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The Kirsty MacColl web site
INFORMATION
This page has recent but not current news.
15 December 2004
Very topically, Fairytale of New York has been voted favourite Christmas song in a poll by music TV channel VH1. The track, which went to number two in 1987, beat the original Band Aid single - recorded in 1984 - into second place. Wham's Last Christmas, also released in 1984, polled at number three and Slade's Merry Xmas Everybody - first released in 1973 - was at number four. Current chart-topper Do They Know It's Christmas? came in at number five, incredibly enough.
15 November 2004
UK music and entertainment magazine Word has in its December edition (with the late John Peel on the cover) a section on the 40 best album titles ever (chosen by the writers and editors of Word). These include The Gilded Palace of Sin, Revolver, Lead Us Not Into Penn Station, Automatic for the People, and My People Were Fair and Wore Sky in Their Hair But Now They're Content to Wear Stars on Their Brows.
The final album listed, with the label 'And the best album title ever is...', is Electric Landlady. The comment: 'Warm, funny, clever, able to win over the hardest of hearts--just like the artist herself.' Thanks to Tia (actually Den!!) for spotting it first.
12 October 2004
The annual gathering of Kirsty's friends, family and fans in central London occurred last Sunday (10th October). Around 100 fans, friends and family met at Kirsty's Bench in Soho Square at mid-day for dedications and a few songs before repairing to the Wheatsheaf pub in Rathbone Place for drinks, a bit to eat and more singing, including guest spots by Mark Nevin (pictured, thanks to Niki) and Phil Rambow in addition to resident guitarists John Meranda, Nick Brown, Terry Hurley (keeping an eye on his guitar in the photo!) and Phil Whiteley.
There was much fundraising going on for the Justice For Kirsty Campaign, with over £770 raised on the day. The sixty limited edition "I LIKE KIRSTY" badges fetched £160, a lovely ink drawing of the Bench on the day by Denise Keir, one of Jean MacColl's oldest friends, was signed by Jean, Louis Lillywhite, Mark Nevin and Phil Rambow (pictured left with his daughter and Terry & John) and raised £45 in auction, I believe similar sums were fetched by some signed first edition copies of Karen O'Brien's biography, and the remainder donated via the collection buckets and JFK teeshirts.
The gallery of photos from the day is now online, also there are some snaps online at Niki's gallery and on the Kirsty yahoo group site. If you have any photos from the day please get in touch.
Some other links:
1 October 2004
This month sees the 25th Anniversary of what should have been the release of Kirsty's second single You caught me out (backed with Boys). Recorded (and co-written) with the Boomtown Rats, shortly before its release date Kirsty and Stiff parted company with Kirsty feeling she didn't have enough control over her recordings. Kirsty moved to Polydor for three years before she later returned to Stiff "because they wanted me back".
Kirsty collaborated extensively with Tracey Ullman in '83, and of course it was Tracey who took They don't know to Number 2 in September 1983. Tracey's facsimile of You caught me out continues to be the only one readily available until the release of the box set next February. Of the original, Goldmine magazine observed, "Though they are understandably very rare, copies of this single do exist. Stiff Records’ own retail premises, a repository for future label rarities, briefly carried both white label and promotional pressings of the single, although MacColl herself only recalls seeing copies in the possession of American collectors. That’s not too surprising, though. Like those other monuments to British entrepreneurial zeal, Harrods and Buckingham Palace, the Stiff Records store always seemed to attract many more tourists than natives."
The song itself is a splendid fast paced punchy number with a sad tale of missed opportunities. Listen.
24 September 2004 (updated 12 October)
The documentary Who Killed Kirsty MacColl will be screened on BBC4 this week: Friday 24th at 22:00, Saturday 25th at 01:40 and 23:00, also Sunday 26th at 03:00.
The BBC4 Interactive website for the documentary is now live and includes an interview with the director, Olivia Lichtenstein, and also a Q&A session with Kirsty's mother Jean.
Also, Kirsty is featured on today's main BBC Web Site (www.bbc.co.uk), see screen capture, left. Note that in addition to following the case, the first half of the program is devoted to Kirsty during her lifetime and does contain some rare live footage! To reiterate before anyone asks, it is likely to screen on BBC2 early next year but there are no commitments as such. BBC4 is available only to satellite/cable/freeview digital subscribers.
The BBC documentary The Life and Songs of Kirsty MacColl (first shown on BBC2 in January 2001) is reshown on Friday 24 September at 21:00, and Saturday 25th at midnight.
9 September 2004
Photographer (and long time friend of Kirsty) Charlie Dickins has decided to make some of his photos of Kirsty available for sale in aid of the JFK Campaign (50% of the profits will go to the campaign, and he has to make a living too!). See his new website at www.kirstyprints.com for details.
3 September 2004
EMI have been forced to delay the release of From Croydon to Cuba by at least 4 months, because some of the other record companies involved have not licensed the music and videos in time to meet their production deadlines.
Nigel Reeve from EMI says, "I'm afraid that due to the fact that we don't have all the assets required for the CD and DVD, the release date of October 11th is now not possible. This is obviously a big disappointment because of the importance of the original date and the current media swell on Kirsty, her music and the campaign. After discussions with our press, promotion and sales departments it has been decided that our best option is to move both releases to February to allow us to get the right build at media with the long lead magazines and a focus at retail, avoiding the 'silly season'. However, to achieve this aim, even for February, we need to keep the pressure on the 3rd parties to get the assets in as soon as possible. I appreciate all the effort that has been made on this project so far and look forward to delivering the definitive overview of Kirsty's career, and a true testament to her talent."
31 August 2004
Karen O'Brien's biography of Kirsty is due to be published shortly. Meantime you can get an early copy by entering this fun (if tricky) competition! Karen's book is divided into 12 chapters, each one named after a Kirsty song ... can you guess which songs? One clue - there is one song (and one song only) which Kirsty was not involved in writing. Submit your list of 12 titles to me from the email page. The entries with the most matches will win the book. The winners will be notified via email, so no need to include your postal address until you know you've won. In the event of a tie, a tiebreaker will be set via email. Closing date for the competition is Sunday 12 September. There is no limit to the number of times you can enter, but every new entry will replace all previous ones.
29 August 2004
On Tuesday 31st August, BBC1 Breakfast (06:00 - 09:15) will feature Karen O'Brien talking about her new biography, and will also feature Jean MacColl updating the nation on the justice campaign. Additionally, Irish viewers can see an interview with Jean on (probably) Friday October 10th on UTE Belfast's Kelly Show.
Note: the BBC appearance did not happen, reasons unknown.
28 August 2004
The
premiere of the BBC4 film "Who Killed Kirsty MacColl" took place at the
Edinburgh International Conference Centre, with a guest panel of (L to
R) Jean MacColl, producer Olivia Lichtenstein, Senior Commissioning Executive
Richard Klein and chair Stephen Armstrong, Sunday Times critic.
The film itself was an excellent and compelling piece of work, starting with Kirsty's life story (including some rare TV appearances) before turning to focus on the events surrounding Kirsty's death and its aftermath, including eye witness accounts and coverage of the campaign team's mission to Cozumel and Mexico City earlier this year. Contributors included Jean, James Knight, Steve Lillywhite, Louis Lillywhite, Fred Shortland, John Dalby, Philip Rambow, Charles Dickins, Demetrio Guerra and eye witnesses from Cozumel.
The Q&A session revealed that the film was created as an emotional travelogue rather than a purely investigative reportage, playing to the strengths of Lichtenstein's style. It was also explained that the British Foreign Office had been initially reluctant to lend their support to the campaign, in response to a question from the floor. Jean MacColl presented her case for the continuing pursuit of justice forcefully.
The film will air nationwide in the UK on BBC4 in late September, with a likely screening on BBC2 at a later date.
21 August 2004
Head has been replaced in the running order by a song called Manhattan Moon, written by Philip Chevron for a musical he was working on with Declan Lynch in 2000, called Jack Rooney: In person. It is an Irish emigration story, and Kirsty's song is about leaving Ireland in search of a new life in America.
1 August 2004
The campaign continues to attract media attention with articles at The Telegraph - which carried a major four page piece by Alix Kirsta - in The Times, Sky News and the Daily Record. These follow articles in the past week in the Croydon Guardian, Reuters, Yahoo, The Malaysia Star, BBC, NME and the Irish Examiner. Jean has been interviewed on BBC London News and Sky News. Last weekend's Times and Sunday Times carried an updated feature by Karin Goodwin on the progress of the Campaign.
22 July 2004
Kirsty
MacColl: The One and Only is "the
definitive biography. Written with the full support and co-operation
of her family and friends, the book features interviews with Kirsty
herself, together with new interviews with Steve Lillywhite and her
partner, James Knight, who talk publicly for the first time about their
lives with her, alongside stars such as Bono and Billy Bragg (who has
written a foreword for the book). The book also chronicles the tragedy
in Mexico, its emotional aftermath and the legal fight launched by
the Justice for Kirsty campaign,
which is rapidly gathering momentum and media attention."
Karen O’Brien is a news editor for the BBC World Service in London. As a news journalist, she’s worked in print, radio and television, including the BBC and Reuters. She has written and broadcast widely on the arts, with a particular passion for music. Her previous books include Joni Mitchell: Shadows and Light (Virgin, 2001) and Hymn to Her (Virago, 1995), a collection of writings on women musicians, including Kirsty. She is a New Zealander by birth and a Londoner by choice. Published by Andre Deutsch in September 2004 at £17.99
21 July 2004
EMI have now confirmed the scheduled release for the 3 CD Box Set of Kirsty's recordings, and the good news is it features quite a few previously unknown songs. Both the Box and accompanying DVD release will be called From Croydon to Cuba. Release date for both will be 11 October 2004. Ananova carried a release announcement.
This is the CD track listing (* denotes a previously limited release e.g. single, soundtrack , ** denotes previously unavailable on CD, *** denotes previously unreleased in any format!).
They Don't Know (3.01), You Caught Me Out*** (3.27), Keep Your Hands Off My Baby** (2.57), There's A Guy Works Down The Chip Shop (3.06), Hard To Believe** (2.19), See That Girl (3.02), Queen Of The High Teas** (2.29), I Want Out** (Matchbox feat. Kirsty) (2.40), You Still Believe In Me** (2.54), Rhythm Of The Real Thing** (4.54), Berlin** (3.36), Camel Crossing*** (5.24), Roman Gardens** (5.02), Sticked And Stoned*** (3.49), Terry (3.50), A New England (3.48), Patrick (3.05), He's On The Beach (3.30), Innocence (Single Remix)* (4.02), Don't Come The Cowboy With Me Sonny Jim (3.47), Closer To God* (3.55), Fairy Tale Of New York (The Pogues feat. Kirsty) (4.32).
Free World (2.35), You Just Haven't Earned It Yet Baby (2.50), Tread Lightly (3.20), The End Of Another Perfect Day (3.23), Mothers Ruin (3.57), Dancing In Limbo (2.51), Days (2.59), Still Life* (2.57), Clubland* (4.03), Other People's Hearts* (3.37), Don't Run Away From Me Now** (3.00), Please Help Me I'm Falling* (2.46), Miss Otis Regrets/Just One Of Those Things (w/ The Pogues) (4.39), All The Tears That I Cried* (3.31), Walking Down Madison (4.40), London Bridge Is Falling Down*** (4.54), My Affair (5.25), All I Ever Wanted (re-recorded single version)* (3.31), Halloween (3.38), We'll Never Pass This Way Again (4.34), Count On Me (demo)*** (2.42), Dear John (demo)*** (2.50).
Angel (3.50), Soho Square (4.24), Bad (2.45), Can't Stop Killing You (4.09), Titanic Days (edit) (3.31), Tomorrow Never Comes (4.42), Caroline (2.55), I Am Afraid*** (3.16), The Butcher Boy* (3.57), As Long As You Hold Me* (4.39), Perfect Day (w/ Evan Dando) (3.50), Sail Away (w/ Ghostland)* (3.13), Libertango (w/ Sharon Shannon)* (4.23), Golden Heart* (3.24), Mambo de La Luna (edit) (3.34), In These Shoes (3.39), England 2 Columbia 0 (3.45), Celestine (3.35), Good For Me* (4.14), Head (3.56), Sun On The Water (demo)***
The first disk covers 1979-1987, the second one 1989-1993 and the third 1994-2000, all beautifully logically laid out. I think you'll have to agree it looks like a very nice job all round.
Terry, New England, He's On The Beach, A Fairy Tale Of New York (w/ The Pogues), Free World, Days, Innocence, Don't Come The Cowboy With Me Sonny Jim, Walking Down Madison, My Affair, All I Ever Wanted, Miss Otis Regrets/Just One Of Those Things (w/ The Pogues), Can't Stop Killing You, Mambo de la Luna, In These Shoes?. Bonus: Electric Landlady EPK
EMI are also looking at remasters of Kite and Electric Landlady both with bonus tracks not on the 3 CD set for February.
[updated 27 July]
Release outwith the UK is unlikely in the short term, the material has been licensed for UK release only at this time, so it is up to record companies in other regions to obtain rights for their own releases. The separate DVD release will be Region Free (R0) but will be in PAL coding.
21 July 2004
The one hour documentary is to be featured in the Edinburgh Television Festival on 27/28 August. This is the annual television industry get together which normally passes unnoticed in the crowd of festivals in Edinburgh at that time of year. The BBC's Olivia Lichtenstein will be the guest panellist, Kirsty's mother Jean will also be attending.
"Singer/songwriter Kirsty MacColl was enjoying a particularly happy and creative time in her both personal and professional life, when on 18th December 2000, she was killed by a speed boat belonging to one of Mexico’s wealthiest businessmen. Featuring explosive new evidence, Justice for Kirsty is the moving story of 80 year old Jean MacColl’s search for the truth about her daughter’s untimely death and her attempts to bring those she believes are responsible to justice."
04 July 2004
June saw the 25th Anniversary of the release of Kirsty's debut single They don't know (backed with Turn my motor on). Plenty to look forward to in 2004 however, with the appearance of the box set on EMI later in the year and also the biography. More information about these and any other Kirsty related events as they happen.
The annual fan gathering at Soho Square in London is also approaching fast, and this year falls on what should have been Kirsty's 45th birthday on 10th October.
03 June 2004
This month sees the 25th Anniversary of the release of Kirsty's debut single They don't know (backed with Turn my motor on) (listen) . A welcome opportunity to revisit the song and the circumstances surrounding its appearance in the midst of the newly energized post punk world. Here is the story, drawn largely from interviews by Muse, Goldmine and Record Collector magazines in the intervening years, starting when Kirsty was a backing singer with R&B outfit Drug Addix:
Kirsty's input on the group's 1978 Make A Record EP was largely restricted to backing vocals, while the band's mix of Sweet Jane type riffs and slide-guitar-propelled R&B fell between two audiences. Stiff had paid for a Drug Addix demo session, but didn't like the results.
"Stiff had paid for us to do some demos, although very soon after, I left the band, just because it wasn’t any good. It was pretty awful! And I was the token girl. After I left, Stiff Records called and said: 'We'd like you to come and play us anything you’ve got.' I said, 'I thought you didn't like the demos;' and they said: 'We hate the band, but we quite like you!' When they asked if I had any songs, I said 'Oh yeah, loads!', even though I didn't at all. Then I thought, 'Oh God, I'd better write something before I go in to see them.' And that's when I wroteThey Don’t Know."
Stiff boss Dave Robinson liked the song, wasn't sure about her voice, but decided to stick her in a studio anyway around Xmas 1978. Kirsty was backed by the Edge, which at that time included guitarist Lu Edmunds (fresh from a spell with the Damned), keyboard player Gavin Povey and drummer Jon Moss.
Like
so many other Stiff veterans, MacColl looked back at her early days with
the company with just a touch of bitterness. The undisputed queen of the
label was the then school-aged Rachel Sweet, and for marketing reasons
which are now long forgotten, no Stiff artist of the time could escape
some kind of comparison with the diminutive Akronite. Wreckless Eric still
winces at the memory of Stiff’s attempts to portray him as Rachel’s
number one hopelessly love-lorn suitor, and though MacColl escaped that
particular tag, say "Croydon’s answer to
Rachel Sweet" in her presence, and her eyes would blaze furiously: "What
the fuck does that mean? There's a lot of sexist old crap in this business,
I'm always described as a 'female singer-songwriter'. You don't see all
these other singer-songwriters described as male singer-songwriters. I
mean, what's your genitalia got to do with it? You're either a singer-songwriter
or you're not."
Coming on the tails of highly publicised records by Rachel Sweet and Lene Lovich, They don't know, an impeccably crafted piece of pop writing as rigorously constructed as the finest Brill Building material, probably suffered by association. "I never felt I was doing particularly novelty sort of stuff", she reflects. Pigeonholed or not, reviews were unanimously positive, while the massive support it received from British radio should have pushed it to the top of the chart. There was one point when only ABBA’s Does Your Mother Know and Paul McCartney’s Old Siam Sir were receiving as much exposure. Unfortunately, that bane of the independent record label, a distributors’ strike, chose that same month to fall, and so Kirsty's single languished in the warehouse, much sought-after but almost totally unobtainable. By the time copies did start leaking out, as both a regular 7" single, and a now scarce picture disc, it was too late.
Kirsty elaborates: "I don't think it failed because it wasn't good enough - it wasn't any better or worse than Tracey's version - it was practically the same. If there hadn't been an obvious reason for its failure I would have been disappointed but at least there was. As it was, it got plenty of airplay, started my career, got my name known and got me a record deal. I am glad it was finally a hit because it's a nice song - everybody else seemed to think so too otherwise they wouldn't have bought it would they?"
After
the release of Kirsty's second single, You caught
me out, was cancelled, she moved to Polydor for three years before
she went back to Stiff "because they wanted me
back". During that return visit to Stiff someone had the
bright idea of teaming up Tracey Ullman with Kirsty's songs. Tracey recorded They
Don't Know and shot up the charts, reaching number 2 in November
1983. Journalist James Bennett asked Kirsty why she gave the song to Tracey.
"Once a song has been recorded, it's no longer down to the writer to decide who does it anyway. So anyone can record any song they've heard that's been published. It was actually suggested by a friend of mine who worked at Stiff Records. I was on Polydor at the time and having a really bad time with them and I was sort of thinking about selling up everything I had and moving to Spain and being a hippie. My mate suggested that because she had this big hit with her first single, which I think was Breakaway, she'd had a much bigger hit than they had expected and they didn't have anything else to follow it up so they were looking for material. And basically they thought, I'm there writing the sort of songs that she wants to do and it seemed like a good partnership. I'm grateful for paying the rent. Yeah. It was fun; it was good, it didn't really bother me. I don't mind a bit of reflected glory!"
Pete Waterman recalled Tracey's recording, "It really was my favourite sort of record, a "girl group" sort of record, very much what I wanted to do - fitted the era beautifully and was one of the first records that I can actually say worked. Dave had me polishing it off at the studio in the middle of the night, with me getting Kirsty and Dave's wife Rosemary to add Shangri La-type backing vocals. It was the best song Tracey ever recorded. The day after I'd first played it to him, I went into Dave's office and he said he'd decided not to release it because it didn't 'swing along'. I explained that everything didn't have to 'swing along' and that housewives everywhere would be singing along to it when they were doing the ironing."
In addition to Tracey's big hit version, the song has been covered by Leslie Carter, Cartoon Characters, Departure Lounge, Dawn Eden & Anderson Council, Gas Giants, Gigolo Aunts, Kenny Howes & the Yeah!, Pale, Young Fresh Fellows, Janine Olsen (translated into German) and live versions by Bucky and Amy Rigby.
Get hold of the song on Kirsty's "best of" collection, Galore.
13 May 2004
Top
of the Pops 2 Quite a few of you noticed Kirsty's appearance with Jona Lewie on the TOTP2 oldies show last night, resplendent in yellow dress. Steve Wright did not appear to notice unfortunately so we have had several people writing in to ask if it really was Kirsty. It was indeed, in what may have been her first TV appearance in the UK. The song was Kitchen at parties. There is a tiny clip on the TOTP2 website.
6 April 2004
Mark Nevin's web site suggests that a four CD anthology of Kirsty's work is scheduled for release later in the year. "It will feature a few MacColl/Nevin songs, including the original demo version of Kirsty singing Dear John'.
EMI are working on a set but nothing is yet confirmed. So best not to get too excited yet! We have after all been here before...
6 April 2004
The Campaign was featured in The Mail on Sunday and The Times, with the latest stories from Mexico.
El Universal carries a feature by Corrie MacLaggan online.
28 March 2004
TALC are
two grown men that felt the need to write and perform material that spoke
to them, that made them fall in love with music all over again. After a
meeting on christmas day at James Knight's house, over turkey prepared
by his good friend Nichol Thomson the intrepid pair decided they were full.
Full of the usual pop/rock deserts on offer and would make their own recipe.
And so TALC were born.
James says "TALC is finally happening and we've got our showcase at Bush Hall on the 30th March at 7:30. Scary!"
www.talconline.com - we await a gig review!
17 March 2004: full article
The
Justice for Kirsty Campaign moved on to Mexico City where Jean and her
colleagues were able to voice their concerns in meetings at the very highest
level. The Mexican Authorities were unswerving in their pledges and determination
to help. The Ministers were attentive, compassionate and understanding;
all of which has been of great comfort to Jean.
The Campaign must now change its focus to raising funds to ensure that the costs involved in continuing the legal battle to get Justice for Kirsty and to secure a fitting tribute to her memory can be met. Jean has achieved something quite extraordinary, something that would have made Kirsty extremely proud and something that is inspirational to all. The two weeks spent in Mexico must be seen as an unmitigated success.
12 March 2004 : full article
Jean MacColl presented a dossier of new evidence
to the Federal Prosecutor's office in Cozumel, Mexico on March 12. Accompanied
by lawyer Demetrio Guerra and Campaign supporter Fred Shortland, Jean began
her legal fight to call Kirsty's killers to account.
10 March 2004
Kirsty's mother, Jean MacColl, led a deeply poignant
memorial ceremony at the place over the coral reef where Kirsty died.
A small launch carried Jean and a dozen supporters from the simple jetty at Playa Corona. Jean cast a beautiful wreath of tropical flowers onto the sea. It bore a ribbon with the simple inscription: Kirsty - Goodbye to an Angel.
Then the group listened to family friend John Dalby speak a moving verse of remembrance from one of Kirsty's songs.
Each member of the party dropped a single
rose after the wreath. A few minutes of silent contemplation and tears
followed as people in the group each remembered Kirsty in their own hearts.
Then, as the sun set over the limpid water the launch returned to the pier.
Photos: Charles Dickins
3 March 2004
The 6th Annual Habanos Festival (Cuban Cigar Festival) was held last week at the "San Carlos de la Cabaña" Fortress with cigar aficionados from around the world in attendance, including Jenny Reppard, granddaughter of late British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, a notorious cigar smoker. In 1947 Cuba coined a cigar brand after his name during Churchill's visit.
The Festival´s organizers arranged an auction in "El Laguito" on February 27 as part of the closing dinner, and the Kirsty MacColl Foundation auctioned one of the singer´s guitars. The $1,200 raised will be donated to the Cuban education fund. Source: PM/JM
28 February 2004
Thought you would be interested to hear that the video (?) for Chip shop is to be included in a compilation DVD called Relax: 80's Jukebox. Source: JJ
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