Dana Gillespie
Encyclopedia
Dana Gillespie is an English
actress and singer.
, and his wife. She grew up in England and her family's villa in Maccagno
, a village on Lake Maggiore
, Italy
. She was the British Junior Water Skiing
Champion for four years, until an injury forced her retirement.
She recorded initially in the folk
genre in the mid-1960s, although she was more known at this time for being the girlfriend of Donovan
. Some of her recordings as a teenager fell into the teen pop
category, such as the 1966 single "Thank You Boy", produced by Jimmy Page
. Her acting career got under way shortly afterwards, and it overshadowed her musical career in the late 1960s and 1970s. After performing backing vocals
on the track "It Ain't Easy" from David Bowie
's Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, she recorded an album produced by Bowie and Mick Ronson
in 1973, Weren't Born a Man. Subsequent efforts have been in the blues
genre, appearing with her London Blues Band. She is notable for being the original 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 late 1971. She also appeared on the Original London Cast album which was released the following year.
She is a close friend and associate of Angela Bowie
, David Bowie's former wife.
Gillespie is a regular at Basil's Blues Bar on Mustique
in the Caribbean
, for three weeks in January through to February. This mostly features her London Blues Band, but she also invites other acts. In 2005, Mick Jagger
appeared as a guest and sang songs such as: "Honky Tonk Women
", "Dust My Broom
" and "Goin' Down".
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
actress and singer.
Career
Gillespie was born to the Baron De Winterstein Gillespie, an Austrian radiologistRadiology
Radiology is a medical specialty that employs the use of imaging to both diagnose and treat disease visualized within the human body. Radiologists use an array of imaging technologies to diagnose or treat diseases...
, and his wife. She grew up in England and her family's villa in Maccagno
Maccagno
Maccagno is a comune of c. 2,000 inhabitants in the province of Varese in the Italian region Lombardy, located in the Val Veddasca about 70 km northwest of Milan and about 25 km northwest of Varese.-History:...
, a village on Lake Maggiore
Lake Maggiore
Lake Maggiore is a large lake located on the south side of the Alps. It is the second largest of Italy and largest of southern Switzerland. Lake Maggiore is the most westerly of the three great prealpine lakes of Italy, it extends for about 70 km between Locarno and Arona.The climate is mild...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. She was the British Junior Water Skiing
Water skiing
thumb|right|A slalom skier making a turn on a slalom waterski.Waterskiing is a sport where an individual is pulled behind a boat or a cable ski installation on a body of water, skimming the surface.-History:...
Champion for four years, until an injury forced her retirement.
She recorded initially in the folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
genre in the mid-1960s, although she was more known at this time for being the girlfriend of Donovan
Donovan
Donovan Donovan Donovan (born Donovan Philips Leitch (born 10 May 1946) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist. Emerging from the British folk scene, he developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelia, and world music...
. Some of her recordings as a teenager fell into the teen pop
Teen pop
Teen pop is a subgenre of pop music that is created, marketed and oriented towards teenagers. Teen pop copies genres and styles such as pop, dance, R&B, hip hop, country and rock....
category, such as the 1966 single "Thank You Boy", produced by Jimmy Page
Jimmy Page
James Patrick "Jimmy" Page, OBE is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. He began his career as a studio session guitarist in London and was subsequently a member of The Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968, after which he founded the English rock band Led Zeppelin.Jimmy Page...
. Her acting career got under way shortly afterwards, and it overshadowed her musical career in the late 1960s and 1970s. After performing backing vocals
Backing vocalist
A backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
on the track "It Ain't Easy" from David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
's Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, she recorded an album produced by Bowie and Mick Ronson
Mick Ronson
Michael "Mick" Ronson was an English guitarist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, arranger and producer. He is best known for his work with David Bowie, as one of The Spiders from Mars...
in 1973, Weren't Born a Man. Subsequent efforts have been in the blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
genre, appearing with her London Blues Band. She is notable for being the original Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene was one of Jesus' most celebrated disciples, and the most important woman disciple in the movement of Jesus. Jesus cleansed her of "seven demons", conventionally interpreted as referring to complex illnesses...
in the first London production of Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber is an English composer of musical theatre.Lloyd Webber has achieved great popular success in musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 13 musicals, a song cycle, a set of...
and Tim Rice
Tim Rice
Sir Timothy Miles Bindon "Tim" Rice is an British lyricist and author.An Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, Tony Award and Grammy Award-winning lyricist, Rice is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus...
's Jesus Christ Superstar
Jesus Christ Superstar
Jesus Christ Superstar is a rock opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber, with lyrics by Tim Rice. The musical started off as a rock opera concept recording before its first staging on Broadway in 1971...
which opened at the Palace Theatre
Palace Theatre, London
The Palace Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster in London. It is an imposing red-brick building that dominates the west side of Cambridge Circus and is located near the intersection of Shaftesbury Avenue and Charing Cross Road...
in late 1971. She also appeared on the Original London Cast album which was released the following year.
She is a close friend and associate of Angela Bowie
Angela Bowie
Angela Bowie is an American cover girl, model, actress and musician. She is the former wife of English musician David Bowie and mother of film director Duncan Jones.-Early life:...
, David Bowie's former wife.
Gillespie is a regular at Basil's Blues Bar on Mustique
Mustique
Mustique is a small private island in the West Indies. The island is one of a group of islands called the Grenadines, most of which form part of the country of St Vincent and the Grenadines....
in the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, for three weeks in January through to February. This mostly features her London Blues Band, but she also invites other acts. In 2005, Mick Jagger
Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of The Rolling Stones....
appeared as a guest and sang songs such as: "Honky Tonk Women
Honky Tonk Women
"Honky Tonk Women" is a 1969 hit song by The Rolling Stones. Released as a single on 4 July 1969 in the UK and a week later in the US, it topped the charts in both nations.-Inspiration and Recording:...
", "Dust My Broom
Dust My Broom
"Dust My Broom" is a blues standard originally recorded as "I Believe I'll Dust My Broom"by Robert Johnson, the Mississippi Delta blues singer and guitarist, on November 23, 1936 in San Antonio, Texas. The song was originally released on 78 rpm format as Vocalion 03475, ARC 7-04-81 and Conqueror 8871...
" and "Goin' Down".
Selected discography
- Foolish Seasons (DeccaDecca RecordsDecca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
, 1967) - Box of Surprises (DeccaDecca RecordsDecca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
, 1968) - Jesus Christ SuperstarJesus Christ SuperstarJesus Christ Superstar is a rock opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber, with lyrics by Tim Rice. The musical started off as a rock opera concept recording before its first staging on Broadway in 1971...
(Original London Cast Recording) (MCA, 1971) - Weren't Born a Man (RCARCARCA Corporation, founded as the Radio Corporation of America, was an American electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. The RCA trademark is currently owned by the French conglomerate Technicolor SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Technicolor...
, 1973) - Ain't Gonna Play No Second Fiddle (RCARCARCA Corporation, founded as the Radio Corporation of America, was an American electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. The RCA trademark is currently owned by the French conglomerate Technicolor SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Technicolor...
, 1974) - Mojo Blues Band and the Rockin' Boogie Flu (Bellaphon RecordsBellaphon RecordsBellaphon Records is an independent German record label. Their artists have included Geordie, Limahl, Johnny Cash, Nektar, and Ganymed.Bellaphon were founded in 1961 by Branco Zivanovic. They are headquartered in Frankfurt. The company runs the labels Bellaphon, Bacillus and L&R. Bellaphon has...
1981) - Blue Job (Ace Records, 1982)
- Solid Romance (Bellaphon, 1984)
- It Belongs to Me (Bellaphon, 1985)
- I'm a Woman (The Blues Line) (Bellaphon, 1986)
- Hot News (Gig 1987)
- Sweet Meat (Ace Records, 1989)
- Amor (Gig, 1990)
- Blues It Up (Ace Records, 1990)
- Where Blue Begins (Gig/Ariola, 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 Records, 1995)
- Have I Got Blues For You (Wolf, 1996)
- Mustique Blues Festival (1996) (BCF, 1996)
- Cherry Pie (with Big Jay McNeely) (Big Jay Records, 1997)
- Mustique Blues Festival (BCF, 1997)
- Back to the Blues (Wolf, 1998)
Selected filmography
- Sunday Pursuit (1990)
- StraplessStraplessStrapless is a 1989 film written and directed by David Hare.-Plot summary:An expatriate American doctor in London allows herself to lighten up when her freewheeling younger sister and a mysterious man enter her life. Her inhibitions released, the beautiful doctor learns that freedom has its own...
(1989) - ScrubbersScrubbersScrubbers is a 1983 British drama film directed by Mai Zetterling and starring Amanda York and Chrissie Cotterill. It was shot primarily in Virginia Water, Surrey, England. It was inspired by the success of the 1979 film Scum.-Plot:...
(1983) - Bad TimingBad TimingBad Timing is a 1980 British film directed by Nicolas Roeg, produced by Jeremy Thomas.-Plot:In Vienna, a young American woman in her twenties is rushed to the emergency room after apparently overdosing. With her is Alex Linden, an American psychiatrist teaching in Vienna...
(1980) - The Hound of the BaskervillesThe Hound of the BaskervillesThe Hound of the Baskervilles is the third of four crime novels by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle featuring the detective Sherlock Holmes. Originally serialised in The Strand Magazine from August 1901 to April 1902, it is set largely on Dartmoor in Devon in England's West Country and tells the story of an...
(1978) - The People That Time ForgotThe People That Time Forgot (film)The People That Time Forgot is a 1977 fantasy/adventure film based on the novel The People That Time Forgot by Edgar Rice Burroughs. It was produced by Britain's Amicus Productions, all directed by Kevin Connor...
(1977) - MahlerMahler (film)Mahler is a 1974 biographical film based on the life of composer Gustav Mahler. It was written and directed by Ken Russell for Goodtimes Enterprises, and starred Robert Powell as Gustav Mahler and Georgina Hale as Alma Mahler...
(1974) - The Lost ContinentThe Lost Continent (1968 film)The Lost Continent is a 1968 science fiction film made by Seven Arts - Hammer Films featuring Eric Porter, Hildegard Knef, Suzanna Leigh, Tony Beckley and James Cossins. The film was produced, directed and written by Michael Carreras based on Dennis Wheatley's 1938 novel Uncharted Seas...
(1968) - Secrets of a Windmill Girl (1966)
External links
- Dana Gillespie, official site
- Dana Gillespie at HorrorStars