Career
Gillespie was born to the Baron De Winterstein Gillespie, an Austrian radiologist, 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, touring with Mac MacLeod at one point, 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. She is an ardent follower of Indian spiritual guru Sri Sathya Sai Baba. She performed in his Indian ashram on various occasions and has also done three bhajan-based albums that were inspired by visits to Satya Sai Baba.
Gillespie is a regular at Basil's Blues Bar on Mustique in the Caribbean, for three weeks in January 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".
Read more about this topic: Dana Gillespie
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