Dusty by Lucy O'Brien (Pan, £5.99 in the UK)

This fascinating biography of pop icon, Dusty Springfield, tells the story behind the blond beehive and panda-eyes - and the voice which created such powerful, heart-wrenching songs as Son of a Preacher Man and You Don't Have to Say You Love Me. Born Mary O'Brien and convent-educated in 1950s Britain, Dusty spent much of her life trying to balance this upbringing with her role as a 1960s pop-star, according to Lucy O'Brien's thoroughly-researched, affectionately respectful bio. Despite huge success, Dusty was never satisfied and rarely found life easy. She battled record companies, who wanted to package her as a "pop girl"; she was bisexual before it was acceptable; and was the first British artist to include a no-apartheid clause in her contract (she was deported from South Africa in 1964 for playing to non-segregated audiences). After spending much of the 1970s in a haze of drink and drugs, her come-back with the Pet Shop Boys brought her vulnerable, passionate voice to a new audience - until her death last year from breast cancer.