Fred Perry

[st louis blues]

I just received another batch of bulletins from Paul. Two of them contain Fred Perry’s amendments to DWD and his own Dusty stories. They are interesting to read and are quite detailed. If anyone else is interested in these they are in issues #43 and 44. Here are a couple of brief passages that I’m paraphrasing.

One of his favorite stories is about her dad concerns OB’s reading material. While fellow travelers read the Times or Telegraph, OB would read NME and other music papers on the train to work every morning keeping track of Dusty’s chart progress and career. I’ve read Dusty had a love/hate relationship with her parents, but IMO they were proud of her and I’ve read Dusty said she believed they did the best they could in raising their kids. In addition, I remember reading that OB kept a scrapbook on Dusty’s career. I do think Vickie was correct in DWD that Dusty tried to protect her parents and Pat from knowing about the troubles she was having in the states. We usually try to protect those we love, do we not?

I have the impression that Fred was not happy with Sue Cameron and her revelations in DWD. One of the saddest things I read concerns Sue.

One night Sue had to review the movie “The Exorcist” for her job. Fred said he spent the evening with Dusty cuddled in the spare bed watching television. He assumed that Dusty had taken a few pills with the wine they were drinking and when Sue came home she was upset after watching the movie. Susan asked Fred to stay the night because she said she could not face another night alone with Dusty. Susan slept in the spare room and Fred slept with a blanket next to Dusty in her bed. He said it was all very proper no hanky panky. Sometime during the night he was awakened by Dusty sobbing in her sleep and clinging to him so tightly he had bruises on his arms.
I could not help but feel so sad for her. Just think about it; her partner, who is supposed to in love with her, comes in and basically says I can’t handle being with you and I need someone else here as a buffer. That must have really hurt Dusty. I remember reading how Dusty would get so upset in the middle of the night and make phone calls to friends just so she wouldn’t feel alone.

[Carole R.]

I'm in two minds about the Fred Perry story, obviously it's very heartrending, but by the same rule we can't on the one hand condemn such as Carole Pope for relating personal details,and then think that it's okay for Fred Perry to tell us things like that.
What Fred Perry tells us there, is just as private as what Carole Pope reveals if not more so.. in trying to have a go at Sue Cameron he lets himself and Dusty down, in my opinion.

Carole R xx

[karen]

Yes Carole can see what you are saying here.. all these things told by people who knew Dusty to others and then repeated by them , they are all as bad as one another in my opinion..we all know she experienced bad times in her life and found it difficult to cope, my heart goes out to her for this , but the respect of those that really loved and cared for her during these times and kept it to themselves is worth more than words can say..

[st louis blues]

I understand where you are coming from. It made me sad to think of Dusty, for whatever reason, being in such turmoil. I was a little surprised at his tone as far as Sue. In the brief interview with him during the funeral I believe he refers to Sue as "my freind" not being able to be here today. Also, was there not talk of Fred's comments about periods in Dusty's life not matching what others said thus throwing doubts on his memories? I just thought I would mention these two things and see what others thought. Except for the comments in the book she has been mostly silent on her relationship with Dusty, correct? IMO she should receive some credit for not exploiting Dusty. Also, is it not true that on the old LTD pages Susan posted and a few people were very critical of her so she stopped? If so I wonder if that could have been because of Fred's comments. I guess we will never know how much of DWD is correct; perhaps if Vickie and Penny had taken more time with it and the editing had been better it would have made for a better book. I do think that Susan and Carole Pope did care for her. It could not have been easy living with someone with those addictions.

I still wish a proper bio would be written. There are still people around who knew her in her glory days as well as the bad times. Pat, Douggie, Madeline, and Simon thankfully are still here. I guess the real trick for them would be knowing what to leave in and what to leave out so to speak regarding her personal life.

Fred claimed that the reunion between Susan and Dusty at Henly was not as friendly as portrayed in DWD. He said Susan bugged Dusty about the shoes and Dusty finally gave in and gave them to her to shut her up and Dusty really did not want to see her. I just find that hard to believe. He said after Susan left Henley Dusty said she was glad it was over and she,Dusty, had no idea what she ever saw in Susan. He claimed he was told this by one of Dusty's inner circle at Henley. My first thought was maybe he was talking about Lee.

I've said before that I have mixed feelings about DWD, but in many ways it drew me to her music. I was very touched by the last few chapters and I believe the authors about Dusty reaching out to people. Norma, Susan, and Carol, all have said that Dusty talked to them before she died and I think that is probably true.

As far as personal things he should not have gone into you are spot on. For example, he named a few people that he claimed Dusty had an intimate relationship with and that surprised me. I feel if they wanted that known they would have talked about it. Also, his timelines seem a little spotty. Anyway, did find his comments interesting and the truth is somewhere in the middle. I just thought it might be something to comment on and maybe the senior members on the forum might be able to shed some light on it since they were here when Fred made his comments. I hope I didn't step on anyone's toes with this.

[Corinna]

I guess DWD opened a can of worms by revealing just a little too much about Dusty’s private life. There are certainly things in this book that had better been left unsaid. On the other hand, it was this very book that made me see and love the human being under the artist surface. – Though I have to say that it was mostly other sources that made me appreciate what a fabulous singer she was, and what a great ear for music she had.

With that said, whoever tries to correct what has been said in DWD or tries to give a different perspective is partial of giving away details about Dusty that she herself may not have approved to be shared. But since DWD is out there, and since various other accounts of different people who knew Dusty are out there, we have no choice but to deal with them. Of course, we can ignore them or pretend they are not there, but other people will still read them and refer to them.

Fred Perry begins his letter to the publishing company of DWD with describing his friendship with Dusty, how long they had known each other and how close they had been. Had Fred Perry (and various other people close to Dusty) been interviewed for DWD, the angle of the book might have been very different, since he has very different stories to share about Dusty. He also seems to see her with very different eyes than VW or PV. I don’t blame him for being infuriated since he would probably have preferred Dusty to be portrayed in a very different way.

And the “Exorcist night” story is about the most intimate he shares, and I don’t think it’s such a big deal really. He stood by Dusty when she was at a very low point in her life, and when not even her girlfriend could support her emotionally.

As for lapses of memory etc… As SLB says, the truth is probably somewhere in the middle.

[Corinna]

Also, is it not true that on the old LTD pages Susan posted and a few people were very critical of her so she stopped?

That was the Dusty Mail list. Here's another note from Fred re that:

[st louis blues]

Wow, Cor
I had no idea the breakdown in their relationship was that bad. To think that two people who loved Dusty would end up like that is sad. I'm glad Dusty was not around to see that; it would have hurt her so much. Susan may have had good reason to be upset with Dusty that night, but I felt Dusty was lucky to have Fred with her. To me the story showed how vulnerable and childlike she was. It's no wonder people wanted to protect her. I wonder why Fred was not interviewed for the book. Maybe he and others should have kept certain things to themselves,but I found his comments interesting and I'm glad he left his memories behind. I really think that to understand what we can about her it's important to read the various books, articles, etc. I've learned something from each one with the exception of the Brett book. That book is vile. Thanks for the information. I guess it shows that in their own way many people tried to protect her privacy even though it fractured friendships.

[IWannaBeABluesSinger]

Wow, Cor
I had no idea the breakdown in their relationship was that bad. To think that two people who loved Dusty would end up like that is sad. I'm glad Dusty was not around to see that; it would have hurt her so much. Susan may have had good reason to be upset with Dusty that night, but I felt Dusty was lucky to have Fred with her. To me the story showed how vulnerable and childlike she was. It's no wonder people wanted to protect her. I wonder why Fred was not interviewed for the book. Maybe he and others should have kept certain things to themselves,but I found his comments interesting and I'm glad he left his memories behind. I really think that to understand what we can about her it's important to read the various books, articles, etc. I've learned something from each one with the exception of the Brett book. That book is vile. Thanks for the information. I guess it shows that in their own way many people tried to protect her privacy even though it fractured friendships.

I've just read Fred Perry's letter in the DSB"S 43 and 44 and if only he had written down everything he knew and thought about Dusty real biographers would have a much more complete and balanced picture of who she was.

I agree with Corinna that his "Exorcist" night revelation isn't so much an invasion of her privacy as it is an effort to refute the specific mistakes in DWD - he may have been injudicious but it was told with compassion and that's all I require from anyone who knew her.

SLB - when you wonder why he wasn't interviewed for DWD the simple answer is that the authors weren't looking for accuracy or the truth. They were in a hurry to air as much dirty laundry, and make a quick buck, as they could. That's why DWD does not, under any standard that I am aware of, qualify as a biography. Also Penny Valentine's stated premise that DWD is a "psycho-biography" is laughable given her ludicrous interpretations of Dusty and the events in Dusty's life.

When Fred Perry died didn't his sister give all of his Dusty memorabillia to a fan - perhaps Paul Howes? Maybe he did write more - I know he kept journals. It seems that Fred was someone that Dusty was completely open with - he was the only hope of getting a warts and all picture of the real Dusty.

Maggie

[Corinna]

It's actually Ralph who received Fred's Dusty memorabilia. You can see some of his treasures on this thread:

http://www.dustyspringfield.org.uk/ltd_ ... fred-perry

Not sure how much personal info Ralph is willing to share, though.

Here's another thread I found in our archives. It contains Fred's emails on the DustyMail group:

http://www.dustyspringfield.org.uk/ltd_ ... dusty-fans

[IWannaBeABluesSinger]

Thanks Corinna - I knew they went somewhere. Is Dusty Mail stil around?

Maggie

[charlotte]

Thanks for posting those Cor. Thoroughly enjoyed reading them. Makes you love Dusty even more (if that's possible).

[Corinna]

DustyMail as such has ceased to exist, but there is another mailgroup, Dustyville. It's not very active though, but I get an email every now and then. You can join them here (I think): http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/Dustyville/

[gmoyle]

As someone who knew Fred (for a year or so before his death), I feel I have to add a word here.

In my experience, Fred was *never* anything less than respectful of Dusty's privacy. And he always spoke of her to me with a mixture of affection & admiration. Those some qualities can be seen in the DSB interview from Issue #17, and the 2-part memoir in DSB #63 & #64.

Like most of the rest of us, Fred was appalled by "Dancing With Demons," &, as Corrina says, he wrote up his commentary on the book to counter its many errors or distortions (I was the one who conveyed them to DustyMail & thus to dear Paul Howes).

Not unlike Dusty herself, in the 60s Fred neither drank nor drugged ~ nor did he when I knew him. The point being: he had a remarkable ~ & I think reliable ~ memory. And let me tell you, it was still good in the late 90s! He had worked in the same arenas as Dusty since the Lana Sisters gigs ~ & also on those once-upon-a-time package tours which featured The Springfields. His account of becoming tour manager for Tito Burns is described in DSB #63. It was that which subsequently led to him becoming Dusty's lighting director ~ for pretty much all her post-1964 concert performances ~ including the gig of which he was most proud (being not so much a Robert Nesbitt fan as an abject acolyte) at Dusty's first Talk of the Town.

To sum up Fred: He loved Dusty (I kid you not; I could see it in his eyes); he had the greatest respect for her gift (even when she didn't); he regretted not being able to intervene when they were both in LA (he admitted he didn't fully understand her addictions); he spurned $$-loaded invitations to talk trash after her death. He was, in short, a decent guy & a good friend.

What offended me most about "Dancing With Demons" was not the 'revelations' ~ 90% of which Dusty had talked about herself in the post-1978 press coverage, in which she was absurdly frank about drink & drugs. What I can't forgive is that Vicki & Penny ~ her supposed friends ~ collaborated on a 'biography' that tilted so much toward the sordid & the painful. Their third co-author should have been Lee Everett! Wickham & Valentine's "shock" at what The Daily Mail chose to serialize back in the day is, to my mind, the classic case of kettle & black!

Meanwhile, we do have the counter-examples of ever-faithful Pat & Simon, not to mention Madeleine & Douggie. As far as I know, none of them have ever succumbed to tabloid pounds (or dollars). Neither did Fred.

[daydreamer]

Like Geraldine, I was around on Dustymail in those days before and after Dusty died and when Fred came onto the list, I appreciated his input. Sue Cameron on the other hand called us "those people" and that didn't go down well I had correspondence with Fred for a couple of years and he was open about their fall out in the 70's. For those who haven't read it, there is a piece on the Women of Repute site written by Fred, which I'll copy in here.


Hi there . . . my name is Fred Perry, and for over 25 years, I was Dusty's lighting designer and stage director. We actually met many years before our first tour (to launch "I Only Want To Be With You") when working for a long-since forgotten musical act at American airbases around London; the Lana Sisters were the opening act on many shows. When I later worked for Frank Ifield, on several occasions The Springfields were the act that closed the first half, with Ifield topping the bill. It seemed inevitable that the Dusty Springfield/Fred Perry combo would come together at some point, particularly when we both found we each had the same insane sense of the ridiculous, liking The Goons, (later of course Monty Python) etc etc.
As we all know, the '60s were very very busy for Dusty - endless tours, cabaret shows, concerts etc. I was involved on every stage appearance she made. I used to go to the television studios, but not to work, just to hang out and help with anything I could . . . I am one of the best cuppa tea finders in the world!!!! Getting to the various venues would involve driving with Dusty in her car, sometimes travelling on the train, and in the case of the tours, she often came on the tour bus with everyone else. I always had a strict rule, we wait for 5 minutes past the appointed departure time behind Baker Street tube station outside the London Transport cafeteria (which wasn't actually open to the public, but they used to let us in, because we were show biz and a bit outside the norm for the people driving trains and other forms of public transportation). On several occasions she would pull up as we started to leave, and on one occasion, we turned the corner as she came into view and she had the cab chase us halfway across London till they pulled alongside at a traffic light and we swapped passengers! On one very memorable occasion, she knew she was REALLY late, and actually got into a cab and said "Manchester, please!!" . . . . and he actually took her there!!.
When the chance to play The Talk of the Town came up we were playing The Fiesta Club, in Stockton. I had learned a lot of my craft at The London Palladium, studying under the master producer, the late Robert Nesbitt. The Talk was entirely his creation, and Dusty had had experience of him on a couple of Royal Variety Shows and, frankly, was a little intimidated by his (her words) "pompous manner." I tried and tried to reassure her that his bark was a lot worse than his bite, and the pre-production period was actually quite calm and sane.
Not quite the same could be said 2 years later when she returned. Technology had come a long way since the first show, and synthesizers had made their appearance. Dusty thought it would be a cost-saving factor to use one of those, in place of the usual 6 violinists . . . but . . . thanks to the Musicians Union, literally at the 11th hour, they stepped in and gave a resounding NO, NO, NO. I have nightmares thirty years later of tables being pushed together along one side of the auditorium with copyists transposing notes for the hastily assembled violin players, as we were onstage trying to put together a very complicated production number I had devised involving Dusty being transformed into Shirley Temple. This number involved back-projected film, plus 4 male dancers, a quick change from Dusty, offstage, plus all of the lighting changes. At one point, a baffled and confused Robert Nesbitt actually said he had to go and make a phone call to New York, and left me in charge to sort it out with all of the technical people involved! Either an R.I.P gesture from him, or a vote of confidence in my ability to solve the problems . . . hopefully I thought it was the latter!!! This was the show we took to Australia, but the venue wasn't as lavishly equipped as The Talk, so it seemed to go a lot smoother.
Hopefully this will give you a flavour of what it was like to work with Madam, as I affectionately called her . . . . she used to bristle slightly when I first started using it, but I told her it was simply a term of endearment, and she came to accept it very quickly. In fact, the very first picture I have, of the two of us, taken backstage at the New Musical Express Awards show at Wembley Stadium has us in a hug, and she signed it "Love, Madam" . . . the other term I coined for her was Auntie . . . she truly seemed to like that, and for years, whenever she sent me a telegram, or a Christmas card, it was invariably signed "Auntie."
I have every card, note and/or letter she ever sent me over the years, and have been approached several times to write a book about her, but I have always refused. I am researching the possibility of putting together a book about the 60s, and of course she would comprise several chapters . . . The Dusty Years????? At the moment her recent passing is too close to think about it, but I have so many stories about the 60s and all of the star acts I worked with that I think it might be of interest. I even have a working title . . . "Throwing Some Light On The Sixties" . . . we'll see. By the way, Susan Cameron gave me about 200 pages of tributes and copies of articles that had been posted on the Internet, hence this little contribution by moi!
One final story: To my horror and regret, I was also the one who, inadvertently, caused the Princess Margaret/Royal Albert Hall trouble in the 70s!! We were sitting in Dusty's house in Los Angeles, going over the upcoming show, and she was trying to come up with a funny line along the line that John Lennon had used at the Royal Show when the Beatles played in the 60s . . . (If you remember "sing along if you know the words, hum along if you know the tune, and those in the cheap seats, just rattle your jewelry!" I was at the rehearsals for that show, and I never thought they would be allowed to get away with it, but even if they were told not to, as we know, they said it anyway). So, knowing of Dusty's loyal gay following, I came up with the line, "It's nice to see that all the royalty is NOT confined to the Royal Box!!" She was appalled, and laughed her head off, and said "They'll never let me get away with that!" Having met Princess Margaret on two separate occasions, I knew that she had a sense of humor. (I had previously directed 2 Royal shows at the Palladium for her favorite charity -- anyone out there remember The Save-Raves??? - one in 1968, and one in 1969, which, by the way, starred Dusty, who flew back from the States just for the show . . . is it any wonder I loved that girl!)
Anyway, Dusty used the line, pissed off PM and the rest, as they say, is history. Various reports have said that PM turned her back on Dusty at the after show party. Well, I have the full-length unedited version of that tape and when going down the line, PM spoke to everyone on the line. When she got to Auntie, she shook her hand, murmured thanks, and moved on. It's a definite snub, but at the time, none of us knew why. She had actually requested a couple of songs from albums of Dusty's that she had never sung as part of her regular shows, so we knew PM was a fan. In fact, after my own Royal Show, Dusty, as the headliner, was talked to for a couple of minutes. I am still baffled all these years later when I recall that this was about the time that PM was under fire for spending far too much time with a failed pop singer named Roddy something or other, on the island of Mustique, which, as far as I am concerned, caused a lot more trouble for the Royal Family than one simple line said with affection at a fund raising concert.
Some final comments. I flew back to London for the funeral, the enormity of which, by the way, still hasn't really hit home yet. Susan Cameron was unable to get away, so I went for both of us. Dusty always liked bright, fierce, as she called them, "tarty" colors, so I found a florist in Henley High Street, and bought just two flowers, one from me, and one from Susan. Mine was a particularly nasty shade of orange, and Susan's was a rather taxing pink shade. I placed them on the ground in front of where the cortege carried her out. The music played "Goin' Back," but I like to think that Dusty was chuckling to herself knowing full well exactly why I had chosen that color scheme. I am happy to report that my instincts were perfect: they managed to clash with every other color in the church. I did my girl proud.
Sincerely,
Fred Perry
California.

http://www.cpinternet.com/~mbayly/atkh1.htm

[paula]

geraldine..thanks for sharing your words regarding Fred...always good to hear from folks who had a connection
...and Carole, thanks for copying the letter for us..I imagine it was a little offensive to have Sue regard DUSTY FANS in that manner.

I guess what I see from all the bits & pieces regarding Fred P. is that he trully admired and loved Dusty...my god, he followed her wherever she needed him and seemed to be there for her when he could. As much as we love Dusty, it is NOT easy dealing with one's addictions and I can imagine could prove very difficult for even her closest friends at times. Fred seemed to be one person who admits he didn't understand Dusty's problem but loved her enough to be there for her at times. I'm sure there is a lot he could have made public but really..why would any "friend " ever want to reveal personal details to the public? I could never understand why anyone would do this??...oh yea..$$

[villagegirl]

Thanks for posting everyone. This has made fascinating reading.

[Corinna]

Thanks for your input, Geraldine! It's always good to have accounts from people who knew Dusty well, and weren't trying to make money off her.

And Fred's DustyMail post was a good read indeed! Thanks for posting, Carole!

[st louis blues]

Very interesting. So maybe Fred was right about Dusty being pressured by Sue about their final visit and Dusty saying she didn't know what she ever saw in Suesan. I wondered why their was much more about Dusty and Susan's relationship in the book rather than Dusty and Norma. However, I quickly realized Norma respected Dusty's need for privacy and refused to supply them with any dirt that they could print in the book. I'm sure she's been approached in the past about talking about Dusty. It just touched me to read the story of Fred staying with her that night and Dusty crying in her sleep and seeking comfort from him. He sounds like a good guy. She was blessed to have him as well as Pat, Douggie,etc. It's a shame he didn't get to publish his memoir.

Do you think that as the years have past Vickie has felt bad about the book and regrets saying Dusty was lazy and hated singing? That's what I hate; she is on film saying that.

[IWannaBeABluesSinger]

Vicki is on record saying all sorts of stupid things, not just about Dusty.

Who can forget her pronouncement that "it was dead easy for women to get recording contracts in the sixties." Yeah, that must be why there were an endless number of male singers and groups, but you can count the number of women on both hands and have fingers left over

As for the way Dusty's relationships in the seventies were presented in DWD I've always wondered why it says she and "Faye Harris" were together for six years, when the truth was they broke up in 1975 and Dusty lived with someone else from 1975 to 1977, and then she and Sue just briefly tried again in the late seventies. Methinks someone overstated their position in the grand scheme of things.

Maggie

[daydreamer]

She wasn't the only one. Think Carole Pope who likes to dine out on her stories