The David Cassidy Connections

Tony Hadley is one of the most significant singers to emerge from the New Romantic scene in the 1980s. As frontman of Spandau Ballet, the group enjoyed outstanding international success with hits including Gold, True and Through the Barricades.

Tony sat down with broadcaster, Alex Dyke, to talk about growing up a teen in 1970s Britain surrounded by Glam Rock, and how they both became fans of David Cassidy.

Many thanks to Alex and Tony who took time out from recording for their podcast Stars Cars Guitars to share views on David, his music and the price of superstardom.

Later in this episode, British journalist Liz Jones recalls her adoration for David since a teenager, asks what type of girl is attracted to idols and why he will always have a special part of her heart.

You can catch the Stars Cars Guitars podcast on all major leading platforms. Starscarsguitars.co.uk – Podcast series from Tony Hadley, Jim Cregan & Alex Dyke.

Liz Jones’s podcast can be found at mailplus.co.uk/lizjones, and all platforms.

More memories of what David Cassidy has meant to female and male fans around the world over the decades, can be found in my book, Cherish David Cassidy A Legacy of Love, available from Amazon and all leading bookstores worldwide. Published by Unicorn Publishing Group, Cherish has been awarded finalist in American Book Fest Best Books 2020.

In this week’s episode you will hear from some of David’s long term and loyal fans from around the world.

Singer-songwriter, Harriet Schock, pays tribute to David for his recording of her song, That’s The Way It Is With You; Barbara Balducci and Ruth Poulding share their poetry; male fans Christopher Jones and Chris Phillips express the influence David had on their lives; Angela Mosley reflects on 50 years of being a fan.

And international recording artist, Roby Di Stefano who has carved out a successful music career inspired by David, talks about his influence.

He explains how David has been so important to him and why touring Australia allowed him to walk in the footsteps of his idol.

Roby does not speak a lot of English so is sharing his story with translation help from his son, Alexis and his friend, Ramiro Touron. Visit my YouTube channel, The David Cassidy Connections to see Roby recording for this episode and singing one of his compositions.

Below, you will find links to Roby’s music on social media and streaming platforms.

https://open.spotify.com/artist/5rcvkSGqlIAvjgSMKxdHlK

https://open.spotify.com/artist/3v5YLh9sbnIRIwGpFP7nDS?si=zSkCnMD7Q5q5HbICx-HNEQ

https://music.apple.com/ar/artist/roby-di-stefano/1214868773

https://music.apple.com/tr/artist/roby-solo/321238363

https://www.amazon.com/Solo-Roby-Stefano/dp/B06XJZ13QW

Cherish is my first book, a compilation of fans' memories about what it means to be a David Cassidy fan.

Memories and tributes are from around the world as fans, friends, former colleagues and band-mates share their thoughts on how David influenced them in many different ways, amusing anecdotes and examples of his kindness.

I invited fans to contribute their memories and was overwhelmed at the response which came through in the form of essays, short stories, poetry, diary entries, photographs and open letters to him.

Started in 2016, Cherish is a celebration of David's life through the memories of those who loved and respected him for decades, as well as younger fans who have discovered him and his music.

Every story in Cherish is a singular experience, a thematic journey but when brought together they provide stops on the adventure with David at the heart of everything his fans have ever done.

In being so honest about themselves exposing their emotions and life stories they have made themselves emotionally vulnerable as they opened their hearts to share their life experiences and the role David Cassidy played in them

And every page is full of love, beautiful memories which bring smiles, laughter, happiness and a few tears. These memories, which echo across time, have been written by his fans in their own words.

Now in a celebration of his life his fans and friends explain in their own words how David Cassidy impacted on them, his influence and friendship; the lasting legacy of love and music he left.

We want to remember the good things David did in life, how gracious he was, a kind soul and generous of spirit and ultimately how he made us feel. With these happy memories we can show he is forever in our hearts as we turn the pages and smile remembering a very special man who made the world a better place.

David occupies a special place in the hearts of millions around the world. These are their stories.

Cherish is published by Unicorn Publishing Group www.unicornpublishing.org and available from all major bookstores worldwide

This week on The David Cassidy Connections podcast we make a  special visit to a place which forms part of David’s legacy.

Located less than 15 miles from Manhatten, West Orange offers a rich history. The first settlers landed in 1666 at what is now Newark Bay.

Town historian, Joseph Fagan, whose family roots go back more than 150 years in the town, gives a tour of the places where David would have played as a young boy, shares photographs which he has uncovered of David’s mother, Evelyn, when she was at school, tells the story of the first settlers and the 9/11 Memorial at Eagle Rock which looks across to the New York skyline.

West Orange is where David spent his formative years and years later co-wrote with Kim Carnes and Dave Ellingson, Can’t Go Home Again where David brought the musical changes. The track appears on David's album, Dreams Are Nuthin' More Than Wishes.

You can view the images and see pictures behind these stories on a slideshow to be found on The David Cassidy Connections YouTube channel

More history about West Orange can be found here:

www.westorange.org

As a young girl growing up in Liverpool, Ruth McCartney, would sit around the kitchen table with her mother, Angie, helping to deal with millions of fan mail for The Beatles – and earn a little bit of pocket money. It was a matter of keeping it in the family when Paul McCartney is your stepbrother.

Ruth was four years old when she found herself with a front row seat to Beatlemania. Her mother had married Paul’s father, Jim, after a short courtship in 1964, and it was just another day when John Lennon would come over to stay or Jimi Hendrix arrive unannounced on the doorstep.

Today, Ruth runs creative digital agency McCartney Multimedia with her husband Martin and mother, Angie.

Their first client was David Cassidy who was a close friend - she set up and ran his first website. She talks passionately about their friendship which started when they met in an elevator and tells how she immediately took him home to meet her mother. Ruth shares wonderful memories of their time together and how David reacted when - out of the blue - Paul phoned him in London.

Although not having direct dialect coaching, when David was preparing for his acclaimed role in Blood Brothers, he would call Ruth adopting a Liverpudlian accent.

Ruth studied piano, guitar and dance before becoming a “pop sensation” in Russia.

https://mccartney-multimedia.com/mccartney-multimedia-inc

https://www.mccartneystudios.com/

You will often have seen David wearing a sweat shirt carrying the name – John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

The college was the venue for his only press conference ahead of the sell-out concert at Madison Square Garden in March 1972.

Pat Ravalgi was Editor of The Individualist literary magazine and music editor of the LEX newspaper at the college – part of the City University of New York system – in the early 1970s.

She was the driving force behind the press conference and worked closely with David's publicists and record company representatives – especially those at RCA – to draw attention to David to an older audience as he pursued his solo career.

In a newspaper article in 1974, Pat observed: “No artist can go wrong when his direction comes from his own audience. Because the artist and audience are all that really does matter.”

After graduation, Pat was a publicist at Levinson Associates in New York where her clients included Shaun Cassidy and his record producer Michael Lloyd.

After working in public relations, Pat received her Masters Degree in International Relations from New York University. She spent the next 30 years as a professional staff member in the U.S. House of Representatives and an Intelligence Officer with several agencies within the U.S. government.

In our conversation Pat talks about how, as an ambitious student, she managed to secure an interview with David and the real story behind that t-shirt. 

Jim Salamanis has been a decades long fan and has one of the biggest single collections of David Cassidy and Partridge Family memorabilia in the world.

He firmly believes David’s solo back catalogue should be remastered and released with previously unheard demos, rarities, alternate versions, concert rehearsals, live recordings and bonus tracks for any configuration in a deluxe boxset.

Jim also leads the battle cry for a deluxe boxset of The Partridge Family music, again adding previously unreleased tracks and alternate versions of their vast catalogue for a similar collection presentation.

In our conversation he offers a passionate, calm and measured argument explaining why the music is so important to David’s legacy and why the search for previously unseen vintage concert footage goes on.

You can listen on all podcasting platforms including Apple, Google, Spotify, Amazon Music – anytime, anywhere for all devices.

You can read Jim’s life story, his meetings with David and how he influenced his life, in my book Cherish David Cassidy A Legacy of Love available from Amazon and all leading bookstores worldwide.

Here is the link for the ongoing petition requesting David's work is remastered and released.

https://www.gopetition.com/petitions/remaster-and-release-david-cassidys-old-songs-and-vintage-concert-footage.html

Dr. Haley Gienow-McConnell is a cultural historian from Ontario, Canada. A self-described “second generation” David Cassidy fan, Dr. Gienow-McConnell became a fan in the 2000s, long after his heyday in the 1970s.

In this episode, she gives an insight into:

• How with the benefit of distance and hindsight, she became a fan of an international superstar instead of the manufactured image
• The marketing and manipulation of teenage idols
• How he unknowingly helped steer her out of the agony of anorexia
• What makes David Cassidy such a memorable idol and why his legacy should perhaps be about protecting the integrity of artists

When she isn’t listening to David Cassidy, Dr. Gienow-McConnell keeps busy carrying out and publishing research on history, culture, and disability.

Dr Gienow-McConnell shared her deeply moving story with me in Cherish David Cassidy A Legacy of Love, available from Amazon and all leading bookstores worldwide.

You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram @haleyanngm

My guest is devoted fan, Clea Mylonas, who won a competition in 1974 to meet David in California. She had to wait until the spring of 1975 to fulfil her ambition, meeting him at the recording studio where he was working with Bruce Johnston of the Beach Boys making his first RCA album, The Higher They Climb.

Clea, who was 22 when she won the competition, raised an outstanding £500 to land the first prize. The competition in aid of The Friends of the Children Society, involved following clues around London.

“I worked really hard for it,” she explained. “Meeting David was the highlight of my life. He never shattered my dream.”

Clea’s story is published in my book, Cherish David Cassidy A Legacy of Love, but here she speaks with emotion and enthusiasm about what being a fan means to her, how nervous she was meeting him, recalls the moment she watched David walking towards her and why she believes he is now at peace.

Lucie Fitchett and Victoria Willing have been friends since their schooldays and in 2010 wrote a successful play based around their teenage love for David Cassidy. They are now planning to rework the play.

Could It be Forever? was given its premiere at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival winning 5 star reviews. David was so inspired by their work, he wrote to them saying he was “honoured” to be the subject of their theatrical production.

The original play is based around the reunion of six schoolfriends who revisit what life was like when David visited London in the 1970s, and examine how they and their own lives have changed over the years.

Lucie and Victoria are revisiting their initial idea and reworking the script. In an exclusive interview with me, they are inviting fans to share their memories, explain what David represented to them then and now, what life is like today for women in their 60s revisiting their early teens, and how they have changed.

In this episode they bounce ideas around, speak openly about the feelings they had for David, what he represented, the importance of friendships through fan worship, and explain why they would like the input from fans who also experienced first-hand Cassidymania in the 1970s.

“We want to bring it back because there is an important story to be told,” they told me. “It’s more about the fans, how they project onto him feelings, how he satisfies those feelings, and what it means years later.”

Victoria is an actress and writer. Lucie has worked as an actress, producer, director and writer.

If you would like to contact Victoria and Lucie they can be reached via email DCtheplay@hotmail.com

Their friendship and the story of how they came to write the original play, is detailed in my book, Cherish David Cassidy A Legacy of Love available from Amazon and all leading bookstores worldwide.

https://amzn.to/2F0d1bl

Sharron Liddle has been a David Cassidy fan since the 1970s and is the driving force behind a happy trail of memorials around London which pay tribute to his legacy.

Sharron runs the David Cassidy Group of Great Britain on Facebook, which strives to ensure his name and contribution to the musical and cultural fabric of the UK is never forgotten.

Their first tribute was a plaque outside the stage door at the Phoenix Theatre where he starred in Willy Russell’s Blood Brothers. It was unveiled by radio presenter, Mike Read in September 2018. Other tributes at the time included a star in the Hall of Fame at the Bristol Hippodrome where David starred in Blood Brothers with Clodagh Rogers.

In our conversation, Sharron talks about the legacy trail which has evolved which also includes a plaque within the Phoenix Garden opposite the theatre which carries the symbolic words “Dreams, Wishes and Happy Trails”, a Make a Wish Charity virtual wall in his memory, a bench plaque in Hammersmith Park, and a tribute of remembrance at St Giles Church next to the Phoenix.

Other memorials have been established at Wembley’s Empire Pool (now Arena) where David sold out a record-breaking 6 shows in 3 days in 1973; Heathrow Airport on the site of what was the Queen’s Building which fans packed onto when he arrived, or left, the UK in the 1970s. Outside of London there are memorials at Nottingham Concert Hall and on the iconic Sheffield Heart of Steel.

Details of all the tributes, animals adopted in his name and charities which have benefitted from the group’s work, can be found on this site:  https://bit.ly/34fgATJ

Sharron’s Facebook group can be found here:

https://www.facebook.com/DCgbteam/

You can read more about Sharron’s life mission and why he has been so important in her life, in my book, Cherish David Cassidy A Legacy of Love. Published by Unicorn Publishing, Cherish is available from Amazon and major bookstores worldwide.  https://amzn.to/33jQmAh

Darrell Lloyd singles out David Cassidy being responsible for his successful career as a photographer, an interest which started in 1970 when he was 10 years old.

Teen magazines played an important part in that development mainly through Tiger Beat, Flip, 16 as well as Rolling Stone, Look and TV Guide. In our conversation he explains those early influences through images of The Osmonds, The Jackson 5, Bobby Sherman and David Cassidy. Photographers that made a huge impact on him were Gene Trindl, Kenny Lieu, Annie Leibovitz and Henry Diltz.

“Images from these photographers were a constant influence on a weekly, bi-weekly and monthly schedule. I would be at my local newsstands absorbing all the magazine covers my eyes could handle,” he explained.

“As time grew on, a person became a common denominator of each photographer I admired. They all singled in on one subject in front of their cameras.....David Cassidy who was on the trajectory of becoming a teen idol of gigantic proportions, the likes the world had never seen before. 

“The way photographers did shoots with David were second to none. The man was incapable of taking a bad photo. 

“Because each photographer had their main focus on David was like a master class in photography for me. They taught me a lot about the proper way to compose a photo. I owe these photographers a tremendous debt that I could never repay in 10 lifetimes.”

Darrell shares anecdotes about his photographic career, meeting David, and a revealing conversation he had with Mike Melvoin who was a member of The Wrecking Crew the musicians who worked on The Partridge Family music. 

Darrell also calls for musicians who admire David’s work to pay a special tribute to his music.

The world knows Brian Forster best as Chris Partridge, the youngest boy in The Partridge Family, and the group’s drummer, which was his passport to fame.

On September 25, The Partridge Family will be 50 years old having first aired on ABC that day in 1970, and in our conversation Brian recalls his excitement of landing the role and how he learnt to play the drums.

He also also been a science teacher, wine maker, race winning race car driver and these days races historic Formula Ford single seaters.

He recently got his first British passport thanks to his family ancestry: his great, great, great grandfather was Charles Dickens, regarded as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era writing A Christmas Carol, Oliver Twist and Great Expectations.

His grandfather was Alan Napier, who played Alfred the faithful butler in the Batman television series; his mother actress Jennifer Raine;  father Peter Forster a renowned director, television and film actor; and his stepfather Whit Bissell a character actor.

In our conversation, Brian reflects on:

• His favourite episodes as a member of The Partridge Family
• What he learnt from his co-star David Cassidy
• Explains how his drumming technique improved
• Talks about his passion for motor racing
• His love for wine making
• His family history
• Why he and his wife might move to the United Kingdom

Best known for his work on ABC-TV’s daytime drama, All My Children for over 30 years – 15 of those years as a director – Michael Pomarico has been a loyal David Cassidy fan since 1970.

In this episode, Michael reflects on his own career, David’s acting career on television and the stage, relives David’s 1972 Madison Square Garden concert, offers an analysis of David’s songs and the respect he had from his peers.

Michael speaks movingly about seeing David in concert at the Garden State Arts Centre, Madison Square Garden and being present at his final show in New York 45 years later.

Michael was nominated 18 times for daytime Emmy Awards, winning six times, and we talk about how he would, if given the chance, directed The Partridge Family.

He began his career at ABC-TV in Master Control at the ABC Broadcast Center in New York directly from College. Michael moved on to work as a Technical Director – doing ABC sports integrations and worked with Howard Cosell on his Saturday Afternoon magazine show Sportsbeat. He was technical director for Howard’s interview with boxing legend, Gerry Cooney.

In 1983 he became a full time Technical Director on All My Children, moving into directing in 1996. He directed All My Children in New York, Los Angeles, and then went on to direct the Web version of “All My Children” for Prospect Park (production company) in Connecticut in 2013 after the cancellation of the Network series.

Michael has worked with many outstanding actors and musicians from the worlds of Daytime TV, Primetime, and Pop Music. These include musicians: The Young Rascals, The O’Jays, Johnny Maestro and The Brooklyn Bridge; actors such as Susan Lucci, Carol Burnett, Kelly Ripa, Mark Consuelos, David Canary, Cameron Matheson, Sara Michelle Gellar, Lee Meriweather, Stevie Wonder, Josh Duhmal, Eva LaRue, Abigail Spencer, James Mitchell, JR Martinez, Amanda Seyfreid, Michael B. Jordan.

Early in 2016, Michael assisted with the live theatrical production of a one-woman show – Tammy Faye Tweets produced by and starring Charlene Tilton (Lucy Ewing, 1980’s Original Dallas TV show) in Los Angeles, California at the Whitefire Theatre. In the Fall of 2016 Michael directed Season 2 of the web based, Pride: The Series on Amazon Prime.

His most ambitious project was for charity – a Historical Talk Show (Town Hall) for Holmdel, New Jersey, his hometown. The show was recorded in front of a live audience. The 3-hour program hosted by one of the High School’s prominent teachers included interviews and clips telling the story of the High School’s beginning by the men and women who created it. Michael produced, directed, edited, and authored the program on DVD as a fundraiser for the school’s football field refurbishment. This program went on to win two Telly Awards in the Directing Category and the Editing Category.

Currently Michael is part of the creative team of two Drama/Comedy programs that are in development and are being prepped for presentation to various streaming platforms.

Michael enjoys spending time at the Jersey Shore with his wife and two children, visiting friends around the country, and attending concerts with his family and friends.

Michael shared more personal memories of his career and role David has had in his life and that of his family, in my book, Cherish David Cassidy – A Legacy of Love available from Amazon and leading bookstores.

In this week’s episode fans explain why and how David mattered. This month – September 2020 – it is 50 years since The Partridge Family first aired on ABC in the United States; the night he entered our hearts and minds. It is, as he once sang, a love there is no cure for.

It’s wrong to say we don’t think of David – he has been such an important part of our lives for 50 years – and because we have always loved him for what he represented to us, the way he made us feel and how he unknowingly played an important role in our growth, we will always remember him.

You will hear how he influenced fans including Leigh Ashton who was born in Manchester, England, moving to South Africa when he was three. He launched his career as a singer-songwriter when he was 19, releasing his first single in 1975. Two years later he had a hit with his self-penned song, Tanya, in a career inspired by David’s vocals.

Visit the Leigh Ashton Home Recordings channel on You Tube to hear more of his work.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sh6b6B68-GI

Recalling on this podcast how David impacted on young lives are fans from Australia, Poland, the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. They include Peter K Ackerman, who recalls meeting him on the set of The Partridge Family. Peter is the son of executive television producer Harry Ackerman, who worked on popular family series’ including The Flying Nun and Bewitched. Peter’s mother is actress, Elinor Donahue who played the role of Betty Anderson in the 1950s sitcom, Father Knows Best.

A very special thanks to the fabulous fans who, in this episode, share their memories: Peter K Ackerman, Leigh Ashton, Barbara Balducci, Regina Chapman, Weronika Cyrynger, Dr Haley Gienow-McConnell, Alison Haines, Michael Lefner, Suzanne McConnell, Lizbeth McAnary Pierce, Clea Mylonas, Sally Newman, Joanne Rizzo, Robin Silva, Liz Tiley, Yasmin Wendling.

You can read more about these fans and their memories along with friends, colleagues and tributes from David’s peers in the award-nominated book, Cherish David Cassidy – A Legacy of Love, available from Amazon and leading book stores worldwide

https://amzn.to/3h3OTS1

Name a popular television series from the 1960s through to the late 1980s, and chances are the name of director, Ralph Senensky, will be listed on the credits – the original series of Star Trek, The FBI, The Waltons, Hart to Hart and Dynasty are among the dozens of shows he directed in his distinguished career – including seven episodes of The Partridge Family.

At 97, Ralph Senensky, is a great storyteller. Growing up in Mason City, Iowa, he had no idea what he wanted to do with his life but his love for the movies was always a constant presence. He shares his story of how Gone With The Wind was the film which had the most impact on his life and career path.

He first directed The Partridge Family in June 1970 with the episode, When Mother Gets Married, and went on to work on a further six episodes – To Play Or Not To Play, A Partridge Up A Pear Tree, 40 Year Itch, Dora! Dora! Dora!, Guess Who’s Coming To Drive and The Undergraduate.

In our conversation, he reflects on his career, the seven weeks with The Partridge Family, how he remembers working with David, recalling his experience of seeing David’s father, Jack, on stage and working with his own favourite actress, Barbara Stanwyck.

More information about Ralph Senensky’s career can be found on his website, Ralph’s Cinema Trek: https://senensky.com

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Kaity Floyd treats us to a world exclusive performance of a song she wrote about her inspiration, David Cassidy, which she sings  before explaining how she would like it to be recorded.

Kaity admits she was born too late to absorb the excitement of the 1970s. The 27-year-old singer-songwriter cites David Cassidy as one of the biggest musical influences on her career.

In this episode, Kaity talks about being a “tom boy” while growing up with the influence on her career of musicians from Axl Rose to Julie Andrews.

She explains how she writes her music and talks about David’s impact on her chosen path.

From Texas, she has played at numerous venues including The Palladium, Freedom Fest, Dallas Lakewood Theatre, Celebrate Freedom, and The Curtain Club.

You can read more about Kaity’s life story in my book, Cherish David Cassidy – A Legacy of Love available from Amazon and leading bookstores.

Kaity’s website link:

http://sheisfloyd.com/index.html

Philip Clark has been an ardent fan of David Cassidy since October 1973 when David released his Dreams Are Nuthin’ More Than Wishes album.

David Cassidy has been a strong source of inspiration and influence in different aspects of Philip's life. He talks about David's impact, his music and why he needs to be recognised for his contribution to music.

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In this introduction, Louise Poynton invites fans of David Cassidy to explain why he has meant so much to them in their lives.