Dana Gillespie (born Richenda Antoinette de Winterstein Gillespie, 30 March 1949) is an English actress, singer and songwriter. Originally performing and recording in her teens, over the years Gillespie has been involved in the recording of over 45 albums, and appeared in stage productions, such as ''

Jesus Christ Superstar ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Gospels' accounts of the Passion, the work interprets the psychology of Jesus and other characters, with ...

'', and several films. Her musical output has progressed from

teen pop Teen pop is a subgenre of pop music that is created, marketed and oriented towards preteens and teenagers.Lamb, Bill"Teen Pop" About.com. Retrieved January 28, 2007. Teen pop incorporates different subgenres of pop music, as well as elements o ...

and

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

in the early part of her career, to rock in the 1970s and, more latterly, the

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

Career

Gillespie was born in

Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in northwest Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'' and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement o ...

, Surrey, the second daughter of Anne Francis Roden (née Buxton) Winterstein Gillespie (1920–2007) and Hans Henry Winterstein Gillespie (1910–1994), a London-based radiologist of Austrian nobility. Her older sister, Nicola Henrietta St. John Gillespie, was born in 1946. Dana Gillespie was the British Junior

Water Skiing Water skiing (also waterskiing or water-skiing) is a surface water sport in which an individual is pulled behind a boat or a cable ski installation over a body of water, skimming the surface on two skis or one ski. The sport requires suffic ...

Champion in 1962. She recorded initially in the

genre in the mid-1960s. Some of her recordings as a teenager fell into the

category, such as her 1965 single "Thank You Boy", written by John Carter and Ken Lewis and produced by

Jimmy Page James Patrick Page (born 9 January 1944) is an English musician who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the rock band Led Zeppelin. Page is prolific in creating guitar riffs. His style involves various alternative ...

. Page also played, uncredited, on Gillespie's debut LP, ''Foolish Seasons''. Her acting career got under way shortly afterwards, and it overshadowed her musical career in the late 1960s and 1970s. The song "

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...

" was originally written by

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

for Gillespie, who recorded it in 1971, but her version of the song was not released until 1973 on her album ''Weren't Born a Man''. Her version also featured

Mick Ronson Michael Ronson (26 May 1946 – 29 April 1993) was an English musician, songwriter, arranger, and producer. He achieved critical and commercial success working with David Bowie as the guitarist of the Spiders from Mars. He was a session music ...

on guitar. After performing backing vocals on the track "It Ain't Easy" from Bowie's ''

Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars ''The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars'' (often shortened to ''Ziggy Stardust'') is the fifth studio album by English musician David Bowie, released on 16June 1972 in the United Kingdom through RCA Records. It was co-pr ...

'', she recorded an album produced by Bowie and

in 1973, ''Weren't Born a Man''. Subsequent recordings have been in the

genre, appearing with the London Blues Band. She is also notable for being the original

Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cru ...

in the first London production of

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948), is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musicals, ...

and

Tim Rice Sir Timothy Miles Bindon Rice (born 10 November 1944) is an English lyricist and author. He is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote, among other shows, ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'', ' ...

's ''

'', which opened at the

Palace Theatre Palace Theatre, or Palace Theater, is the name of many theatres in different countries, including: Australia *Palace Theatre, Melbourne, Victoria *Palace Theatre, Sydney, New South Wales Canada *Palace Theatre, housed in the Robillard Block, Mo ...

in 1972. She also appeared on the Original London Cast album. During the 1980s Gillespie was a member of the Austrian Mojo Blues Band. TonyDanaBowie 1971 LoRes

She is a follower of the late Indian spiritual guru

Sri Sathya Sai Baba Sathya Sai Baba (born Ratnakaram Sathyanarayana Raju; 23 November 192624 April 2011) was an Indian guru. At the age of fourteen he claimed that he was the reincarnation of Shirdi Sai Baba, and left his home to serve his devotees. Sai Baba's b ...

. She performed at his Indian ashram on various occasions, and has also recorded thirteen

bhajan Bhajan refers to any devotional song with a religious theme or spiritual ideas, specifically among Indian religions, in any language. The term bhajanam (Sanskrit: भजनम्) means ''reverence'' and originates from the root word ''bhaj'' ...

-based albums in Sanskrit. Gillespie is the organiser of the annual Blues festival at Basil's Bar on

Mustique Mustique is a small private island in the nation of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, which is part of the Grenadines, a chain of islands in the West Indies. The island is located within Grenadines Parish, and the closest island is the uninhab ...

in the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

, for fifteen days at the end of January and it is now in its eighteenth year. The house band is the London Blues Band, which consists of Dino Baptiste (piano), Jake Zaitz (guitar), Mike Paice (saxophone), Jeff Walker (bass), and Evan Jenkins (drums) but there are also many other acts. In 2005,

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...

appeared as a guest and sang songs such as: "

Honky Tonk Women "Honky Tonk Women" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. It was released as a non-album single on 4 July 1969 in the United Kingdom, and a week later in the United States (although a country version called "Country Honk" was ...

", "

Dust My Broom "Dust My Broom" is a blues song originally recorded as "I Believe I'll Dust My Broom" by American blues artist Robert Johnson in 1936. It is a solo performance in the Delta blues-style with Johnson's vocal accompanied by his acoustic guitar. ...

" and "Goin' Down" but also many other Blues artists have appeared there through the years, such as Big Joe Louis, Joe Louis Walker, Billy Branch, Ronnie Wood and Donald Fagen.

Selected discography

*''Foolish Seasons'' (

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, PS 540, October 1968) *''Box of Surprises'' (

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in W ...

, SKL 5012, 1969) *''

'' (Original London Cast Recording) ( MCA, 1973) *''Weren't Born a Man'' (

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

, 1973) *''Ain't Gonna Play No Second Fiddle'' (RCA, 1974) *''Mojo Blues Band and the Rockin' Boogie Flu'' (

Bellaphon Bellaphon Records is an independent German record label of Bellaphon records GmbH. The label produces its own artists and distributes those of other labels. Recording artists * Johnny Cash * The Flippers * Ganymed * Geordie * Joan Jett & th ...

, 1981) *''Blue Job'' (

Ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the c ...

, 1982) *''Solid Romance'' (Bellaphon, 1984) *''Below the Belt'' (Ace, 1984) *''It Belongs to Me'' (Bellaphon, 1985) *''I'm a Woman (The Blues Line)'' (Bellaphon, 1986) *''Move Your Body Close to Me'' (Bellaphon, 1986) *''Hot News'' (Gig, 1987) *''Sweet Meat'' (Blue Horizons, 1989) *''Amor'' (Gig, 1989) *''Blues It Up'' (Ace, 1990) *''Left Hand Roller'' with Pewny Michael, ( Bellaphon Records and Susy Records, 1990) *''Where Blue Begins'' (

Ariola Ariola (also known as Ariola Records, Ariola-Eurodisc and BMG Ariola) is a German record label. In the late 1980s, it was a subsidiary label of the Bertelsmann Music Group, which in turn has become a part of the international media conglomerat ...

, 1991) *''Boogie Woogie Nights'' (with Joachim Palden) (Wolf, 1991) *''Big Boy'' (with Joachim Palden) (Wolf, 1992) *''Methods of Release'' (Bellaphon, 1993) *''Andy Warhol'' (Trident, 1994) *''Blue One'' (Wolf, 1994) *''Hot Stuff'' (Ace, 1995) *''Have I Got Blues For You'' (Wolf, 1996) *''Mustique Blues Festival'' (yearly since 1996) *''Cherry Pie'' (with Big Jay McNeely) (Big Jay Records, 1997) *''One to One'', ''Inner View'', ''Dream On'' (under the pseudonym of Third Man) (1998) *''Back to the Blues'' (Wolf, 1998) *''Experienced'' (Ace, 2000) *''Staying Power'' (Ace, 2003) *''Sing Out'' (with Shanthi Sisters) (2004) *''Sacred Space'' (2005) *''Live'' (with the London Blues Band) (Ace, 2007) *''Eternally Yours'' (2009) *''Mata Mata'' (2011) *''I Rest My Case'' (Ace, 2013) *''Cats Meow'' (Ace, 2014) *''Dana Gillespie meets Al Cook – Take It Off Slowly'' (Wolf, 2018) *''Under My Bed'' (Ace, 2019) *''Deep Pockets'' (Ace, 2021)

Filmography

* ''

Fumo di Londra ''Fumo di Londra'' (Thank You Very Much) (internationally released as ''Smoke Over London'' and ''Gray Flannels'') is a 1966 Italian comedy film written, directed and starred by Alberto Sordi. For his performance Sordi won the David di Donatello f ...

'' (1966) * ''

Secrets of a Windmill Girl ''Secrets of a Windmill Girl'' is a 1966 British exploitation film directed by Arnold L. Miller. It recounts the road to ruin of a young woman (Pauline Collins) who becomes involved with the striptease scene after becoming a dancer at the Windmill ...

'' (1966) - Singer * ''

The Vengeance of She ''The Vengeance of She'' is a 1968 British fantasy film directed by Cliff Owen and starring John Richardson (actor), John Richardson, Olga Schoberová, Olinka Berova, Edward Judd, André Morell and Colin Blakely. It bears little in common with th ...

'' (1968) - Girl at Party (uncredited) * '' The Lost Continent'' (1968) - Sarah * ''

Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...

'' (1974) - Anna von Mildenburg * '' The People That Time Forgot'' (1977) - Ajor * ''

The Hound of the Baskervilles ''The Hound of the Baskervilles'' is the third of the four crime novels by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle featuring the detective Sherlock Holmes. Originally serialised in ''The Strand Magazine'' from August 1901 to April 1902, it is set i ...

'' (1978) - Mary Frankland * ''

Bad Timing ''Bad Timing'' is a 1980 British psychological drama film directed by Nicolas Roeg and starring Art Garfunkel, Theresa Russell, Harvey Keitel, and Denholm Elliott. The plot focuses on an American woman and a psychology professor living in V ...

'' (1980) - Amy Miller * ''

Scrubbers ''Scrubbers'' is a 1982 British drama film directed by Mai Zetterling and produced by Don Boyd starring Amanda York, Kathy Burke, and Chrissie Cotterill. It was shot primarily in Virginia Water, Surrey, England Surrey () is a ceremonia ...

'' (1982) - Budd * ''

Parker Parker may refer to: Persons * Parker (given name) * Parker (surname) Places Place names in the United States *Parker, Arizona *Parker, Colorado * Parker, Florida * Parker, Idaho * Parker, Kansas * Parker, Missouri * Parker, North Carolina *Park ...

'' (1986) - Monika * ''Sterben werd ich um zu leben - Gustav Mahler'' (1987) - Anna von Mildenburg * '' Strapless'' (1989) - Julie Kovago * ''Sunday Pursuit'' (1990) - Maureen (final film role) * '' Hotel India'' (2014) - Herself

Bibliography

* Bowie, Angela, ''Backstage Passes'', Jove Books, Berkeley Publishing Group (1993) *Gillespie, Dana, ''Weren't Born a Man'', Hawksmoor Publishing (2020)

References

External links