The 1964 tour that saw Dusty Springfield deported from South Africa
Dusty Springfield was an iconic musician renowned for her smooth, honey-like voice and her ability to bring the Motown sound, which had already been established in the US, to the UK. Without her influence, a great deal of music likely wouldn’t have been made, as someone had to bridge the gap between what was popular in the US and what was popular in the UK. Springfield managed to do just that.
Springfield enjoyed great success in the early 1960s, and because of that, she decided to record plenty of music and go on tour, taking her sound to various countries in order to increase exposure as much as possible. She was in high demand with a string of hits behind her, so her tour saw her travel worldwide.
In 1964, Dusty did gigs in the UK, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. While many of the other shows went well, her stint in South Africa was met with particular controversy, so much so that the country ended up deporting the singer.
It’s important to note that Springfield’s tour of the country happened during apartheid. From 1948 to 1994, in South Africa, there was strict racial segregation enforced under an all-white government. This dictated that a large majority of the population had to live in separate areas, and segregation was forced in public spaces.
Towards the end of apartheid, many musical artists would speak out against it; however, throughout the ‘60s, the band who toured South Africa were willing to comply with the rules enforced by the government. This meant that they would have to play two shows at the same location, one for white people and one for Black. Dusty Springfield wasn’t willing to comply with this, though, so when she agreed to go on tour in South Africa, she snuck a clause into her contract that said she wouldn’t perform for segregated crowds.
The bassist for her band The Echoes, Douggie Reece, said he thought they were all slightly naïve enforcing that clause and not thinking there would be any repercussions. He may have had a point; however, the first few shows of her tour had mixed crowds and went off without a problem. It all seemed to be a success from the stage, but the South African authorities weren’t happy.
As the tour continued, they took less and less of a shine towards the clause and eventually put Dusty, her band and their entire entourage on notice that they would need to leave the country in 24 hours. She was ultimately deported and unable to continue her run of shows. Undoubtedly, she would have taken a financial hit from this, but it was worth it for her to cement her political stance. Plus, speaking out against apartheid did a lot of good for her reputation in other countries.
