Kirsty MacColl: The One and Only [Hardcover]

Karen O'Brien (Author), Billy Bragg (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2004

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 since the glory days of Ray Davies and the Kinks. Her music was funny, irreverent and endearingly catchy and her five albums in almost twenty years became symbolic rescue missions to retrieve British pop music from all that was saccharine and shallow, manufactured and mainstream. Overcoming agonising stage fright, long periods of writer's block and depression, she created a hugely successful solo career and collaborated with a legion of people from the Rolling Stones to the Happy Mondays. Her tragic death in a senseless boating accident came shortly after the release of her long-awaited album Tropical Brainstorm, an Anglo-Latin pop hybrid that embraced her passion for Cuba. The One and Only is the definitive Kirsty MacColl biography and a tribute to a highly original talent.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Karen O'Brien is a news editor for the BBC World Service in London. As a news journalist, she has worked in print, radio and television, including the BBC and Reuters. She has written and broadcast widely on the arts, with a particular passion for music. Her previous books include Joni Mitchell: Shadows and Light (Virgin, 2001) and Hymn to Her (Virago, 1995), a collection of writings on women musicians, incl Kirsty MacColl. This is her fourth book. She is a New Zealander by birth and Londoner by choice.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 264 pages
• Publisher: Andre Deutsch (October 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0233000704
• ISBN-13: 978-0233000701
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,964,247 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Missing the Music, April 19, 2005

By 

Mark A. Frumento (Cherry Hill, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Kirsty MacColl: The One and Only (Hardcover)

As a fan of MacColls music I'm very happy to see that she warrants a biography. Hopefully the presense of such a book will continue to elevate her status in the music world. However, this book is hardly about the the music. It does cover, in sometimes too much detail, her childhood, her early family life and Cuba. There are sections on her marriage to Steve Lillywhite and a bit about her career at Stiff Records. But beyond that the book lacks any sense of Kirsty's diverse musical influences. In fact, acts that clearly influenced MacColl like Twinkle, the Caravells, Sandy Denny etc are not mentioned at all. Sadly, there are enticing quotes about her love for records that are never pursued. For the most part this book is written like a CNN report - it just feels very cold. In parts it is downright silly - a full few pages are devoted to the fact that like Kirsty Che Gueavar had asthma! Protacted sections on the MacColl's visits to Poland go nowhere. I was left feeling like the book was forced or worse that it's main goal is to keep the cases about her death in the public eye (though to be fair the author presents an unbiased view of the case). Clearly Kirsty's family had significant involvement in this book but I wonder why they left out so many of the musical elements of her life? It left me wondering if any of them knew Kirty's music at all. And the photos also hardly show a woman who had been a significant force in pop music. I would recommend the book to any Kirsty MacColl fan but I do so with the caution that you'll not learn much more about her music than you'll find on the CDs. Though that may not be a bad thing it is ashame that an effort to document her life a pop artist has now passed.

4.0 out of 5 stars Kirsty MacColl Authorised Biography, November 26, 2004

By 

Myamazon "Myamazon" (Glasgow United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kirsty MacColl: The One and Only (Hardcover)

Finally a comprehensive and authorised biography of the late Kirsty MacColl. It is clear that this book has been written with the co operation of MacColls family. This is evident from the inclusion of many personal photographs (in color) and family anecdotes. Of particluar interest are the early chapters outlining MacColls childhood and formative years which are intriguing as little has been previously documented.The book also focus's on MacColls diverse career, over a twenty year period, from early stagefright to prolific songwriting,recording and performing. It is a fascinating read and a respectful testament to the life and career of a greatly missed artist