of hits and her covers of trendy disco tunes that she felt obliged to include here (it would have been better had she sung Pattie Brooks' great "After Dark", where Brooks sounds uncannily like Dusty.) Dusty recorded some interesting things around this time period, and she could have done justice to a few of her recent recordings, but she chose not to, and instead did a couple of ballads which are effective, but a bit sad (especially one where she sings about not being the latest rage). For a show that apparently was a big deal, with the Queen in attendance, Dusty giggles through a few tunes, including "The Look of Love", spoiling the mood. Despite all this, it's interesting to see how the audience clearly loves her. It's too bad there are no shows available from her 1960s TV show. I have a bootleg copy of one of them, and although the quality isn't great, the performances are, with Dusty in her prime, complete with the high hairdos and black makeup, singing incredibly, gesturing enthusiastically, and even playing guitar (on the lovely "Wayfaring Stranger"). It wasn't until the Pet Shop Boys brought her back into the spotlight with "What Have I Done to Deserve This" in 1987 that we got to see & hear Dusty in top form again, which led to several more hits ("Nothing Has Been Proved", "In Private" and "Reputation"). This concert, while good to see once, isn't really essential, but nevertheless noteworthy for having been a rare chance to see and hear the legend in concert, even at this rather awkward date.