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Born in Croydon, South London in 1959, flamed-haired Kirsty MacColl was the daughter of folk singer Ewan (writer of "First Time Ever I Saw Your Face"). But Kirsty admitted that she was not inspired by her father's music, and by the 1970s was part of the new Punk movement, recording under the name of Mandy Doubt, and as a backing vocalist in the band Drug Addix. It was through this band that Kirsty got her first record contract, with Stiff Records.
In 1979, Kirsty released her first single "They Don't Know" in the UK. Although not a chart success, the song (entirely composed by a 19 year old Kirsty) displayed the singer's great talent and actually became a huge international hit for Tracy Ullman in 1983. It wasn't until 1981 that Kirsty had her big break, when her new single "There's A Guy Works Down The Chip Shop Swears He's Elvis" rocketed into the UK Top 20. This song showed something that was to be the hallmark of Kirsty's career - her great wit.
Throughout the 1980s, Kirsty had more hits including the Top Ten smash "A New England" and the number 2 Christmas hit of 1987 "Fairytale Of New York", which was recorded with the Pogues. But at this time Kirsty was also a wife and mother, and this came first for her. Therefore, she prefered to remain out of the spotlight and it was not until 1989 that she released her first major album.
This was "Kite", a beautiful album showcasing Kirsty's wit and unique voice, released on Virgin Records. It included Kirsty's hit cover of The Kinks' "Days", and "Free World", another UK chart entry addressing the failures of the Thatcher administration. At this time, Kirsty also became a regular on the French and Saunders show on BBC1, performing a different song each week. The album was a success in the UK, and paved the way for her next effort "Electric Landlady", which shot into the Top 20 on its release in 1991. Kirsty was joined by Johnny Marr of The Smiths as co-writer and had another hit in the form of "Walking Down Madison", a track which took Kirsty into urban dance. Another notable track was "My Affair", a Latin flavoured feel-good number, which enjoyed a brief stint on the UK charts.
Leaving Virgin Records, Kirsty joined ZTT and released "Titanic Days" in 1994. Although not as commercially successful as its predecessors, the album was critically acclaimed and displayed an even more pensive and gentle side to Kirsty's writing skills. Tracks such as "Angel" and "Don't Go Home" were moving, while "Soho Square" and the title track proved irresistible pop.
In 1995, Kirsty briefly rejoined Virgin for the release of her greatest hits compilation "Galore". This proved to be Kirsty's biggest selling album, debuting in the UK Top 10, and quickly gaining platinum status. The album had 18 tracks, covering the whole of Kirsty's career since "They Don't Know" and including two new tracks: "Caroline" and "Perfect Day", which was a duet with Evan Dando (both tracks made the UK singles chart, as did a re-issue of "Days", which at the time was being used in a TV ad for Sony camcorders). After the success of "Galore", Kirsty decided to take time out in order to send more time with her sons and continue her travels in Latin American. She had become deeply interested in Cuban and Brazilian music, even teaching herself fluent Spansh and absorbing expert information on the history of this music.
By 1999, Kirsty was back in the sudio to make a ver different album, insired by her Latin American travels. The result was "Tropical Brainstorm", released on the V2 label in the Spring of 2000. Having already gained much airplay and television promotion, the album immediately entered the UK Top 40 and was called her greatest work by literally all the critics. Q magazine described it as "a rare treat", while the Mail On Sunday said it was "the album of her life". "Tropical Brainstorm" proved to be irresistible - very witty and beautifully crafted...obviously one of the best albums of 2000. Two singles ("Mambo de la Luna" and "In These Shoes") were released, while many others were used by televison companies.
Kirsty's love for the Cuban music then took her to Havana to record a series for BBC Radio 2 called "Kirsty MacColl's Cuba. For this, she interviewed locals and sought to inform the British public how they too could discover this great music for themselves.
Tragically, Kirsty MacColl was killed on 18th December 2000, due to a boating accident off the coast of Mexico. Tributes poured on and she will, of course, be a huge loss to her family, the music industry and her many fans.
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