It's another case of great minds thinking alike, as no sooner had I prepared this post than Paul over at albumsthatshouldexist.blogspot.com posted an album of Gillespie's 60's singles, and there was me thinking that she was an artist who has been unjustly ignored by most people, only to find that she has at least two fans.
Dana Gillespie was born Richenda Antoinette de Winterstein Gillespie on 30 March 1949, and has had a multi-faceted career, as a singer, songwriter, and stage and film actress, and she was even British Junior Water Skiing Champion in 1962. She recorded initially in the folk genre in the mid-60's, releasing two albums in 1968 and 1969, as well as some more pop-orientated singles as far back as 1965 (see Paul's blog). In the late 60's she became friendly with David Bowie, and he wrote the song 'Andy Warhol' especially for her. Both artists recorded versions of it, and Gillespie's version, along with four other songs from her and seven from Bowie, were pressed up on a promo album of just 500 copies, so that Bowie's manager Tony Defires could try to secure a record deal for either artist, who were both signed to his ManiMan agency. All the songs from the promo later appeared on Bowie's 'Hunky Dory' or Gillespie's 'Weren't Born A Man' albums, with her re-recording of 'Andy Warhol' featuring Mick Ronson on guitar. At the same time as recording the album, she was also appearing as Mary Magdalene in the first London production of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's 'Jesus Christ Superstar', which opened at the Palace Theatre in 1972, and she has continued to mix acting and singing throughout her career. In 1973 she formed a short-lived group called Libido, with Tony Ashton and Ray Dyke, later of Ashton, Gardner and Dyke, and Mick Liber, who had recorded for John Peel's Dandelion label as a member of Python Lee Jackson. This band released one single, the b-side of which was a version of Gillepsie's 'Weren't Born A Man'. While her own 'Weren't Born A Man' album was a mixture of pop and soul, mostly written or co-written by Gillespie, later recordings shifted more towards a blues style, with the follow-up 'Ain’t Gonna Play No Second Fiddle' being very much in this style. Preparations were made for a third album in 1974, and demos were produced, but nothing ever came of it after MainMan collapsed, and they remained unreleased until they surfaced on a recent retrospective from her. In fact, she didn't release another album for eight years, until 'Blue Job' came out in 1982, but from then on the floodgates opened, and she has issued over 20 more blues albums since then. During the 1980's Gillespie was a member of the Austrian Mojo Blues Band, and is organiser of the annual Blues festival at Basil's Bar on Mustique in the Caribbean, now in its eighteenth year. In later years she became a radio presenter, living in Austria and hosting record shows on Vienna's Blue Danube Radio (the English-language service of the ORF) for 11 years. If you mention her name these days, and anyone has actually heard of her, it's always due to the Bowie connection, but I hope that this collection of rarities will prove that there’s more to her than just being mates with Bowie.
Dana Gillespie was born Richenda Antoinette de Winterstein Gillespie on 30 March 1949, and has had a multi-faceted career, as a singer, songwriter, and stage and film actress, and she was even British Junior Water Skiing Champion in 1962. She recorded initially in the folk genre in the mid-60's, releasing two albums in 1968 and 1969, as well as some more pop-orientated singles as far back as 1965 (see Paul's blog). In the late 60's she became friendly with David Bowie, and he wrote the song 'Andy Warhol' especially for her. Both artists recorded versions of it, and Gillespie's version, along with four other songs from her and seven from Bowie, were pressed up on a promo album of just 500 copies, so that Bowie's manager Tony Defires could try to secure a record deal for either artist, who were both signed to his ManiMan agency. All the songs from the promo later appeared on Bowie's 'Hunky Dory' or Gillespie's 'Weren't Born A Man' albums, with her re-recording of 'Andy Warhol' featuring Mick Ronson on guitar. At the same time as recording the album, she was also appearing as Mary Magdalene in the first London production of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's 'Jesus Christ Superstar', which opened at the Palace Theatre in 1972, and she has continued to mix acting and singing throughout her career. In 1973 she formed a short-lived group called Libido, with Tony Ashton and Ray Dyke, later of Ashton, Gardner and Dyke, and Mick Liber, who had recorded for John Peel's Dandelion label as a member of Python Lee Jackson. This band released one single, the b-side of which was a version of Gillepsie's 'Weren't Born A Man'. While her own 'Weren't Born A Man' album was a mixture of pop and soul, mostly written or co-written by Gillespie, later recordings shifted more towards a blues style, with the follow-up 'Ain’t Gonna Play No Second Fiddle' being very much in this style. Preparations were made for a third album in 1974, and demos were produced, but nothing ever came of it after MainMan collapsed, and they remained unreleased until they surfaced on a recent retrospective from her. In fact, she didn't release another album for eight years, until 'Blue Job' came out in 1982, but from then on the floodgates opened, and she has issued over 20 more blues albums since then. During the 1980's Gillespie was a member of the Austrian Mojo Blues Band, and is organiser of the annual Blues festival at Basil's Bar on Mustique in the Caribbean, now in its eighteenth year. In later years she became a radio presenter, living in Austria and hosting record shows on Vienna's Blue Danube Radio (the English-language service of the ORF) for 11 years. If you mention her name these days, and anyone has actually heard of her, it's always due to the Bowie connection, but I hope that this collection of rarities will prove that there’s more to her than just being mates with Bowie.
Track listing
01 Hold On To Your Fire (single by Libido 1973)
02 Lavender Hill (alternative version with Mick Ronson 1971)
03 Man Size Job (outtake 1974)
04 Never Knew (alternative version with Mick Ronson 1971)
05 Celandine's Blues (from the London Cast recording of 'Mardi Gras - A Musical' 1976)
06 Do The Spin (demo 1974)
07 Gone At The Game (demo 1974)
08 Say Goodbye To The Night (demo 1974)
09 Goin' Crazy With The Blues (demo 1974)
10 Stoke The Engine (demo 1974)
02 Lavender Hill (alternative version with Mick Ronson 1971)
03 Man Size Job (outtake 1974)
04 Never Knew (alternative version with Mick Ronson 1971)
05 Celandine's Blues (from the London Cast recording of 'Mardi Gras - A Musical' 1976)
06 Do The Spin (demo 1974)
07 Gone At The Game (demo 1974)
08 Say Goodbye To The Night (demo 1974)
09 Goin' Crazy With The Blues (demo 1974)
10 Stoke The Engine (demo 1974)
Many thanks for this pj....I remember seeing Dana Gillespie at The Mick Ronson Memorial Concert at the Hammersmith Odeon back in 1994....a great night full of musical heroes paying their respect to the late great Mick ronson.....cheers pj.
ReplyDeleteHere's the link to my Dana Gillespie rarities 1960s album:
ReplyDeletehttps://albumsthatshouldexist.blogspot.com/2020/11/dana-gillespie-light-up-various-songs.html
Funnily enough, there's no overlap with this one. But Peter note that I plan to post another one that is very similar to yours. I hope you don't mind.
Wasn't sure whether you would as you said you weren't that keen on her blues stuff, but anything that gets the word out is welcome.
ReplyDeleteI don't consider her 1970s stuff to be blues. More like bluesy rock. But there's a lot of variety there. She didn't go all in on the blues until her 1980s albums, in my opinion.
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