30 Facts About Kirsty MacColl

Kirsty Anna MacColl was a British singer and songwriter, daughter of folk singer Ewan MacColl.

Kirsty MacColl was the daughter of folk singer Ewan MacColl and dancer Jean Newlove.

Kirsty MacColl's father was born in England of Scottish parents.

Kirsty MacColl came to notice when Chiswick Records released an EP by local punk rock band the Drug Addix with MacColl on backing vocals under the pseudonym Mandy Doubt.

Kirsty MacColl recorded a follow-up single, "You Caught Me Out", but felt she lacked Stiff Records's full backing, and left the label shortly before the song was to be released.

Kirsty MacColl had a number 14 UK hit with "There's a Guy Works Down the Chip Shop Swears He's Elvis", from her critically acclaimed debut album Desperate Character.

Also around this time, Kirsty MacColl wrote and performed the theme song "London Girls" for Channel 4's short-lived sitcom Dream Stuffing.

Kirsty MacColl sang back-up on the track, providing the "Baay-byy" because it was too high a pitch for Ullman.

Kirsty MacColl contributed backing vocals to the Simple Minds 1984 album, Sparkle in the Rain.

When Stiff Records went bankrupt in 1986, Kirsty MacColl was left unable to record in her own right, as no record company bought her contract from the official receiver.

Kirsty MacColl appeared in the videos "Welcome to the Cheap Seats" for the Wonder Stuff and " Flowers" for Talking Heads.

Kirsty MacColl set the track sequencing for U2's acclaimed breakthrough album The Joshua Tree, for which Lillywhite provided mixes.

Kirsty MacColl re-emerged in the British charts in December 1987, reaching number 2 with the Pogues on "Fairytale of New York", singing a duet with Shane MacGowan.

In March 1989, Kirsty MacColl sang backing vocals on the Happy Mondays' Hallelujah EP.

Kirsty MacColl continued to write and record, releasing the album Electric Landlady in 1991.

Kirsty MacColl released Titanic Days, informed by her failing marriage with Lillywhite, in 1993, but ZTT Records had agreed only to release the album as a "one-off" and declined to sign her to a contract.

Kirsty MacColl did not record again for several years; her frustration with the music business was exacerbated by a lengthy case of writer's block.

Kirsty MacColl herself admitted that she was ready to give up her music career and become an English teacher in South America.

However, despite the relative success of Tropical Brainstorm, Kirsty MacColl had been dropped by V2 Records prior to her death.

Kirsty MacColl featured regularly in the third series of the French and Saunders Show, a comedy show on the BBC.

Kirsty MacColl made regular appearances on Jools Holland's TV shows, on the BBC, singing during the 1995 Hootenanny a rendition of "Miss Otis Regrets" with the Pipes and Drums of the Irish Guards.

Kirsty MacColl appeared in the 1991 Channel 4 historic musical fantasy The Ghosts of Oxford Street as Kitty Fisher, performing "Fairytale of New York" opposite Shane MacGowan as the Duke of York.

In 2000, after she participated in the presentation of a radio programme for the BBC in Cuba, Kirsty MacColl took a holiday in Cozumel, Mexico, with her sons and her boyfriend, musician James Knight.

Kirsty MacColl was able to push him out of the way, but she was struck by the powerboat, which ran over her.

Kirsty MacColl suffered severe chest and head injuries and died instantly.

Kirsty MacColl's body was repatriated to the United Kingdom and she was cremated after a humanist funeral at Mortlake Crematorium in Kew.

Kirsty MacColl was allowed under Mexican law to pay a punitive fine of 1,034 pesos in lieu of the prison sentence.

Kirsty MacColl was ordered to pay approximately US$2,150 in restitution to MacColl's family, an amount based on his wages.

The campaign's remaining funds were to be divided between two charities, Casa Alianza Mexico and Cuba Music Solidarity, a gesture of which, the statement read, "Kirsty MacColl would have approved".

Kirsty MacColl was honoured in 2002 with a memorial concert in London at the Royal Festival Hall, featuring a number of musicians who had worked with her or been influenced by her.