Well known in the UK as an actress/comedienne, Ullman had had a surprise Top Ten hit with her debut single Breakaway Pete Waterman, whose Loose End Productions had recently provided Stiff hit singles with the Belle Stars, suggested to his friend Kirsty MacColl that she pitch her composition "They Don't Know" for Ullman to record as her second single. In October 1983, Tracey Ullman reached number two on the UK Singles Chart with her recording of "They Don't Know" for Stiff Records the track would be included on Ullman's debut album You Broke My Heart in 17 Places. įrom the album You Broke My Heart in 17 Places I mean, I wore that pink lurex miniskirt for weeks, with all the dry ice on flipping Top of the Pops, & I still didn't make it. When Kid Jensen announced I still hadn't made #1, I was really pissed off. I wish I'd got to #1 - but " Karma Chameleon" hung on. Tracey Ullman in 2016 on the #2 UK chart peak of "They Don't Know" It's a cheerful throwback to the innocent hits of 1960s girl-group rock. makes palatable to American audiences by McColl's fervent intensity with a bouncy cheerfulness & layers of. Tracey Ullman version Background Ken Tucker ( The Philadelphia Inquirer) ![]() MacColl's version of "They Don't Know" would not make its album debut until 1995 on the singer's retrospective album Galore. ![]() Promo copies of a followup single: "You Caught Me Out", were pressed in October 1979 but Stiff opted to shelve the single, with MacColl's first release subsequent to "They Don't Know" being her remake of " Keep Your Hands Off My Baby" released in 1981 on Polydor. they didn’t press any more no records sold because there were no records out there. She didn’t want to sign a longer deal, so Dave didn’t promote the record. MacColl's "They Don't Know" reached number two on the Music Week airplay chart without generating sufficient sales to reach the UK Singles Chart - a shortfall blamed on a strike at the distributors for Stiff Records keeping the single out of stores, although its producer Liam Sternberg attributes the failure of "They Don't Know" to ill feeling which developed between MacColl and Stiff Records president Dave Robinson: The B-side to "They Don't Know" was MacColl's recording of her composition "Turn My Motor On" - some copies read "Motor On" -, a setlist staple of Drug Addix, the band MacColl had recently left (consideration had been given to making "Turn My Motor On" the A-side). īesides the regular vinyl single release of 1 June 1979 a picture disc edition was issued 6 July 1979. I played it incessantly for about twelve hours a day, working out all the different parts and harmonies. I played it so much he just said: "have it". Recorded in Stiff Records' mobile studio, The China Shop, in the spring of 1979, Kirsty MacColl's original recording of "They Don't Know" "emphasized layered harmonies in which MacColl turns her own voice into a chorus of over-dubbed parts" - an evocation of a long-standing admiration for the Beach Boys engendered at age 7 by hearing her brother's copy of the " Good Vibrations" single: I went round with a cassette, singing to an acoustic guitar. ![]() Then I thought: "Oh God, I'd better write something before I go in to see them." And that's when I wrote "They Don't Know". When they asked if I had any songs, I said: "Oh yeah, loads!", even though I didn't at all. When they heard that I'd eventually left they called me & said: "We'd like you to come & play us anything you’ve got." I said: "I thought you didn't like the demos", and they said: "We hate the band, but we quite like you". When I was with the R&B outfit Drug Addix, Stiff Records paid for some demos to be done with the band, but they didn't really like them. Original version Composition and release Kirsty MacColl on the genesis of "They Don't Know" Though unsuccessful, the song was later recorded by Tracey Ullman in 1983. " They Don't Know" is a song composed and first recorded in 1979 by Kirsty MacColl.
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