Singer David Cassidy's Beaulieu links revealed
US singer David Cassidy’s little-known links to the New Forest have been revealed.
It has emerged that during the height of his fame in the 1970s he spent time staying as a guest of Lord and Lady Montagu at Palace House to escape his followers in London.
The story is now told to the public by a sign placed this year by fans on the banks of the Beaulieu River.
It was installed following a request from the Sharron Liddle, founder of the David Cassidy Legacy Great Britain group, and details his visit to Beaulieu during a UK tour in 1973.
The star stayed for a few days as a guest of the former Lord Montagu, the current lord’s late father.
It was a way of escaping his avid teenage female fans who might have besieged his privacy had he stayed at a London hotel.
Sharron said: “During his stay, the American took full afternoon tea with Belinda, Lady Montagu, posed in a vintage car on the estate and went fishing, clad in a full-length fur coat.
“The information board is installed by the riverbank where he went fishing with Lady Montagu.”
The current Lord Montagu missed meeting Cassidy at the time as he was away at boarding school, but agreed to fit and pay for the sign after being approached by Sharron.
Sharron said: “In the five years since David passed, we have placed tributes across the uk that are associated with David – the first one being
a memorial plaque at the Phoenix theatre in London where David played in Blood Brothers.”
Cassidy was 22 when he visited during his UK tour after rising to pop stardom following his appearance on American musical sit-com The Partridge Family.
He achieved far greater solo chart success in the UK than in his native America, hitting the UK number one spot in 1972 with his covers of The Young Rascals’ How Can I Be Sure and the double A-side single Daydreamer and The Puppy Song.
