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Dana Gillespie

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Dana Gillespie
Dana Gillespie
Dana Gillespie
Background information
Birth nameRichenda Antoinette de Winterstein Gillespie
Born (1949-03-30) 30 March 1949 (age 75)
Woking, Surrey, England
Genres
Occupations
  • Musician
  • songwriter
  • actress
InstrumentVocalist
Years active1965–present
Labels
Websitewww.dana-gillespie.com

Richenda Antoinette de Winterstein Gillespie[2] (born 30 March 1949),[1] known professionally as Dana Gillespie, is an English actress, singer and songwriter.[3] Originally performing and recording in her teens, over the years Gillespie has been involved in the recording of over 70 albums,[3] and appeared in stage productions, such as Jesus Christ Superstar, and several films. Her musical output has progressed from teen pop and folk in the early part of her career, to rock in the 1970s and, more recently, the blues.[1]

Early life

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Gillespie was born in Woking, Surrey, the second daughter of Anne Francis Roden (née Buxton; 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 Champion in 1962.[4]

Career

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Gillespie began a personal and professional relationship with the singer David Bowie in 1964 when he was 17 and she was 14.[5][6] Their relationship lasted a decade; Bowie wrote the song "Andy Warhol" for her, Gillespie sang backing vocals on Ziggy Stardust (1972), and Bowie and Mick Ronson produced her 1973 album Weren't Born a Man. Bowie ended contact with Gillespie following his split from his first wife Angie Bowie. Gillespie looked back on her time with David Bowie fondly.[7]

Gillespie recorded initially in the folk genre in the mid-1960s. Some of her recordings as a teenager fell into the teen pop category, such as her 1965 single "Thank You Boy", written by John Carter and Ken Lewis and produced by Jimmy Page.[citation needed] Page also played, uncredited, on Gillespie's 1968 debut LP, Foolish Seasons.[8]

She performed backing vocals on the track "It Ain't Easy" from Bowie's The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.[9] Her version of "Andy Warhol" was not released until 1973, on her album Weren't Born a Man, which was produced by Bowie and Mick Ronson. Her version also featured Ronson on guitar.[1] Subsequent recordings have been in the blues genre, appearing with the London Blues Band. She is also notable for being the original Mary Magdalene in the first London production of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's Jesus Christ Superstar,[1] which opened at the Palace Theatre in 1972. She also appeared on the Original London Cast album of the show. During the 1980s, Gillespie was a member of the Austrian Mojo Blues Band.

Left to right: Dana Gillespie, Tony Defries and David Bowie at Andy Warhol's Pork at London's Roundhouse in 1971

She is a follower of the late Indian spiritual guru Sri Sathya Sai Baba.[10] She performed at his Indian ashram on various occasions and has also recorded thirteen bhajan-based albums in Sanskrit.[11]

Gillespie is the organiser of the annual blues festival at Basil's Bar on Mustique in the Caribbean, for 15 days at the end of January and it is now in its 18th year.[1]

From March 2021 on, she had an interview and music podcast series, Globetrotting with Gillespie.[7]

In 2024, Gillespie was one of four artists competing in a special selection for the final of Una voce per San Marino 2024, the Sammarinese national final for the Eurovision Song Contest 2024, with the song "The Last Polar Bear".[12] She was ultimately selected for the final.[13]

In August 2024 she was interviewed by The Times where she described her life, her relationship with David Bowie and her South Kensington home, where she has lived all her life.[14]

Selected discography

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Filmography

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Dana Gillespie and the London Blues Band, at the 2006 Trowbridge Village Pump Festival

See also

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Bibliography

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

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Dillon, Charlotte (30 March 1949). "Dana Gillespie – Music Biography, Credits and Discography". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
  2. ^ "Dana Gillespie Biography (1949–)". Filmreference.com. 30 March 1949. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
  3. ^ a b Jurek, Thom (13 May 2003). "Staying Power – Dana Gillespie : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
  4. ^ Brown, Craig (7 August 2018). Ninety-Nine Glimpses of Princess Margaret. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. p. 432. ISBN 978-0374906047.
  5. ^ Cann, Kevin (2010). Any Day Now – David Bowie: The London Years: 1947–1974. Croydon, Surrey: Adelita. p. 43. ISBN 978-0-9552017-7-6.
  6. ^ Jones, Dylan (2017). David Bowie: A Life. New York City: Random House. pp. 22, 28. ISBN 978-0-451-49783-3.
  7. ^ a b Cartright, Garth (12 August 2021). "Bowie, bed-hopping and the blues: the wild times of Dana Gillespie". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 12 August 2021. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  8. ^ "Gillespie full of Blues". 7 December 2013.
  9. ^ "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars – David Bowie : Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
  10. ^ "H2H Special: Conversation with Dana Gillespie, British singer, actress and song writer (part 2)- Dec 2011". Media.radiosai.org. 12 December 2011. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
  11. ^ "The diva of blues". The Hindu. 11 December 2002. Archived from the original on 1 September 2003. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
  12. ^ Stephenson, James (12 February 2024). "San Marino: Four AI Written Songs to Compete to Reach UVPSM Final". Eurovoix. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  13. ^ "San Marino 2024: 'Una Voce Per San Marino' names released". Eurovision.tv. EBU. 19 February 2024. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  14. ^ Membery, York (11 August 2024). "Dana Gillespie: I never felt wealthy. Not even swanning around with Bowie". www.thetimes.com. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  15. ^ "Dana Gillespie Discography at Discogs". Discogs.com. 30 March 1949. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
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