Shortly afterwards the singer Adam Faith also left South Africa in controversy after refusing to perform before segregated audiences, Whitehall once again washed its hands. Both singers had only themselves to blame, the Foreign Office told Downing Street in a confidential memorandum.

Dusty Springfield, who topped the charts in the mid-Sixties with songs such as I Only Want To Be With You and You Don't Have To Say You Love Me, was deported with her band The Echoes after performing before a multiracial audience in Cape Town in December 1964.

Her manager had said they were presented with an "ultimatum" soon after arriving in South Africa, warning that they must not perform in front of multiracial audiences. This was contrary to her contract, which made clear that she would not appear in segregated venues, he said.

The manager maintained it was only because of this proviso that he had taken the group to South Africa, in defiance of a Musicians Union ban on artists appearing there. [Prime Minister] Wilson saw the telegram from British officials in Pretoria and wrote across it: "Are we protesting?" Downing Street officials then wrote to the Foreign Office seeking action.

The hasty scribble in pencil was typical of Wilson's determination to get involved in every aspect of public life, particularly in the early years after Labour's election victory in 1964. But the Foreign Office replied: "Miss Springfield was not arrested and on a strictly legal view the South Africans appear to have acted within their rights".

A Labour Prime Minister's abhorrence of apartheid counted for little in the face of diplomatic adherence to the strict letter of international law. A month later in January 1965, Adam Faith was sued for breach of contract by a Cape Town theatre manager when he refused to appear before a whites-only audience.

Faith's manager had apparently signed a contract saying the singer would not perform to multiracial audiences. The singer was allowed to leave the country only after a bond was offered to cover the suit against him.

The Foreign Office concluded that trouble was bound to ensue "if artists embark on foreign tours without first ensuring that the arrangements comply both to the requirements of local law and custom". Such an oversight did "not provide grounds for government intervention on their behalf".

One official blamed the media and wrote to the Downing Street office: "These two got into trouble as a result of statements published in the press which made an issue of apartheid."

The Times
January 1, 1996