I bring you news of the EMI release of the long-awaited Kirsty MacColl box set FROM CROYDON TO CUBA on March 28. By special request of Kirsty's mother Jean, the box includes the debut of Kirsty's recording of my song "Manattan Moon" from my still-in-development musical JACK ROONEY: IN PERSON.
For the JACK ROONEY recordings, I was fortunate to be able to call on the vocal talents of Ronnie Drew, Spider Stacy, Lila MacMahon, Andrew Ranken and Sarah Jane Morris, among others. In December 2000, "Manhattan Moon", "The Great Silence" (a trio with myself and Ronnie Drew) and "The Showbiz" (with Spider, Lila and myself) were the last recordings Kirsty ever made before she made her fateful trip to Cozumel.
I will always be grateful for the extra touch of class Kirsty brought to my songs and am really proud "Manhattan Moon" is on this career memorial.
Kirsty MacColl "From Croydon to Cuba"
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Kirsty MacColl "From Croydon to Cuba"
Wed Mar 16, 2005 5:45 pm
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philipchevron - Harlequin
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Thu Mar 17, 2005 4:54 am
Wow. What a freakishly tasteless non-sequiter.goodbar wrote:i bet ronnie drew is absolutely loaded in his pants if ya know what i mean.
“I know all those people that were in the film [...] But that’s when they were young and strong and full of life, you know?”
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DzM - Site Janitor
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Thu Mar 17, 2005 8:48 am
Thats really cool. Ive not listened very much to Kirsty MacColl- Is that box a good starting point? Im very curious about that song of yours too.. !
"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars."
<b> -- Oscar Wilde </b>
<b> -- Oscar Wilde </b>
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Hellbeard - Il Capitano
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Thu Mar 17, 2005 12:34 pm
I think it is a repeat. I have seen this my self and if i can recall correctly it is worth the watch.
This is what the Beeb said:
Who Killed Kirsty MacColl?
Fri 18 Mar, 11:40 pm - 12:40 am 60mins
At the age of 41, singer/songwriter Kirsty MacColl was happier than she'd ever been; a new album released to rave reviews, a new lover, and, as she put it, "the second part of my life" to look forward to.
On December 18th 2000, Kirsty MacColl was killed by a speedboat while diving in Cozumel with her two teenage sons. The boat, travelling at high sped in an area restricted for divers, belonged to one of Mexico's wealthiest businessmen.
This is the moving and revealing story of Kirsty's 81-year-old mother Jean's search for the truth about her daughter's untimely death, and her attempts to bring those she believes are responsible to justice.
This is what the Beeb said:
Who Killed Kirsty MacColl?
Fri 18 Mar, 11:40 pm - 12:40 am 60mins
At the age of 41, singer/songwriter Kirsty MacColl was happier than she'd ever been; a new album released to rave reviews, a new lover, and, as she put it, "the second part of my life" to look forward to.
On December 18th 2000, Kirsty MacColl was killed by a speedboat while diving in Cozumel with her two teenage sons. The boat, travelling at high sped in an area restricted for divers, belonged to one of Mexico's wealthiest businessmen.
This is the moving and revealing story of Kirsty's 81-year-old mother Jean's search for the truth about her daughter's untimely death, and her attempts to bring those she believes are responsible to justice.
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Joey - Pedrolino
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- Location: Doncaster
From Croydon to Cuba
Tue Mar 22, 2005 1:09 am
I've lurked on these boards for a while, but this news is enough to make me register and post for the first time.
I'm beyond thrilled about this box set -- I've been waiting for it for what seems like forever and can't wait to get my hands on it (even though I've already got practically everything on it). Up 'til I read this message, the demo of "Dear John" was the unreleased track I was looking forward to hearing most, but now I think I'm more excited about "Manhattan Moon."
Hellbeard, I'd highly recommend you check out pretty much anything Kirsty ever recorded -- her Kite is my favorite LP of all time (kind of Sgt. Pepper's and Pet Sounds rolled into one for me), but this box set is going to be crammed with tons of amazing stuff, and it's a bargain!
And to the most excellent Mr. C.: thanks for sharing this news. The Pogues are my favorite band ever, and Kirsty MacColl is my favorite singer/songwriter ever, and I have "Fairytale of New York" and "Lorelei" to thank for introducing me to her. I can't wait to hear the new track.
Rich
I'm beyond thrilled about this box set -- I've been waiting for it for what seems like forever and can't wait to get my hands on it (even though I've already got practically everything on it). Up 'til I read this message, the demo of "Dear John" was the unreleased track I was looking forward to hearing most, but now I think I'm more excited about "Manhattan Moon."
Hellbeard, I'd highly recommend you check out pretty much anything Kirsty ever recorded -- her Kite is my favorite LP of all time (kind of Sgt. Pepper's and Pet Sounds rolled into one for me), but this box set is going to be crammed with tons of amazing stuff, and it's a bargain!
And to the most excellent Mr. C.: thanks for sharing this news. The Pogues are my favorite band ever, and Kirsty MacColl is my favorite singer/songwriter ever, and I have "Fairytale of New York" and "Lorelei" to thank for introducing me to her. I can't wait to hear the new track.
Rich
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Rich - Pulcinella
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Mon Apr 04, 2005 2:08 am
Philip -- my copy of the box set finally arrived yesterday and I've got to say, "Manhattan Moon" is a stunner! Truly, truly great in every way: the melody, the lyrics, the instrumentation, and of course Kirsty sounds amazing (but did she ever not?).
A really amazing track, and definitely one of the highlights of the box set. I'm looking forward to hearing more of this project!
A really amazing track, and definitely one of the highlights of the box set. I'm looking forward to hearing more of this project!
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Rich - Pulcinella
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Tue Apr 26, 2005 3:50 am
I would just like to add that this is the best driving music on the planet. The almost-four-hour drive each way to the Valley and back over the weekend was actually enjoyable. Thanks, Philip.
She was phenomenal. And always will be.
She was phenomenal. And always will be.
Canta, no llore.
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territa - Scaramuccia
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- Location: San Antonio
Tue Apr 26, 2005 9:01 am
Clever, witty, talented - Kirsty was just wrong in every way
by Declan Lynch "Sunday Independent" (Ireland) April 10, 2005
AT the turn of the century, I was writing some stuff with Philip Chevron of The Pogues and the Radiators, who had somehow persuaded me that it might be a good idea if we wrote a musical.
In these days of Improbable Frequency and I, Keano and The Ha'penny Bridge, that doesn't sound like quite such an insane proposition. But at the time, Philip was virtually on his own out there, making a case for the musical.
It became a mad Irish-American sort of thing called Jack Rooney In Person, still a work in progress, as they say. And by the end of 2000, Philip had finished a few songs which were ready to be recorded as demos by old friends and collaborators such as various other Pogues and Ronnie Drew.
And Kirsty McColl, who had always been hugely supportive of the project.
Manhattan Moon, a coming-to-America song which the aficionados might call 'a big 11 o'clock number', was sung by Kirsty at her home studio in Ealing in early December. She did a terrific job, as we knew she would. A few days later she went on holiday to the island of Cozumel in Mexico with her sons Jamie and Louis and her partner James Knight.
On December 18, Philip spent a long night at a studio in Nottingham mixing the demo with co-producer Nick Robbins. He remembers: "I was at home, too shattered to sleep later that morning, and listening to the final mix of Manhattan Moon when the telephone rang. It was a choked-up Frank Murray, and I knew he was not about to give me good news . . . I heard of Kirsty's death while her wonderful voice rang out clear and warm and oh, so alive in the background."
That version of Manhattan Moon, which no-one in their darkest imaginings thought would be her last recording, is the last-but-one track on the just-released compilation From Croydon to Cuba: An Anthology. It's a superb collection, three CDs of Kirsty's finest, put together with due care and attention. But for all its retrospective aspects, the Kirsty McColl story is itself something of a work in progress.
The circumstances of her death remain unresolved. She was scuba-diving with her sons and their dive master about 300m offshore when she was killed by a powerboat owned by Guillermo Gonzalez Nova, chairman of the holding company Controladora Comercial Mexicana, the second-largest retail operator in Mexico. No-one has been made accountable to the satisfaction of Kirsty's family and friends. Her mother Jean Newlove runs the JFK (Justice for Kirsty) campaign.
The campaign is growing. The BBC recently broadcast a documentary, Who Killed Kirsty McColl? Fans are writing to their MPs and raising money. President Fox of Mexico has received about 10,000 postcards already. The campaign has the support of the Foreign Office.
And listening to her astonishing body of work, it seems there is also something unresolved about the circumstances of Kirsty's life. It's impossible to listen to any part of From Croydon To Cuba . . . without being mystified that an artist of this stature could have received such relatively scant recognition.
She is still probably best known for her part in Fairytale Of New York, though it is not typical of her work, as she wasn't the main creative force behind it. Old folkies would see her primarily as the pop-singer daughter of the legendary Ewan McColl, and leave it at that.
Perhaps it is other musicians who value her the most. If you were to ask a Tom Waits or a Shane MacGowan how they rate Kirsty as a songwriter, they wouldn't hesitate to place her in the first rank. Bono reveres her.
Most likely, her reputation will continue to grow, as a bigger audience is drawn to her music by the tragic twist that she died so young. And maybe it was as simple in commercial terms as her ex-husband, producer Steve Lillywhite, put it when he explained that Kirsty had a few hits over the years, but she never followed up a hit with another hit.
She never got on a roll. She had children; she had a life. But you also suspect there was something more old-fashioned in the inability of the music industry to make Kirsty a star.
Frankly, she was just the wrong sort of woman. She was immensely clever, and devastatingly witty, and the industry, on the whole, prefers its women to be more the simple, 'soulful' type.
Nor could she be improved much, as she could write her own words and music, produce her own records, and even had a weird gift for selecting the perfect running order of an album.
This was all very impressive, but also strangely terrifying. So she remained a major league artist with a minor league following.
Justice is coming far too late for Kirsty. But it's coming.
Declan Lynch
From Croydon To Cuba: An Anthology is out on EMI; also the DVD From Croydon To Cuba: The Videos. For the JFK campaign, visit http://www.justiceforkirsty.org
by Declan Lynch "Sunday Independent" (Ireland) April 10, 2005
AT the turn of the century, I was writing some stuff with Philip Chevron of The Pogues and the Radiators, who had somehow persuaded me that it might be a good idea if we wrote a musical.
In these days of Improbable Frequency and I, Keano and The Ha'penny Bridge, that doesn't sound like quite such an insane proposition. But at the time, Philip was virtually on his own out there, making a case for the musical.
It became a mad Irish-American sort of thing called Jack Rooney In Person, still a work in progress, as they say. And by the end of 2000, Philip had finished a few songs which were ready to be recorded as demos by old friends and collaborators such as various other Pogues and Ronnie Drew.
And Kirsty McColl, who had always been hugely supportive of the project.
Manhattan Moon, a coming-to-America song which the aficionados might call 'a big 11 o'clock number', was sung by Kirsty at her home studio in Ealing in early December. She did a terrific job, as we knew she would. A few days later she went on holiday to the island of Cozumel in Mexico with her sons Jamie and Louis and her partner James Knight.
On December 18, Philip spent a long night at a studio in Nottingham mixing the demo with co-producer Nick Robbins. He remembers: "I was at home, too shattered to sleep later that morning, and listening to the final mix of Manhattan Moon when the telephone rang. It was a choked-up Frank Murray, and I knew he was not about to give me good news . . . I heard of Kirsty's death while her wonderful voice rang out clear and warm and oh, so alive in the background."
That version of Manhattan Moon, which no-one in their darkest imaginings thought would be her last recording, is the last-but-one track on the just-released compilation From Croydon to Cuba: An Anthology. It's a superb collection, three CDs of Kirsty's finest, put together with due care and attention. But for all its retrospective aspects, the Kirsty McColl story is itself something of a work in progress.
The circumstances of her death remain unresolved. She was scuba-diving with her sons and their dive master about 300m offshore when she was killed by a powerboat owned by Guillermo Gonzalez Nova, chairman of the holding company Controladora Comercial Mexicana, the second-largest retail operator in Mexico. No-one has been made accountable to the satisfaction of Kirsty's family and friends. Her mother Jean Newlove runs the JFK (Justice for Kirsty) campaign.
The campaign is growing. The BBC recently broadcast a documentary, Who Killed Kirsty McColl? Fans are writing to their MPs and raising money. President Fox of Mexico has received about 10,000 postcards already. The campaign has the support of the Foreign Office.
And listening to her astonishing body of work, it seems there is also something unresolved about the circumstances of Kirsty's life. It's impossible to listen to any part of From Croydon To Cuba . . . without being mystified that an artist of this stature could have received such relatively scant recognition.
She is still probably best known for her part in Fairytale Of New York, though it is not typical of her work, as she wasn't the main creative force behind it. Old folkies would see her primarily as the pop-singer daughter of the legendary Ewan McColl, and leave it at that.
Perhaps it is other musicians who value her the most. If you were to ask a Tom Waits or a Shane MacGowan how they rate Kirsty as a songwriter, they wouldn't hesitate to place her in the first rank. Bono reveres her.
Most likely, her reputation will continue to grow, as a bigger audience is drawn to her music by the tragic twist that she died so young. And maybe it was as simple in commercial terms as her ex-husband, producer Steve Lillywhite, put it when he explained that Kirsty had a few hits over the years, but she never followed up a hit with another hit.
She never got on a roll. She had children; she had a life. But you also suspect there was something more old-fashioned in the inability of the music industry to make Kirsty a star.
Frankly, she was just the wrong sort of woman. She was immensely clever, and devastatingly witty, and the industry, on the whole, prefers its women to be more the simple, 'soulful' type.
Nor could she be improved much, as she could write her own words and music, produce her own records, and even had a weird gift for selecting the perfect running order of an album.
This was all very impressive, but also strangely terrifying. So she remained a major league artist with a minor league following.
Justice is coming far too late for Kirsty. But it's coming.
Declan Lynch
From Croydon To Cuba: An Anthology is out on EMI; also the DVD From Croydon To Cuba: The Videos. For the JFK campaign, visit http://www.justiceforkirsty.org
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philipchevron - Harlequin
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- Joined: Thu Oct 14, 2004 12:03 am
Thu Apr 28, 2005 1:30 pm
Thanks for sharing this article, Philip -- I agree with everything Mr. Lynch has to say about Kirsty!
I do think she was usually underrated as a songwriter, partly because the songs she was best-known for were ones she didn't write ("Fairytale," "A New England," "Days"), and partly because that voice is so magnificent that when you're listening to it, especially as a casual listener, it's hard to think about anything other than how amazing she sounds. I have trouble judging because she's my favorite singer ever AND my favorite songwriter ever. Kite is certainly the best-written collection of songs I've ever heard, though it doesn't hurt that the vocals and the instruments and the production are all brilliant, too.
territa, if you haven't tracked down the recent re-releases of Kite, Electric Landlady, and Titanic Days, they're worth the effort, too. For me the Kite era has always been the most consistently outstanding era of her career (many of the B-sides and CD bonus tracks are just as good as anything that made the album!), and the 2-disc re-release of Titanic Days is also incredible, particularly the obscure old Australian B-side "Touch Me" (Kirsty rocks out) and the previously unreleased "King Kong." I also just took my computer apart and rebuilt it just so I could watch the new Kirsty DVD! ($%^# PAL vs. NTSC!)
I wish Kirsty had gotten half the praise and attention while she was alive that she's gotten since her death, but it does make me happy to think that people are still discovering what an amazing talent she was, and will continue to discover her for many years to come.
I do think she was usually underrated as a songwriter, partly because the songs she was best-known for were ones she didn't write ("Fairytale," "A New England," "Days"), and partly because that voice is so magnificent that when you're listening to it, especially as a casual listener, it's hard to think about anything other than how amazing she sounds. I have trouble judging because she's my favorite singer ever AND my favorite songwriter ever. Kite is certainly the best-written collection of songs I've ever heard, though it doesn't hurt that the vocals and the instruments and the production are all brilliant, too.
territa, if you haven't tracked down the recent re-releases of Kite, Electric Landlady, and Titanic Days, they're worth the effort, too. For me the Kite era has always been the most consistently outstanding era of her career (many of the B-sides and CD bonus tracks are just as good as anything that made the album!), and the 2-disc re-release of Titanic Days is also incredible, particularly the obscure old Australian B-side "Touch Me" (Kirsty rocks out) and the previously unreleased "King Kong." I also just took my computer apart and rebuilt it just so I could watch the new Kirsty DVD! ($%^# PAL vs. NTSC!)
I wish Kirsty had gotten half the praise and attention while she was alive that she's gotten since her death, but it does make me happy to think that people are still discovering what an amazing talent she was, and will continue to discover her for many years to come.
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Rich - Pulcinella
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Thu Apr 28, 2005 1:44 pm
Thank you for the tips, Rich. I do have Electric Landlady, and will look for the other recommendations.
My favorite songs are "London Bridge is Falling Down" and "Manhattan Moon".
My favorite songs are "London Bridge is Falling Down" and "Manhattan Moon".
Canta, no llore.
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territa - Scaramuccia
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DVD-ROM extras
Sun May 15, 2005 3:04 pm
territa, the DVD-ROM extras that are accessible from a PC are: a scrapbook with images from magazine ads, posters, ticket stubs, etc.; handwritten lyrics to about 10 songs (including one of my obscure Kirsty favorites, "Other People's Hearts"); and a set of weblinks. The scrapbook and lyrics are fun and cool, but the videos themselves are really the stars.
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Rich - Pulcinella
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