Kirsty MacColl

Kirsty Anna MacColl (10 October 1959 – 18 December 2000) was an English singer-songwriter.

MacColl scored several pop hits from the early 1980s to the early 1990s. During this era, she often sang on recordings produced by her husband Steve Lillywhite, notably those of The Smiths and the song "Fairytale of New York" by Pogues.

MacColl was killed in a controversial boating incident in Mexico.

Life and career

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Early career

Kirsty MacColl was the daughter of folk singer Ewan MacColl and dancer Jean Newlove. She and her brother, Hamish MacColl, grew up with their mother in Croydon, where she attended Park Hill Primary School and Monks Hill High School, making appearances in school plays. At the time of Kirsty's birth, her father had been in a relationship with folksinger, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Peggy Seeger since 1956 (a relationship that would continue until his death in 1989), and already had a son with her.

She came to notice when Chiswick Records released an EP by local punk rock band the Drug Addix with MacColl on backing vocals under the pseudonym Mandy Doubt (1978). Stiff Records executives were not impressed with the band, but liked her and subsequently signed her to a solo deal.

Debut single

Her debut solo single "They Don't Know", released in 1979, peaked at #3 in terms of airplay.^{[citation needed]} However, a distributors' strike prevented copies of the single getting into shops, and the single consequently failed to appear on the official UK singles charts, which were based strictly on record sales.

MacColl recorded a follow-up single, "You Caught Me Out", but felt she lacked Stiff's full backing, and left the label shortly before the song was to be released. The single was pulled, and only a few "white label" promo copies of the single are known to exist.

MacColl moved to Polydor Records in 1981. She had a UK #14 hit with "There's a Guy Works Down the Chip Shop Swears He's Elvis", taken from her critically acclaimed debut album Desperate Character. In 1983, Polydor dropped her just as she had completed recording the songs for a planned second album (to be called Real) which used more synthesizers and had New Wave-styled tracks. She returned to Stiff, where pop singles such as "Terry" and "He's On the Beach" were unsuccessful but a cover of Billy Bragg's "A New England" in 1985 got to Number 7 in the UK charts. This included two extra verses specially written for her by Bragg. Also around this time, MacColl wrote and performed the theme song "London Girls" for Channel 4's short-lived sitcom Dream Stuffing (1984).

In the United States, MacColl was probably most recognisable as the writer of "They Don't Know". Tracey Ullman's version, helped by a video guest-starring Paul McCartney, reached Number 2 in the UK in 1983 and the Top Ten in North America. It was also played over the closing credits of Ullman's HBO show Tracey Takes On in 1996. Ullman also recorded three more of MacColl's songs, "You Broke My Heart In 17 Places" and "You Caught Me Out", as the title tracks of her first and second albums respectively, and "Terry" which was released as a single in 1985.

Chart re-emergence

When Stiff went bankrupt in 1986, MacColl was left unable to record in her own right, as no record company bought her contract from the Official Receiver. However, she had regular session work as a backing vocalist, and she frequently sang on records produced or engineered by her husband, Steve Lillywhite, including tracks for The Smiths, Talking Heads, Big Country, Crossfire Choir, Anni-Frid Lyngstad (of ABBA), and The Wonder Stuff among others. She appeared in the videos "Welcome to the Cheap Seats" for The Wonder Stuff and "(Nothing But) Flowers" for Talking Heads (along with ex-The Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr).

MacColl re-emerged in the British charts in December 1987, reaching Number 2 with The Pogues on "Fairytale of New York", a duet with Shane MacGowan. This led to her accompanying The Pogues on their British and European tour in 1988, an experience which she said helped her temporarily overcome her stage fright.^{[citation needed]} In March 1989, MacColl sang backing vocals on the Happy Mondays' Hallelujah EP.

After the contract issue was resolved, MacColl returned to recording as a solo artist and received critical acclaim upon the release of Kite (LP) in 1989. The album was widely praised by critics, and featured collaborations with David Gilmour and Johnny Marr. MacColl's lyrics addressed life in Margaret Thatcher's Britain on "Free World", ridiculed the vapidity of fame in "Fifteen Minutes", and addressed the vagaries of love in "Don't Come The Cowboy With Me Sonny Jim!" Although Kite contained many original compositions, MacColl's biggest chart success from the album would be the cover of The Kinks' song "Days", which gave her a UK Top 20 hit in July 1989. A bonus track on the CD version of Kite was a cover of the Smiths song "You Just Haven't Earned It Yet, Baby". Despite being an acclaimed songwriter in her own right, MacColl's success with these songs, as well as her version of "A New England", garnered her a reputation as being a covers artist.^{[citation needed]}

During this time, MacColl was also featured on the British sketch comedy French and Saunders, appearing as herself and singing songs, including "15 Minutes" (from Kite), "Girls On Bikes" (a reworking of B-side "Am I Right?") and, with comedy duo Raw Sex, the Frank and Nancy Sinatra hit "Something Stupid". She continued to write and record, releasing the album Electric Landlady (coined by Johnny Marr, a play on the Jimi Hendrix album title Electric Ladyland), including her most successful chart hit in North America, "Walking Down Madison" (co-written with Marr and a Top 30 hit in the UK), in 1991. Despite the song's U.S. chart success, Landlady was not a hit for Virgin Records, and in 1992, when Virgin was sold to EMI, MacColl was dropped from the label.

Later work

She released Titanic Days, inspired by her divorce from Lillywhite, in 1994, but ZTT Records had agreed only to release the album as a "one-off" and declined to sign her to a contract. The following year she released two new singles on Virgin, "Caroline" and a cover of Lou Reed's "Perfect Day" (a duet with Evan Dando), together with the "best of" compilation Galore.

Galore became MacColl's only album to reach the top 10 in the UK album charts, but neither of the new singles, nor a re-released "Days", made the Top 40. MacColl would not record again for several years; her frustration with the music business was exacerbated by a lengthy case of writer's block. MacColl herself admitted that she was ready to give up her music career and become an English teacher in South America.^{[citation needed]}

After several trips to Cuba and Brazil, MacColl recorded the world music-inspired (particularly Cuban and other Latin American forms) Tropical Brainstorm, which was released in 2000 to critical acclaim. It included the song "In These Shoes", which garnered airplay in the U.S., was covered by Bette Midler and featured in the HBO show Sex and the City. It would later (after MacColl's death) be adopted by Catherine Tate as the theme tune for her BBC TV show and feature on the soundtrack to British film Kinky Boots.

MacColl's lyrics, at turns humorous, biting, and achingly sad, sometimes presented a challenge to the commercial viability of her work.^{[citation needed]} She developed a severe case of stage fright (glossophobia), which first struck during her early tours and which she never truly overcame.^{[citation needed]} She was also devoted to her children, and would spend long periods of time away from the spotlight to focus on raising them.

Death and "Justice for Kirsty" campaign

Cover of From Croydon To Cuba... compilation CD and DVD released after her death

Death

In 2000, following her participation in the presentation of a radio programme she had done for the BBC on Cuba ^[1] MacColl took a holiday in Cozumel, Mexico with her sons and her partner, musician James Knight. On 18 December 2000, she and her sons went diving in Cozumel, in a specific diving area that watercraft were restricted from entering. With the group was a local veteran divemaster, Iván Díaz. As the group was surfacing from a dive, a speeding powerboat entered the restricted area. MacColl saw the boat coming before her sons did; Louis was not in the boat's path, but Jamie was. She was able to push him out of the way (he sustained minor head and rib injuries) but in doing so, she was hit by the boat and killed instantly.^[2] MacColl's remains were repatriated to the United Kingdom and the subsequent funeral took place at Mortlake Crematorium in London.

The boat involved in the accident was owned by Mexican supermarket millionaire Guillermo González Nova, who was on board with several members of his family. An employee of González Nova's, boathand José Cen Yam, claimed to have been driving the boat at the time that the accident occurred.^[3] Several published reports have included accounts from eyewitnesses that have stated Cen Yam was not at the controls; eyewitnesses also indicate that the boat was travelling much faster than the speed of one knot that Nova had claimed.^[4] Cen Yam was found guilty of culpable homicide and was sentenced to 2 years 10 months in prison. However, he was allowed under Mexican law to pay a punitive fine of 1034 pesos (about £61 or US$90) in lieu of the prison sentence. He was also ordered to pay approximately US $2150 in restitution to MacColl's family, an amount based on his wages. Published reports have included statements from people who spoke to Cen Yam after the accident, claiming Cen Yam had received money for taking the blame for the incident.^[3][5]

González Nova family members claimed that divemaster Iván Díaz failed to put out warning marker buoys, and there is confusion as to whether he put up the correct flag on his boat.^[4]

Justice for Kirsty campaign

MacColl's family launched the Justice For Kirsty campaign in response to the events surrounding her death. Among the group's efforts:

• Lawyers for MacColl's family and the group have campaigned for a judicial review into the events surrounding her death. They have been in repeated contact with the Mexican government, and have made an application to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

• MacColl's friends and family have been critical of what they have perceived as a lack of cooperation from the Mexican authorities. In May 2006, Emilio Cortez Ramírez, a federal prosecutor in Cozumel, was found liable for breach of authority in conjunction with his handling of the MacColl case.^[6]

• The BBC has featured a documentary by Olivia Lichtenstein, entitled Who Killed Kirsty MacColl?.^[7]

• U2 and Bono, who was a friend of MacColl's, spoke about the incident during a concert in Monterrey, Mexico, in February 2006. The Mexican government released a statement after the concert indicating they would take action. However no additional details were immediately forthcoming.^[8]

• In an interview with the Sunday Telegraph in December 2007 MacColl's mother hoped that a combination of a new Mexican administration and the campaign to push "Fairytale of New York" to the coveted U.K Christmas Number One slot would lead to closure for the family in the next few months.^[9]

Posthumous reaction

Since MacColl's death, Billy Bragg has always included "her" extra verses when performing "A New England". She was honoured in 2002 with a memorial concert in London at the Royal Festival Hall, featuring a number of musicians that had worked with her or been influenced by her.

Kirsty MacColl memorial bench in Soho Square; A close-up of the engraved lyrics

In 2001, a bench was placed by the southern entrance to London's Soho Square as a memorial to her, after a lyric from one of her most poignant songs: "One day I'll be waiting there / No empty bench in Soho Square". Every year on the Sunday nearest to MacColl's birthday, 10 October, fans from all over the world hold a gathering at the bench to pay tribute to her and sing her songs.

MacColl continues to receive media exposure; in 2004 a biography of MacColl authored by Karen O'Brien, Kirsty MacColl:The One and Only, was published. A retrospective three-CD set spanning her full career, From Croydon To Cuba, was released in 2005. Titanic Days was re-released in 2005 as a deluxe 2CD set, and Kite and Electric Landlady were also remastered and rereleased with additional tracks. Her first album Desperate Character remains out of print, but some tracks from that work were included in the box set. On 7 August 2005, The Best of Kirsty MacColl (a single-disc compilation including the 'new' single "Sun on the Water") made its debut on the UK album charts at #17, climbing to #12 a week later.

MacColl's collaboration with the Pogues, "Fairytale of New York", remains a perennial Christmas favourite. In 2004, 2005 and 2006, it was voted favourite Christmas song in a poll by music video channel VH1. ^[10] The song was re-released in the UK in December 2005, 18 years after its original release, with half of the proceeds being donated to the Justice for Kirsty Campaign. The re-release reached #3 on the UK charts, and spent five weeks in the top 75 over the Christmas and New Year period. Due to newly imposed rules in 2006^{[clarification needed]}, it reached the top 10 for the third time in its history, peaking at #6, and re-entered the top 40 yet again in December 2007, also reaching #63 on the EU Top 200. On 18 December 2007, there was a controversy over the use of the word 'faggot' in the lyrics, which BBC Radio 1 dubbed out "to avoid offence".^[11] Following criticism from listeners and MacColl's mother, Radio 1 reversed their decision later in the day.^[12] In December 2008 the song reached No. 12.

Biography

• Sun on the Water - The Brilliant Life and Tragic Death of Kirsty MacColl - Jean MacColl, 2008 ISBN 978-1-84454-596-4

Discography

Album discography

Compilations

Charted singles

References

• Kirsty MacColl: The One and Only by Karen O'Brien, 2004. ISBN 0-233-00070-4

External links

• Official site
• BBC announcement of her death
• Justice for Kirsty – in-depth information regarding MacColl's death
• Kirsty MacColl at the Internet Movie Database
• [1] Official Justice For Kirsty on Myspace
• Kirsty MacColl at Find a Grave