Tuesday, November 27, 2018

Kirsty MacColl - You Still Believe in Me - Non-Album Tracks (1981-1982)

This is a  Kirsty MacColl stray tracks album that deals with the years 1981 to 1982. MacColl had put out an album in 1981 called "Desperate Character" to get her solo career off the ground, but it didn't have much success. So she released some more singles. 
Most of those didn't make much impact on the charts. But one did, "There's a Guy Works Down the Chip Shop Swears He's Elvis." It reached the Top Twenty in the British charts. A version of that was included on her "Desperate Character" album. However, I've included it here because she released two versions of the song. They aren't that different, but this one is the somewhat more country-styled version.
 
The first six songs here are all A- and B-sides of singles. The rest are all still unreleased studio tracks. That's pretty surprising, considering the number of archival releases she's had.
 
This is all good stuff, showing what a talented singer and songwriter she was even at an early stage. There also are two unreleased demos included that are just as good.
 
This album is 34 minutes long.

UPDATE: On December 16, 2023, I updated the mp3 download file. Thanks to the release of the "See That Girl" box set in 2023, I added a couple of songs from other albums, and moved a couple others to the 1983 album "Real," where they had a better fit.

01 Keep Your Hands Off My Baby (Kirsty MacColl)
02 I Don't Need You (Kirsty MacColl)
03 There's a Guy Works Down the Chip Shop Swears He's Elvis [Country Version] (Kirsty MacColl)
04 Over You (Kirsty MacColl)
05 You Still Believe in Me (Kirsty MacColl)
06 Queen of the High Teas (Kirsty MacColl)
07 A Boy like That (Kirsty MacColl & Alan Lee Shaw)
08 Don't Ask Me (Kirsty MacColl & Alan Lee Shaw)
09 Love Is Cruel (Kirsty MacColl)
10 Goodnight Paris (Kirsty MacColl)
11 Germany (Kirsty MacColl)

https://www.upload.ee/files/16057496/KirstyMacC_1981-1983_YouStillBlieveinMe_atse.zip.html

The cover photo is from a 1981 promo photo session.

4 comments:

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    1. I read yesterday that her brother bought a copy of the Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations" single when she was seven years old. She listened to it obsessively, dozens of times a day for months, and carefully worked out all the vocal parts. Pretty cool for a seven year old! So I think it's safe to say she was a huge Beach Boys fan.

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  2. Just when you think you've heard everything by this amazing creature, here come Love Is Cruel and Trouble With People. I'm just starting to sift through this treasure trove and am surely looking forward to the other just-surfaced finds to come. A thousand thanks!

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