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The Kirsty MacColl web site
SINGLES
Here is a chronological list of every single released by Kirsty. For vital statistics regarding Chart Placings and Weeks in Chart go the the Singles Stats.
You may also wish to consult the Discography.
B Sides listed were not all necessarily on the same release, but all were B sides on some format or other.
, 
They
don't know was
Kirsty's debut single, launched in a blaze of picture sleeve and alternate
picture disk. Later taken to great heights by Tracey Ullman, this ought to
have been a huge hit at the time. It should be familiar to all but the most
casual of Kirsty followers nowadays thanks to Galore.
Turn my motor on is daft but great fun, we love it.
You
caught me out was withdrawn after a few white label copies had
been pressed when Kirsty left the label. These were sold off in the Stiff
Records shop and are (almost) impossible to find. Backed by (and co-written
with) the Boomtown Rats, it is actually very good. The song itself was
rescued and appears on a Tracey Ullman album. The picture is a genuine scan
- Kirsty signed this copy when in the US a few years ago.
Boys is a rather short (1:49) Kirsty rocker which is kind of a companion piece to Motor on - similar pace. There's some mean guitar playing going on throughout and is well worth a listen.
Keep
your hands off my baby was a
crack at a Goffin/King number for single number 3 (or 2!), which again was
mysteriously a flop. It's a glorious slice of pop music.
I don't need you was perhaps Kirsty's worst recording ever. Actually it's quite funny but it is also awful.
There's
a guy works down the chip shop swears he's Elvis
Now
we're talking - big hit time at last and well merited. The country version
is equally good. Every bit a winner. Often dismissed stupidly as "a novelty
record", this song was highlighted in Kirsty's live shows right to the
end, usually as an encore. Since this is probably the Kirstysong most
associated with her by the general public, she could have done a lot
worse. In the US, a promo was issued which spoke of a "truck
stop" in
preference to a "chip shop" but that was plain silly. UK No.
14 (13 June 1981), 9 weeks in chart.
Hard to believe is a decent MacColl original, and the Country Version of Chip Shop completes the lineup.
See
that girl was another fine pop record, another miss. Isn't life
cruel? I rate this as one of the very best of Kirsty's early recordings.
It harks back to the golden girl group era with strong harmonies, a lovely
bridge and a cracking pace throughout. "You
won't see me no more if you see that girl". A song for the Beckhams
possibly.
Over you was a fairly lightweight song but it sits well enough with the main track. Another slice of teenage angst. "I thought for a while I was getting over you, it shows just how wrong I can be."
You still believe
in me - a fairly straightforward run through of a Pet
Sounds classic,
and none the worse for it. This one is very
difficult to find, and sadly unavailable on CD since it has a very quiet
opening. I got my copy from Sweden! Fabulous
hairdo.
Queen of the high teas is also highly recommended. A rollocking pop song with loads of multiracked vocals and a breezy instrumental break in the middle. Could that be Jools Holland tinkling the ivories?
Best
known for the hit Rockabilly Rebel in 1979,
their biggest hit was actually When you ask about
love which made No. 4 and
has escaped my memory completely. Eight
Top 75 hits altogether, they progressively made less impact until this one
missed the chart altogether, which is a real shame because it was actually
a fine track with Kirsty adding duet lead vocals. Since Kirsty is credited,
this appears here as well as on the Backing Vocals and Discography pages.
The B-side (Heaven can wait) doesn't feature Kirsty.
Berlin was conjured up out of a brief sojourn at North of Watford records, Berlin also appeared on the Kirsty MacColl album. Something of a stopgap release, and nobody we know of has ever found a copy of the actual vinyl. It was intended to come out on the never issued "second" album The Real MacColl. There was of course a long gap between albums in the 80s - partly due to such record company woes and largely due to having a new family to look after.
Rhythm of the Real Thing is otherwise unavailable, this was a rocking number in the manner of Quietly alone. Rarer than hens' teeth.
Terry
Back to full
power on this power pop classic, definitely one of the very best Kirstysingles.
Another surefire hit which somehow didn't achieve what it might have. The
longer Extended Version was on the 12" release.
Quietly alone - A great B-side.
, 
A
New England
Back in the charts with Billy Bragg's wonderful song, including
a new verse written specially for this release because Kirsty thought the
original song was too short. Bragg actually wrote two extra verses but Kirsty
combined them into one to score her biggest solo chart hit. This was my favourite
Kirsty song for years until "Free World" came along. Prior to this
of course it was my favourite Bragg song. After Kirsty's death Billy
started to play the song with the extra verse, having always previously stuck
to his original form.
The cover was allegedly flipped round after the original "bombsite" cover was deemed to cause offence because of the ravaged British flag on display. Copies of the original sleeve are rare. Also available at the time as a picture disk shaped like Great Britain. UK No. 7 (19 January 1985), 10 weeks in chart.
The extra tracks are only average and included an Extended version, though I'm going out with an 80 year old millionaire covers well trodden ground in a jaunty manner. Patrick is a pleasant enough number but doesn't really hit any heights for me.
, 
He's
on the beach somehow escaped my notice until Galore came
out but it's another excellent pop song, in the top catalogue of Kirstysongs. The
Extended Version is different (and superior)
to the version on the Perfect Day cd
single. This
single was released as a picture disk shaped like a Qantas airliner.
The second extra track is Please, go to sleep - clearly written in desperation during Kirsty's early days of motherhood!
Fairytale of New York
A classic. Say no more.
This was a UK No. 2 on 5th December 1987 and spent 9 weeks on chart (a reissue in 1991 would add 5 more weeks to its chart run). The American release is credited to "Kirsty MacColl (w/ the Pogues)". The extra tracks are some live Pogues recordings - A pair of brown eyes, The sick bed of Cuchulainn, and Maggie May. It's taken on a life of its own in the past few years, making No.3 in 2005 and No. 4 two years later.
Free world -
biting, ferocious and utterly essential for anyone's record collection.
A No. 43 UK hit (8 April), with 6 weeks on the chart. An inspirational song
for a generation alienated by Thatcher's Britain (and not a bad name for
a website either).
The start of a clutch of singles with different editions and loads of extra songs, this one had three songs which were not on the vinyl release of Kite but appeared on the CD version: You just haven't earned it yet baby , Closer to God? and La Foret de Mimosas . It also included The end of a perfect day (demo version).
Days supplied another chart moment for KM - much loved by one and all. The song
has been covered by loads of people, including Elvis Costello, but Kirsty's
version is about as definitive as it gets. The best packaging
is a kite shaped box! A UK No.12 on July 1st, the record spent 9 weeks
in the chart, and was re-released in 1995.
Extra tracks were the excellent Please help me, I'm falling, Still life and Happy. Walking down Madison (Club mix) appeared on the reissue.
Innocence -
a favourite from "Kite" which failed
to take Kirsty back into the charts (well it got to No.78) but it's a solid
enough record without making the top league. It is a remix of the album version.
Additional tracks were the Guilt Mix of the main song, the Dave Gilmour fuelled Guitar Mix of No Victims, the charming Don't run away from me now (featuring the Tex Pistols) and Clubland.
Don't come the cowboy with me, Sonny Jim! had the potential to
be another "long
title" so
called "novelty" hit - it didn't fit into conventional hit record
style but could have slipped in there with a few more plays. Anothe big favourite
with Kirsty's many fans.
Extra songs were the jaunty Am I right?, the gorgeous Other
people's hearts and the Kite bonus track Complainte
pour Ste Catherine.
Miss
Otis regrets (with the Pogues) was taken from the AIDS benefit album Red Hot & Blue,
Miss Otis is sublime, especially on the album
where it segues beautifully into the drunken Pogues led ramble that is Just
one of those things.
The video is also magnificent.
The B-side is Aztec Camera's Do I love you.
Walking down Madison is
possibly the most remixed song in the Kirsty canon. My favourite is the beautiful 6am
Ambient mix, but the
original was a huge airplay hit, and made Top 30 in the UK. It was also,
I believe, her first US hit. Not in her usual style, but you know the record
anyway don't you? This made No. 23 in the UK on 23rd May, with 7 weeks on
chart.
The extra tracks were dominated by remixes: on various releases we got the 6am Ambient Mix, the Club Mix, the Urban Mix and the LP Extended Mix. However, some other stuff too in the shape of Darling, let's have another baby with Bill Bragg, One good thing and another appearance for Days.
My
affair
Skirts hitched, packed dance floors and crazy
latin dance rhythms, this is one of Kirsty's finest singles. Don't
go near the water was the theme song from a BBC documentary presented
by Kirsty on water pollution. This release got to No.56 in the UK (17th August)
and spent 2 weeks in the chart.
The third song was All the tears that I cried.
All I ever wanted was
not an obvious single to take from Landlady and
failed to chart. It remains a lovely song though, and was remixed somewhat
for the single version. The live BBC Session tracks on the CD are great,
particularly the Bragg duet on A New England.
Pity about the party hooter though.
We also got Walk right back, Chip Shop and What do pretty girls do?
Fairytale was reissued in 1991, and charted
again, this tim ereaching UK No. 36 (14th December) with
5 weeks on chart. Again, the extra tracks were A
pair of brown eyes, The
sick bed of Cuchulainn and Maggie May.
Can't stop killing
you sneaked
out as a single in Australia (and the USA?). The
title song is one of the finest from Titanic Days and
is backed up with two other good tracks - Touch me is
an uptempo feelgood number while Fabulous garden is
an atmospheric lament. Rare
but excellent.
Angel brought
yet another facet of Kirsty's music to light - spinning hypnotic dance mixes
and a 25 minute journey which you don't get tired of. If you stop after
the one mix it's still a terrifically different sort of single. Music
Week claimed "at once
folksy and danceable, thanks to the embellishments of Apollo 440, this takes
up where MacColl's excellent Walking Down Madison left
off, and is bound to be embraced by radio." If only... (BP)
This time all the extras were remixes, in the style of the nineties. We
got Jay's edit, the Apollo 440 remix, the Stuart
Crichton remix and Into
the light mix.
Titanic Days also
sneaked out as a single only in the USA. The other songs included were Angel (the
otherwise unavailable Piano
Mix),
Walking down Madison and two live tracks
from a Solana Beach (in California) gig - Free
world and Miss Otis regrets.
. Source - MG
, 
Caroline reminded
me of her early approach, a no frills pop song with real chart potential
(it just clung in there, reaching 58 in the UK, with 2 weeks on chart).
Kirsty has referred to the song as "Jolene's
revenge". Coming during a fallow period when Kirsty was still
putting her life back together after her divorce, it also appeared on Galore as
an extra temptation.
The extra tracks comprise a reissue of the Marty Robbins song El Paso, one of the many remixes of My Affair (Ladbroke Groove), a frankly unnecessary appearance of A new England plus two new recordings - Irish cousin is a fine cut, and The butcher's boy is a rare reworking of a traditional song.
Perfect
day was wonderful, due in no small measure to Evan Dando's languid
reading of the song. Kirsty was forced to completely re-record her half after
hearing Evan's contribution. UK No. 75 (24th June) but only
1 week in the charts. The impact of the song was later diluted by its wholesale
adoption for BBC Children In Need with a cast of thousands.
Additional songs were all repeats seemingly picked at random - the Extended Version of He's on the beach, Tread lightly and Terry.
Days was
reissued to tie in with a Sony commercial, and it almost made Top 40 again
(No 42 in fact, on 29th July, 3 weeks). The Club
Mix of Madison was pressed into service
to replace the original country number, and Still
life and Happy made
another appearance second time round.
, 
Mambo
de la Luna was Kirsty's first single for four years and introduced
her new latin flavoured sound with blazing horn section underpinning the
vocals. The
Mint Royale boys introduced a more shuffling backdrop with their treatments
(Mint Royale Edit and Mint
Royale Version), while CD One included understated
new gems Golden
heart and Things
happen (co-written with former 10cc man Graham Gouldman) On the 14th
of November this single only reached UK No. 114, which irked Kirsty no end
given the eternal dross in the singles chart.
, 
In these
shoes? was originally planned
as the first single from Tropical Brainstorm,
and has gone on to become one of her most loved releases, with even the mighty
Bette Midler giving it her own treatment. Another
decent non album track Good
for me appears on CD 1 along with a recording of My
affair from last
year's Jazz Cafe shows, and two remixes of the main track (Le
Rosbifs Mix and the P. Mix). Slightly better chart placing at No. 82 on 18th February.
England
2 Colombia 0, another crowd favourite, was supposed to be released to
tie in with the football European Championships in the summer of 2000, but
was only ever issued to radio stations.
Only available as a promo CD with the "scumbag" radio version accompanying the original.
Treachery met
a similar fate - the fourth track to be lifted from the album for radio
playlisting, again with no proper release. Since there is practically
no chance of any single charting in an era of manufactured pop the record
label simply pressed enough copies to pick up radio play and promote the
album.
Fairytale was reissued for the second time
in 2005 to mark the Pogues' 25th anniversary, the 5th anniversary of Kirsty's
death and to raise money for homeless charity Crisis at Christmas as well
as the Justice For Kirsty Campaign. With publicity fanned by performances
of the song with Katie Melua singing Kirsty's part on the Jonathan Ross Show
and chart show CD:UK, the single reached No.3. A digital download of Katie's
Ross appearance was made available on iTunes and sales of this counted towards the
chart placing.
© freeworld 1995 - 2008 [ www.kirstymaccoll.com ]
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