Dusty Springfield's sexuality

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This article is part of an in-depth biography of Dusty Springfield OBE.

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Throughout much of Springfield's career, her sexuality was a matter of speculation. In 1970, she disclosed that she was bisexual when she told Ray Connolly of the London Evening Standard during an interview that "A lot of people say I'm bent, and I've heard it so many times that I've almost learned to accept it....I know I'm perfectly as capable of being swayed by a girl as by a boy." By 1970 standards, Springfield had made a very bold statement. The fact that she never married meant that the issue continued to be raised throughout her life from this point onwards, although she stated that she had enjoyed relationships with both men and women "and liked it".

There is some debate among friends and fans regarding this issue; Springfield was intensely private about her personal life, and after the 1970 interview, she seldom directly addressed the issue or made a definitive statement regarding her sexuality in the press and questions of a certain nature were prohibited in press interviews. However, Springfield occasionally made subtle references and openly appreciated her homosexual audience. For example, during a 1979 concert at Royal Albert Hall in London, her last large scale concert in the UK, Springfield noted the number of obviously homosexual men in the front rows, commenting that she was "glad to see that the royalty isn't confined to the box", playing on the term "queens", which is also used to refer to homosexual men. She still eventually received the OBE.

Several biographies about Springfield have touched on the issue of Springfield's sexual orientation. Lucy O'Brien's biography Dusty (Sidgwick & Jackson, 1989) mentions the rumours in passing. Penny Valentine's 2000 book Dancing with Demons, which included significant contributions by Springfield's friend and manager Vicki Wickham, identifies Springfield as a lesbian, indicating Springfield never had a relationship with a man, except when she had wanted to make a lover jealous. Singer-songwriter Carole Pope of the Canadian band Rough Trade stated, in her 2001 book Anti-Diva, that she and Springfield had a relationship in Toronto when Springfield worked with her. (Pope wrote the song "Soft Core", which appeared on Springfield's White Heat album).