SCOTTISH journalist, Ron McKay, and politician, George Galloway, are teaming up to write a musical about 1960s diva soul singer, Dusty Springfield.
And their publicity team is already in full flight with impressive media coverage yesterday – including prominent pieces in the Scottish Daily Express, the Scottish Daily Mail and The Herald.
In the Scottish Daily Mail, Jim McBeth reports: “As a founder member of the Respect Party, some might have expected Galloway to choose Aretha Franklin instead. But perhaps, since his 23-year run as an MP ended, the 1960s soul sensation who sang, ‘I Just Don’t Know What to do with Myself’, simply seemed more fitting.”
Springfield died 11 years ago, aged 59.
Although Springfield is regarded by some critics as the greatest female British singer of the 1960s, Galloway and McKay believe she was under-appreciated. They hope to take their show – called, simply, Dusty – to the Edinburgh Festival next year before taking it to London’s West End.
The Herald reports: “It is expected to be a no-holds-barred overview of the songstress’s life, including what it was like to be a lesbian during a less tolerant age and her fight against alcohol and drug addiction.
“Galloway, who lost his attempt to win the Poplar and Limehouse seat during the General Election, finishing third, says the musical will be ‘political with a small p’.
“McKay added: ‘It is all at the very early stages. The outline has been written but it is a long way from being finished. George and I are writing the words and George is also the producer and is trying to put the package together to try to get the money for it.'”
