Kirsty MacColl - There's A Guy Works Down The Chip Shop Swears He's Elvis

The daughter of acclaimed folk singer Ewan MacColl (the writer of the seminal 'The First Time Ever I Saw Her Face'), it's a shame that Kirsty MacColl is somewhat better known for her collaborative work e.g. The Pogues 'Fairytale Of New York' and The Happy Mondays 'Hallelujah', than as an artiste in her own right. However she released a string of singles and albums throughout the 80s and 90s until her untimely death in 2000 in a boating accident in Mexico (she saved one of her sons from the path of a speedboat allegedly driven by a member of Mexico's high society).

Outside of the aforementioned collaborations, she is best remembered as covering Billy Bragg's 'A New England' and The Kinks' 'Days' and for her early tracks 'He's On The Beach', 'They Don't Know' (covered by Tracey Ullman, an earlier GP entrant, with Kirsty on backing vocals) and this, her first hit reaching #14 in 1981. Fun Fact: this was released in the US as 'There's A Guy Works Down The Truck Stop...' as it was felt that Americans would not know what a chip shop was! I highly recommend hunting down a copy of her compilation 'Galore' or, if you to be comprehensive the box set 'From Croydon To Cuba'. R.I.P. Kirsty...

Bonus Clips: 'They Don't Know', Kirsty's first single:



as it's the holiday season, one of my favourite Xmas songs, 'Fairytale of New York':



and finally, just for an excuse to post the lovely 'The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face'. Here's a version by Peter, Paul & Mary, featuring the recently departed Mary Travers. R.I.P. Mary...