The Springfields – British Pop-Folk Trio 

The Springfields were a British pop-folk trio who became successful in the early 1960s, they had success in the UK and the USA.

Island of Dreams

The trio formed in 1960 and consisted of Dion O’Brien (Tom Springfield) and Tim Feild (who had been working as a duo “The Kensington Squares”) and Dusty Springfield who had been a member of the The Lana Sisters. Tim Field was later replaced by Mike Hurst.

They followed this with “Say I Won’t Be There”, which achieved No 5 in the UK charts. The Springfields were one of the most popular and successful groups in the UK.

They had several chart hits and had recorded several foreign language records. Dusty however had other ideas about her future and was seeking to break away from the folk image the Springfields had created and toward the end of 1963 decided to leave for a solo career, which proved to be the correct move as she was an instant success.

Tom Springfield went on to manage the Seekers whilst Mike Hurst developed a successful career in the music industry also. Tim Feild later became a prominent mystic and writer.

Tom Springfield was songwriter and arranger and their first single Dear John was released in 1961 when they were signed to Philips Records this was followed by two UK chart hits Breakaway and Bambino produced by Johnny Franz.

The Springfields made numerous television appearances ensuring their popularity in the UK. Tim Feild left the group, and was replaced by Mike Hurst, and the Springfields had continuing success with “Island of Dreams” which rose to the UK Top 5 at the end of 1962, and enjoyed a six month stay in the charts. In 1962, they had a further hit with “Silver Threads and Golden Needles” reaching the US Top 20 (Billboard), the first single by a British group ever to do so It also reached No.1 in Australia