Come For A Dream...
Seven Little Girls On The Island Of Dreams
Mary left school at fifteen (as soon as she could) and took a series of odd jobs. She also played guitar and sang at local clubs, solo or with Dion (who had now changed his name to Tom). Her big break came when she answered a newspaper ad placed by a sister act looking for a third member. She auditioned and immediately got the part. Riss Chantelle, Lynne Abrams, and Mary O’Brien (renamed ‘Shan’ to fit in) became The Lana Sisters. In the year they were together, the trio made eight singles, their most famous being Seven Little Girls Sitting On The Backseat/Sitting On The Sidewalk. They played a lot of American Air Bases, and even managed to get themselves on television, valuable experience for young Mary. When, in 1960, Mary left the group to join her brother Tom and his friend Tim Field in their new group, she was the only one with experience in front of the camera. Tom, Mary (now Dusty) and Tim formed The Springfields (the O’Brien children took the group’s name for their own) and they were wildly successful. The Springfields combined the sounds of American Country and Folk music, Latin and African music, and Rock’n’Roll to create an entirely unique sound. Tom wrote a lot of The Springfields’ material (his are usually the songs with the escapist themes) but they also recorded long-forgotten American songs. Their first single (an American Civil War tune called Dear John) was silly, camp, and oddly attractive. (The song features Dusty doing a few interesting Southern United States accents.) They were a hit. The BBC - which sometimes displays good judgement - signed them to do a television series, which they titled The Springfields. On it, the group could showcase their talents. Dusty was the lead singer, though it took a couple of singles for Tom and Tim to realise that she should be, Tom and Tim played the guitar or the bongo drums, depending on the sound they wanted. (Dusty would also play guitar from time to time, and Tom sang solo on a couple of singles.) The group’s biggest hit (which can still be heard on the radio from time to time) was Silver Threads And Golden Needles. Dusty sang the middle bit and harmonised with Tom and Tim for the rest of the song. Mostly a country song, the instrumental part in the middle was pure Rock’n’Roll. (Another song they did like that was Dear Hearts And Gentle People.) With The Springfields, Dusty’s dream came true - she got to see America. Asked to record an album in Nashville, Tennessee, the group made the trip across the pond. The trip turned out to be a major turning point in Dusty’s career. Upon visiting New York City, Mary naturally visited Capitol Records. It was there that she heard The Exciters and their hit Tell Him. It was "the most exciting thing I had ever heard, the attack in it!" (Dusty Springfield) That moment was when she knew what she wanted to do - Dusty Springfield wanted to be a pop singer (this is evident on The Springfields’ later stuff like Come On Home). After making eleven singles, four EP’s, and four LP’s (this does not include re-releases after 1964), Dusty left the group and went solo.
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