Mazz Murray in Dusty Springfield show at Birmingham Symphony Hall

Mazz Murray, who has stared in many cult-classic West End shows including ‘We Will Rock You’ and ‘Mamma Mia!’, will be heading to Birmingham’s Symphony Hall for her latest endeavour, ‘Mazz Murray: The Music of Dusty Springfield’.

The unique show will be a celebration of the life and talent of Dusty Springfield, regarded by many as one of the best female vocalists of all time.

With hits such as ‘I Only Want to Be With You’ and ‘Son of a Preacher Man”, Dusty’s influence continues to echo throughout modern music to this day, following her death in 1999.

In a rather full-circle moment, Mazz is ecstatic to be returning to the region, where she began her professional career aged 21 playing Dusty in ‘Only the Lonely’ at The Birmingham Hippodrome in 1996.

She said: “I love Birmingham, and I always have done.

“You’ve got a fine city and I’m excited to be back, being able to perform at your Symphony Hall.

“I'm so excited that [the show] will be born here.”

Birmingham will be just one of two cities that will host the show, with the other being Mazz’s hometown of London.

The show will see favourites from Dusty’s songbook brought to life by Mazz’s powerhouse vocals and a 23-piece orchestra, taking audiences on a journey through the icon’s life in music.

Mazz said: “This show is not just for the Dusty fans, but for lovers of live music.

“I hope it will take the audience back to moments in their lives where they remember how they felt when these songs were top of the charts.

“I’ve always wanted to do her songbook with an orchestra, so when you’re given the opportunity to do that in a venue like Birmingham Symphony Hall, you take it.

“It will be chance to hear these songs elaborated in their finest possible form.”

Mazz went for lunch with lifelong friend of Dusty's, singer Madeline Bell, who will be joining her on stage (Image: Mazz Murray) Mazz spoke candidly about her admiration for Dusty, calling her one of her ‘heroes’, and recalled how her parents, songwriter, Mitch Murray and singer, Grazina Frame knew Dusty well.

The musical theatre star hopes this show will be the “perfect way to showcase her”.

She said: “Dusty could sing the phonebook, and not a lot of singers could do that. She’s a one-off.

“I’m doing my versions of her magnificent songs, but that comes with a responsibility.

“I want to do Dusty justice and do her fans a service.”

Mazz alluded to having some surprises up her sleeve for the show, however, she exclusively revealed that she would be joined on stage by none other than Madeline Bell – lifelong friend and backing singer of Dusty herself.

She said: “You’ve heard her all your life on the radio, and you don’t even realise it.

“I feel a great privilege that Madeline wants to be involved and that she has been so kind about me and what we were doing.

“She was so appreciative that we’re showing Dusty in the right way.”

Despite her fame and success, Dusty had a tragic personal life, which Mazz did not want to be the crux of the show.

She said: “Dusty’s personal life is not involved particularly in the concert, because everybody knows her story and I think that should remain hers.

“The evening is not about talking about her sadnesses – it’s about talking about all of her triumphs.”

In the lead-up to the world premiere of her show, Mazz shared how she was excited about coming to Birmingham for another reason than just her performance.

She added: “My wonderful driver, Jimmy has told me that I have to go to his parents’ house for dinner.

“I believe his mother is making me, in his words what will be ‘the greatest curry of my life’, so I’m really looking forward to that!”

Mazz will step into the shoes of Dusty at Birmingham Symphony Hall on November 21, supported by the Novello Orchestra.

A very limited number of tickets can be purchased from the Birmingham Symphony Hall website