Kirsty MacColl

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Croydon, England, UK (1979 – 2000)

Kirsty Anna MacColl (Croydon, England, UK on 10 October 1959 - 18 December 2000) was a British pop singer-songwriter. She was the daughter of dancer Jean Newlove and noted folk singer Ewan MacColl.

MacColl began her career in the late 1970s UK punk rock scene, singing backing vocals for Drug Addix. She was probably most recognizable in the United States as the writer of “They Don’t Know” a hit in 1979. 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. She had more success in her native England, where her hits included the 1981 single “There’s A Guy Works Down The Chip Shop Swears He’s Elvis”, a cover of Billy Bragg’s “A New England” in 1985, a duet with Shane MacGowan of The Pogues on “Fairytale of New York” in 1987, and a cover of The Kinks’ song “Days” in 1989.

After a break from the music industry for much of the 1990s, several trips to Cuba and Brazil restored MacColl’s creative muse, and the world music-inspired (particularly Cuban and other Latin American forms) Tropical Brainstorm, often described as her finest work, was released in 2000.

On 18 December 2000, while swimming in a restricted diving area with her family on a holiday in Cozumel, she was killed in a collision with a powerboat while managing to drag her son out of its path. The boat was owned by Mexican supermarket millionaire Guillermo González Nova (owner of Comercial Mexicana), who was on board with several members of his family.
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  • Galore
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  • The Stiff Years
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  • Tropical Brainstorm
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  • Titanic Days
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  • SimoneBerlioz

    <3

    February 2012

  • rainy-dog

    she used to use a lot of imagery relating to water in her songwriting. even when those songs were verging on euphoric, it's quite bittersweet to hear them now in light of what happened. i wish she'd never been taken from us.

    January 2012

  • Klash69NYC

    Such a beautiful voice. I miss Kirsty a lot. Thankfully there are so many places to hear her: her own music, and guesting on others albums. A big loss for us all.

    December 2011

  • HellBelleAustin

    In These Shoes is one of my ALL TIME favorite songs...so sad we won't have more music from Kirsty...she was so awesome.

    December 2011

  • Olleroo

    I like her voice, it's so either usual and unisual, I get greatest pleasure and cannot stop listening to her. I really missing, she'd been gone...

    August 2011

  • YControl755

    can't get enough of her...she was a true original in a world full of bores

    July 2011

  • titanicbryn

    I really miss Kirsty :( R.I.P.

    May 2011

  • michaelhlamb

    10 years without Kirsty MacColl...R.I.P. But she is alive in my heart! (3)

    May 2011
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