Dusty Springfield’s role in introducing Motown Records to the United Kingdom
Motown Records was so much more than just another record label; it facilitated one of the earliest pop culture movements within American society. From his hometown in Detroit, Berry Gordy Jr exposed the sweet sounds of soul to the entire nation, earning himself an unparalleled degree of success and acclaim in the process. Nevertheless, the Motown revolution was mostly confined to the United States during its early years. It was only as a result of Dusty Springfield that the sounds of Detroit started to make an impact on the United Kingdom during the mid-1960s.
Gordy first established Motown under the name Tamla Records back in 1959 after taking out a small loan from his parents. Surprisingly for an independent record label, Motown found mainstream success pretty quickly, first hitting the charts with Barrett Strong’s ‘Money (That’s What I Want)’ and reaching the top of the singles chart in 1961 with The Marvelettes’ ‘Please Mr. Postman’. Even though The Beatles recorded that particular track for their 1963 record With The Beatles, Motown still struggled to find lasting success in the UK.
In fact, during the early 1960s, the only place you were likely to find soul music in the UK was in obscure dance halls and clubs catering to the growing demographic of mods. This youth subculture built upon ideas of modernism favoured Italian fashion and American music, initially focusing on jazz before moving on to Jamaican ‘blue beat’ ska and American soul music.
As the predominant publishers of soul during those years, Motown tracks became favoured by mods, eventually paving the way for the emergence of northern soul towards the end of the decade. In spite of this cult following, Motown still did not command the UK singles charts in the same way it did across the Atlantic. It had, however, found favour with one of the UK’s most promising young artists, Dusty Springfield.
From the release of her first solo record ‘I Only Want To Be With You’ in 1963, Springfield established herself as one of the nation’s favourite pop voices. Throughout her solo career, the peroxide blonde singer routinely covered American soul tracks, most notably ‘Son of a Preacher Man,’ which was originally penned for Aretha Franklin.
Before too long, Springfield became hailed as the ‘Queen of blue-eyed soul’ – soul music performed by white artists, in other words. Behind that success, however, was the singer’s genuine love of soul music, including the releases on Gordy’s Motown label. Not only did Springfield bring attention to the label through her own releases, but she also presented a special edition of the music programme Ready, Steady, Go! in 1965, which focused entirely on the sounds of Motown Records.
Opening the show performing alongside Martha Reeves and the Vandellas – one of Motown’s flagship acts – the special programme included the first-ever UK television appearances of now-iconic stars like Stevie Wonder, The Supremes, The Miracles, and The Temptations. These stars were touring a ‘Motown Revue’ show across the UK, which was initially a flop owing to little interest in Motown outside the mod clubs of London.
Springfield’s televised Motown special brought those artists to wider audiences across the nation, affording them newfound success in Britain and making the Revue tour more successful. Over the next few years, Motown’s presence would continue to grow throughout the UK, and Springfield played an essential role in helping that happen. Gordy’s label might have been a commercial powerhouse in the United States, but in Blighty, it needed the ever-elegant helping hand of Dusty Springfield.
