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The Kirsty MacColl web site
Strange Facts
This section is about radio programmes.
Kirsty
had just returned from Havana after working on an eight part series about
the history of Cuban music at the time of her death. It was broadcast on
BBC Radio 2 in early 2001 at the insistence of her family. Being a major
project, it has its own page within freeworld. Learn more about Kirsty
MacColl's Cuba as it unravels tales of revolution, story telling and
dance in the musical melting pots of Havana and Santiago. Marvel at class
acts such as Los Van Van, Celina Gonzalez, Chappottin, Perez Prado, Ruben
Gonzalez, Omara Portuondo, Beny Moré and Celiz Cruz.
In January 1996 Kirsty presented a four part series on the history of protest songs from the 50s to the present day. It ran on Sunday evenings on Radio 1 (UK). The show was put together by Pete Frame of 'Rock Family Trees' fame. It was just Kirsty talking and playing records, including Barry McGuire Eve of Destruction, The Beat Stand Down Margaret and The Lurkers Maggie Maggie Maggie, Out Out Out. (Say what you mean, lads!) Four years later she contributed to a show presented by Tom Robinson (yes, the Glad to be gay and 2-4-6-8-Motorway man) on the history of protest song. Source: JC
Delayed until January 2001, Kirsty presented an eight part series on Cuban
music and culture on BBC Radio 2, and was even flown out to Havana to
do it. Who said work can't be fun?
Of course she was also featured in various BBC Radio sessions over the years, as compiled on the album What do pretty girls do. It is also rumoured that she did a Johnnie Walker session with Nick Lowe not long before her untimely death.
Fairytale of New York was playing in the background on Radio 4's The Archers on 12 December 1999. Kirsty on TA - imagine! British actress Sue Johnson played Fairytale of New York as part of her Desert Island Discs in May 2002. Source: CR
Years on, the way that Kirsty's snappy song title has lodged itself into common usage is once again illustrated by this Sunday Times feature for a Radio 4 magazine program called "There's a guy works down our local swears he's Elvis". Viva The King! Viva Kirsty!
Back at Desert Island Discs, one of Kirsty's records was featured on Sunday 13 May 2001. The castaway was Sir John Sulston, the scientist and head of the human genome project and also obviously a person of taste. He picked Don't Come the Cowboy with me Sunny Jim as his fifth record. Unfortunately I didn't hear the programme so I don't know in what context he selected it. Anyway, she was in the company of Beethoven and Edith Piaf, among others. Source: AS
Kirsty clearly has a fan in Bob Brainen of WFMU radio, available in Real Audio. Witness his plays of Wrong again, You still believe in me, Annie, Bad, Can't stop killing you, Happy, All the tears that I cried, Caroline, What do pretty girls do?, and so on - Bob Brainen's Program runs on Saturday evenings in NYC and is archived at www.wfmu.org. Note the comparative obscurity of some of those tracks! The station also has shows featuring Last day of Summer, Chip shop, In these shoes?, You just haven't earned it yet baby, Mambo de la Luna, They don't know, Angel, and so on.
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