Stiff Records Week – Kirsty MacColl – They Don’t Know

I want to thank Randy from mostlymusiccovers for contributing this post!

When Max asked for a contribution to his Stiff Records week both his and mine default thought was to go with Nick Lowe, one of my most treasured artists. Nick was a big part of the success of that label as short-lived as it was. Stiff Records signed the 18-year-old Kirsty MacColl in 1979. Kirsty did not work with Lowe, and unfortunately, she was not treated well while there and left after just a year. But her story is one I think you should know. I want to thank Max for this opportunity to talk a little bit about her, even as I colour outside the lines from her brief brush with Stiff Records.

To demonstrate her experience while there I will say, she wrote this great song, recorded it and then the label messed around with the mixing of it. The release was delayed in part because Dave Robinson the label President, for whatever reason took a dislike to the otherwise very well-liked Kirsty. Stiff’s distribution centre went on strike at the time her record was to be shipped out and consequently, the radio stations had only the demo and no one could buy the record. Needless to say the song did not do well. Her next song was badly bungled as well and “You Caught Me Out” was shelved by the label. It was released in 2006 on The Stiff Singles Collection.

So age 19, she would move on to some success as a solo artist with five albums and charting a few songs. Like this one she wrote and released in 1981, “There’s a Guy Works down the Chip Shop, Swears He’s Elvis”. But otherwise she was in high demand as a session/background singer. Kirsty would also team up with The Pogues. They had been with Stiff for their first two albums in 1984 and 85. Coincidentally during that time they had a hit covering one of Kristy’s father’s songs, “Dirty Old Town”.

The Pogues had a messy departure from Stiff when it collapsed, and a year later Kirsty and was brought in as a feature vocalist on their enduring hit song “Fairytale of New York”, released in 1987. Although Kirsty’s voice was later over-dubbed in spots as the BBC and Top of the Pops forced the editing out of the word’s “slut” sung by Shane MacGowan and her saying “faggot” in response, words that reflected the time that the songs storyline takes place. Since then the original unedited version that is on the record is frequently heard. It is reportedly the most-played Christmas song of the 21st century in the UK.

Sometimes you just can’t keep a good song down and “They Don’t Know” was recorded by Tracey Ullman in 1983. Ullman was a fan of Kirsty and would record some of her other songs. None would have the same success as this new version that reached #2 in the UK and #8 in the US. It went to #1 in Ireland and Norway and charted well in several other countries, including a #5 ranking in Canada.

So some good came from her short stay with Stiff Records, and I think she did ok with the royalties from the song. Kirsty was the daughter of the well-known recording artist Ewan MacColl. He wrote among many songs, “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” as a love song to Peggy Seeger with whom he was busy having an affair and a child. Kirsty was raised by her mother.

Kirsty would marry and divorce but had two boys. While they and her boyfriend James Knight were on vacation in Mexico in December of 2000, at age 41 she was tragically killed. A speed boat violated warnings to avoid a clearly designated diving and swimming area. They were there with a local veteran divemaster. As they were all surfacing from a dive, Kirsty heroically saved the life of her 15-year-old son who she could see was in direct line of the oncoming boat. She pushed him out of the way, and he received a glancing blow, Kirsty was hit directly and died instantly.

The boat was piloted by a very wealthy Mexican businessman and initially, they ruled her death as accidental. Her family and friends put on enough pressure that a so-called ‘investigation’ was launched. An employee was paid to take the blame and was sentenced to prison but was able to avoid it with a small fine. Sorry to end on that heartbreak.

It’s a shame things didn’t work out with her time at Stiff. By all accounts, she was a beautiful person with a voice to match.

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Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, Alternative music, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. Not the slightest bit interested in politics at all.

34 thoughts on “Stiff Records Week – Kirsty MacColl – They Don’t Know”

    1. Thanks so much Randy. It reads like a tragic novel…just terrible what happened to her. I always knew this song by Tracey Ullman which she did really well. The video to me is classic…to see her transform like that and of course the cool choice of a cameo by Paul.

      I like Kirsty’s version a lot…it should have hit big.

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      1. You are welcome Max and it is tragic. Tracy did a great job with the video and the song, but as you said, Kirsty;s original would have done well if given a chance.

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  6. Great choice Randy! Stiff were good at finding talent, but not much else I reckon. Only good thing about this story is that by it being bungled, commercially, by Stuff it opened the door for Tracey to do it soon after…and not only was that a good record, it pretty much was what made her known over here.

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  11. I recognized the name Kirsty MacColl right away but couldn’t remember the context – until I got to the part of the post discussing “Fairytale of New York” by The Pogues, which I love. I’ve also always liked “They Don’t Know” and first heard Tracey Ullman’s version of that song.

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  16. Excellent post, Randy. The bones were there with MacColl’s version of “They Don’t Know,” and I thought Ullman’s version wasn’t too far ahead of it, so it’s a shame Kirsty’s didn’t do better for her. A tragic end to a life that was held back from the success she deserved.

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  17. loved Kirsty and I’m still indignant that people can get away with killing people by virtue of being rich. There’s no justice. I think it’s even worse, as they had only gone to help cheer up her boys after a different tragedy, and they had the loss of their mother in front of their eyes to deal with. Just awful.

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