A career that combined radio, theatre, film and sport
(she was once British junior water-skiing champion) with music,
Dana has been in the public eye since recording her first album
at the age of 15 .Her music has evolved from folk in the 60s through
70s Bowie-esque glam-rock to the raunchy in-your-face blues she
performs today. Her new album, the aptly titled "Experienced"
is released at the end of March. It has 12 songs, 11 of which are
self-penned. Rolf Harris features on two titles, playing the wobbleboard
and eefing.
Dana Gillespie has been dedicated to the blues from an early age:
"I discovered the blues when I went to the American Folk Blues Festival
in 1962 and also to see the Yardbirds at the Marquee Club. I was
in my early teens and hadn't heard anything like it before - blues
wasn't easily available in the UK back then". Bessie Smith especially
inspired her because of her combination of sly, funny and bawdy
lyrics. "Blues was my first musical love because it's earthy, spiritual
and honest."
In 1964 she recorded for Pye, with Donovan on guitar and became
a regular on the folk circuit. She recalls: "[at that stage] I was
doing folk because I couldn't afford a band and I hadn't found my
musical niche". In those early years Dana got to know many of the
top bands and people in the music business. Most shared her love
of blues, and played their own version of it. Bob Dylan who was
an old friend of Dana from the 60s showed interest in her music
in 1997, when he invited her to support him on his UK tour, which
included a sell-out show at Wembley.
Her own preference for that kind of music was tempered by the fact
that most of her managers did not really know how to handle her
emergent talent. After a swathe of singles on Pye and two LPs for
Decca, she moved to RCA and made "Weren't Born A Man" in 1973, some
titles being produced by David Bowie, whose management, Mainman,
also took care of her career.
While her career in music was simmering away, she became better
known for her appearances in London's West End theatres, in shows
such as the first run of Jesus Christ Superstar (playing Mary Magdalene),
The Who's "Tommy" (playing the Acid Queen) and the rock Othello,
"Catch My Soul". She also co-stared with Dudley Moore in the film
version of "The Hound Of The Baskervilles" and stared in Ken Russell's
"Mahler" among other movies.
Her second RCA LP "Ain't Gonna Play No Second Fiddle" was just
beginning to take off when her management company decided she should
move to the USA, where she played and toured extensively for two
years. Dana hosted a radio blues show in New York at the same time,
which gave her the opportunity to learn more about the roots of
the music. She has continued her interest in radio in Austria where
she recently completed a 11-year stint hosting a weekly, international
world music show on Blue Danube Radio called "Globe Trotting With
Gillespie".
In the 80s, Dana toured Europe several times with the "Stars Of
Boogie Woogie" tour, singing either with the Mojo Blues Band or
with Axel Zwingenberger. Her time with the Mojo Blues Band, a purist
outfit that backed all the American blues musicians visiting Europe,
lasted three years. "I lived, slept and breathed blues, because
that was all they did. It was a great experience."
She also developed her interest in Indian and Arabic music, recording
the single 'Move Your Body Close To Me', an Indian-influenced song
with synthesiser backing. It shot to #1 in Europe. Consequently,
Dana split from the Mojos to explore the pop and record her two
Bellaphon albums, "Solid Romance" and "It Belongs To Me".
Dana has already released three blues albums through Ace. "Blue
Job", was recorded in 1982, a collection of blues songs with a humorous
risqué twist. The second LP, "Below The Belt" drew on the same source,
and was produced by Mike Vernon (who also produced Dana's Pye album
in the 60s, "Box Of Surprises"). The third LP, "Sweet Meat" concentrated
on "fat" and "thin" numbers - another raunchy set of songs. The
combined three LPs are now available on two CDs "Blues It Up" and
"Hot Stuff".
During the 90s Dana released 14 albums, recording three in Sanskrit,
under the artist name Third Man. Her touring schedule has been consistently
packed, taking her to all the European blues festivals. In recognition
of her talent, she was voted Top British Female Blues Vocalist by
the British Blues Connection and Blueprint Magazine between 1992
and 1996 and has now been elevated into their Hall Of Fame.
In the last week of January, for the last five years, the Caribbean
Island of Mustique has been the destination for a charity blues
festival, founded and organised by Dana. The festival started as
a small event but as Mustique has grown in popularity, as a tourist
destination and as a playground for the wealthy, so has the festival.
The funds collected are used to pay for education on the poorer
neighbouring island, St Vincent. Dana maintains that the event will
continue to be a free festival, raising money through the sale of
the Mustique Blues Festival Live CD produced every year. Blues musicians
from all over the world, such as Big Jay McNeely and Larry Garner,
perform at the festival.
DANA is accompanied by Julien Brunetaud, pianist,
and Pierre Gustave, guitarist.
JULIEN BRUNETAUD
A French musical prodigy, Julien, 22, burst onto the professional
circuit in the last year. He recently toured Europe with Big Joe
Turner.
RED PIERRE GUSTAVE
A member of Dana’s touring band for the last 18 months, Fred
has also recorded with Dana. |
