A heart-shaped wreath of yellow roses bore the simple message: "To the Greatest, Love Elton and David." Others who were unable to attend because of prior commitments also sent flowers. They included the Rolling Stones, Rod Stewart, Tom Jones and Paul McCartney. "Dearest Dusty, I'm so glad I had the chance to tell you what a classic you were," the former Beatle wrote. "We love you, Paul McCartney and the kids."

Those attending the service also included her brother Tom, who had a number of hits with her in the Sixties as the Springfields, Lionel Blair and fellow singers Madeleine Bell, Kiki Dee and Rosie Casals. "It's very sad," Mr Blair said. "I used to have the Springfields on my show and they were my favourites. Her voice was beautiful. She's gone too young."

But it was as much a day for the fans' tributes as those of the celebrities. "Your sun drove out our rain," said one of their many floral tributes and as they waited outside the church. They ignored the downpour and sang along with her songs which were played on loudspeakers across the town centre.

Bunches of white daisies were tied to the railings outside the church and the horse-drawn hearse was lined with pink and white floral letters spelling out her name. As Miss Springfield's coffin was carried in, the 12th-century church resounded to the sound of her most famous hit, "You Don't Have To Say You Love Me".

Miss Springfield, who lived in the tiny village of Harpsden, just outside Henley, died of breast cancer last week on the day she was to have received her OBE. Members of the medical team from the Royal Marsden Hospital who looked after her were among those paying tribute to her.

After the Rev. David Pritchard, Rector of St Mary the Virgin, opened the service, Lulu recalled how, having had her first hit record at the age of 15, she had been asked which other female singers she liked and looked up to. "Dusty was top of the list," she said, her voice intermittently dropping away as she fought back tears. "Dusty was the first to demonstrate girl-power in my opinion. When she was performing she was an absolute perfectionist. She had a great gift from heaven - her voice, and now I sort of see that see and her gift have returned to heaven."

Elvis Costello described how before he became successful he had written a song for Miss Springfield. "She had a voice so unique and precious," he said. "It was always the voice with its sense of longing that demanded your attention." The tributes from her fellow stars were followed by a song requested by Miss Springfield, "The Wind Beneath My Wings," sung by Simon Bell, one of her backing singers.

Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys, who resurrected her career when they insisted that she accompany them on their 1987 hit "What Have I Done To Deserve This?", said as a young boy he had become a Dusty Springfield fan. "Dusty was the very essence of fabness," he said. "Twenty years later when we wrote a duet, we decided she had to sing it with us. It seemed to take ages to track her down, but nobody else would do.

"The record company weren't keen. 'Couldn't we have someone more up-to-date', they said. When she arrived at the studios we were in awe of her. One felt in the presence of a star. You could learn so much from her. Dusty Springfield was a soul singer, a real star, the real thing."

Perhaps the most moving tribute came from one of Miss Springfield's neighbours, Gibb Hancock, a retired civil servant, who with his wife provided support for the singer during her fight against cancer. Mr Hancock acknowledged that in terms of their careers and backgrounds they had little in common, but said he had nothing but admiration and affection for Miss Springfield.

He recalled how the singer, born Mary O'Brien from an Irish family living in north London, had a fiery temper at times, "Volatile was a very inadequate word," Mr Hancock said. But when she was given the bad news that her cancer was terminal, there was no anger whatsoever.

"No outburst. No 'Why me?' Never ever was there a 'Why me?' Just an acceptance and huge determination that this would be the fight of her life and of course it turned out to be the fight for her life. She fought so bravely. She didn't win but she never stopped trying. It takes much more than a voice to make a star. Dusty's star qualities remained to the end."

Michael Smith
The Telegraph (London),
March 13, 1999