Dana Gillespie

Dana Gillespie first made a splash on the U.K. charts with a run of singles for Pye and a couple albums on Decca and London in the mid-'60s. In 1971, the actress-singer-musician signed to RCA under the aegis of MainMan, the management company headed by Tony Defries that famously included David Bowie on its roster. Now, all of Gillespie's RCA/MainMan recordings and a wealth of previously unissued material feature on a new artist-approved 2-CD compilation from Cherry Red, What Memories We Make: The Complete MainMan Recordings 1971-1974, which arrives on March 29 in the U.K and April 5 in the U.S.  Altogether, the collection provides the most comprehensive look at Gillespie's '70s material, with her cult classic albums (Weren't Born A Man from 1973 and Ain't Gonna Play No Second Fiddle from 1974)  and a healthy dose of vault material.

Among the rarities are tracks from a 1971 promo LP overseen by Bowie and guitarist Mick Ronson that included seven Bowie Hunky Dory-era rough mixes and five Gillespie songs (four originals and a demo "Andy Warhol" with background vocals and 12-string guitar by Bowie).  Gillespie's cuts feature on this set, alongside alternate versions of "Lavender Hill" and "Never Knew" from the first album; a Second Fiddle-era outtake called "Man Size Job" and five previously unissued demos from October of 1974.  Oli Hemingway has remastered both discs. Aside from the music, the attractive digipak set includes a 24-page booklet with new sleeve notes by David Wells and a wealth of striking and often risqué photographs supplied by the artist.