Labelle head against the wall until it began to bleed severely. She was removed from the theater in restraints. Feeling the group had reached the end of its rope, Patti LaBelle advised the group to disband as long as their friendship remained intact. Nona Hendryx and Sarah Dash agreed and formally announced their split at the end of 1976 after fourteen years together. Following her departure from the Blue Belles, Cindy Birdsong enjoyed success as member of the Supremes, singing background on hits such as "Stoned Love". Birdsong prominently left the group in 1975, only sporadically recording music as a solo
Birdsong (novel) Sunday Telegraph", "The Times Literary Supplement", "The Spectator" and "The Scotsman". American and other international press reviews were similarly positive. The novel's popular reception was similarly positive. "Birdsong" came 13th in a 2003 BBC survey called the Big Read, which aimed to find Britain's favourite book. It received an "Also Mentioned" credit in "The Observer" 2005 poll of critics and writers to find the "Best British book of the last 25 years" (1980–2005). "Birdsong" was listed in "The Telegraph" as one of the most consistently high selling books of 1998–2008, continuously in the top 5,000 sales figures. Reviews of the