THE ONE AND ONLY KIRSTY MacCOLL, THE BIOGRAPHY by KAREN O'BRIEN

THE ONE AND ONLY KIRSTY MacCOLL

THE BIOGRAPHY

BY KAREN O'BRIEN

THE BLURB:-

Everything about Kirsty MacColl defied the conventional 'pop' category yet she embraced and defended the genre, redeeming it with literate writing that had seldom been seen in British pop music. Regarded as one of music's most original songwriters, Kirsty MacColl's endearingly catchy songs were a rare mix of kitchen-sink realism, pathos and humour.

The One And Only is the highly praised first biography of Kirsty MacColl. Told with full access to her family, closest friends and music collaborators, it's a story of life lived to the full, of love and loss, of family and fame, and of the fight for justice that followed her death.

THE REALITY:-

I enjoyed reading this as it told you everything you wanted to know about Kirsty, from her well-connected (but not without hardship) childhood, her blossoming romance with Steve Lillywhite, their showbiz wedding and the births of their two sons to the frustrations and sheer bad timing and luck she suffered within the record industry, her marriage break up, depressions and shocking, untimely death.

Did I like her? Hell, yes. She had a rather flat singing voice and I preferred that deadpan delivery to over-emotional meanderings. Her songwriting was very catchy, funny and clever. I did hear her interviewed and have to say that she had a very strange accent- London entwined with the over-pronunciation of the letter t (I personally cannot stand people enunciating all of their consonants) but at times she sounded almost Aussie! I'm also no fan of the ditty-dirge song “Days” (I dislike The Kinks' version too).

But, generally speaking, this book sold me a woman I would probably have gotten on with. She was someone with a million faces, who looked different in every photograph.  She was also someone who looked like an old soul, with a sadness behind the eyes evident early on in her career. Did she know or sense something that we didn't? 

Like myself (both in the 1980s and now), she had a style that was kind of “glam punk.” With gorgeous big red tresses juxtaposed with panda kohl eyes and leathers, she had a harder edge to her femininity. She is also noted as being a tell-it-like-it-is, no bullshit kind of woman who didn't suffer fools gladly. This approach probably hampered her progress in the recording industry in the same way that my similar approach hindered my progress in the fashion industry (which is full of pretentious and none-too-bright idiots). I can also empathize with her fair share of bad timing and bad luck.  

Her death was truly horrific. I have read elsewhere (this book spares the reader the gore) that she was almost cut in half by the propeller of the Percalito, the boat which mowed her down and left her two sons swimming in her blood. At least an end as violent as that would have been quick for her, with the minimal amount of suffering. Small mercies, and all that. Was her mother right to pursue justice? Maybe, yes. I'm sure it was very therapeutic to her during her grief. I think the real driver of the boat was its rich owner, not the hired scapegoat who was left to take the blame. But she was also right to drop the costly campaign- she was really up against bureaucracy and the Mexican authorities and, at the end of the day, nothing was going to bring Kirsty back.

I've lived in London for over twenty years, have worked and partied in the West End and have walked past Soho Square but have never stepped foot inside it. Maybe, next time I'm in central London I will, and I'll find the bench dedicated to her memory and sit down awhile. After all, she gave me the song that I want played at my own funeral. A big shoe fetishist (as my friends will testify) “In These Shoes” is my favourite Kirsty track.

Buy this book if you liked Kirsty, even though the ending, as we know, is so, so sad. Rest in peace. XXXX