A tribute to Dusty

>> Dusty Springfield was born Mary O'Brien. She was considered to be a tomboy and was given the nickname Dusty because she liked to play soccer with the boys.

>> After a bout with drugs and alcohol, she saw her career resurrected with the 1987 Pet Shop Boys song, What Have I Done to Deserve This? and the soundtrack to the 1988 film Scandal.
>> She admitted to her bisexuality in a 1972 interview.
>> She was awarded O.B.E. (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) for her contribution to music in 1999, just before her death.
>> Cliff Richard famously called her The White Negress, intending it as a compliment, which is how Dusty took it. "You can't get a more pleasing compliment when you really go for the groups like the Shirelles and the Crystals, can you," said Springfield.
>> Springfield died after a five-year battle with breast cancer at the age of 59. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame later that year. Her fans hold Dusty Day every year in London to remember her music and raise money for breast cancer research.u00a0