Today Kirsty MacColl, one of the most refreshing female artists of the 80s and 90s would have been 50 years old. Lauded by critics and the buying public alike as a "national treasure" in post-punk Britain, she successfully managed a commercial crossover between her family tradition of folk music and the energetic irreverent pop of the type her label Stiff Records specialised in.
Her own songs such as There's a Guy Works Down the Chip Shop Swears He's Elvis, Don't Come The Cowboy With Me Sonny Jim, Days, Terry and You Broke My Heart In 17 Places combine complicated and quirky lyrics with a sardonic nod to older, more familiar styles of music such as country and 60s girlie pop (with a twist).
Her fame was assured when Tracy Ullman (who had managed a successful transfer from typically British alternative comedy to become the darling of US telly) covered Kirsty's They Don't Know, which was a hit on both sides of the Atlantic.
Miss MacColl could quite easily have ridden this wave of songwriting success and followed contemporaries like Cathy Dennis across the water to international mega-stardom. However, Kirsty preferred to stay true to her roots and her preferred collaborations were with the likes of The Smiths, The Wonder Stuff, Shane McGowan and Billy Bragg.
Her version of Bragg's A New England is quite rightly adored as a classic, and A Fairytale Of New York (with the Pogues) remains the best (and only bearable) Christmas song ever recorded. And of course her regular appearances on French & Saunders' shows confirmed her beloved status with the public.
Ironically Kirsty MacColl was probably on the brink of renewed success, having just released her brilliant album Tropical Brainstorm (featuring one of my favourite of her tracks In These Shoes), when she was tragically killed in that notorious boating "accident" while on holiday in Mexico in 2000, a tragedy that really touched the hearts of many people (and still has reverberations today, with the "Justice for Kirsty Campaign").
A brilliant star, who will always be remembered (indeed, there will be a celebration of her life at her memorial bench in Soho Square tomorrow at 1pm onwards). I love her!
Kirsty MacColl official website
Justice for Kirsty Campaign
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