Her debut solo single "
They Don't Know", released in 1979, peaked at number two on the Music Week airplay chart. However, a distributors' strike prevented copies of the single getting into
record stores, and the single consequently failed to appear on the
UK Singles Chart. MacColl recorded a follow-up single, "
You Caught Me Out", but felt she lacked Stiff Records's full backing, and left the label shortly before the song was to be released. The single was pulled, and only a few "white label" promo copies of the single are known to exist. MacColl moved to
Polydor Records in 1981. She had a number 14 UK hit with "
There's a Guy Works Down the Chip Shop Swears He's Elvis", from her critically acclaimed debut album
Desperate Character. In 1983, Polydor dropped her just as she had completed recording the songs for a planned second album (to be called
Real) which used more synthesizers and had new wave-styled tracks. She returned to Stiff, where pop singles such as "
Terry" and "
He's on the Beach" were unsuccessful, but a cover of
Billy Bragg's "
A New England" in 1985 reached number 7 on the UK charts. This included two extra verses specially written for her by Bragg. Also around this time, MacColl wrote and performed the theme song "London Girls" for
Channel 4's short-lived sitcom
Dream Stuffing (1984). In the United States, MacColl was perhaps best known as the writer of "They Don't Know".
Tracey Ullman's recording of the song was a
Billboard Top Ten hit. Ullman's version reached No. 8 on the US
Hot 100 in April 1984 (and did even better in the UK, hitting No. 2 in September 1983). MacColl also sang back-up on the track, providing the "Baay-byy" because it was too high a pitch for Ullman. It was played over the closing credits of Ullman's HBO show
Tracey Takes On... in 1996. Ullman also recorded three more of MacColl's songs, "You Broke My Heart In 17 Places" and "You Caught Me Out", as the title tracks of her first and second albums respectively, and "Terry" which was released as a single in 1985. In 1986, MacColl contributed backing vocals for
the Smiths song "
Ask". She contributed backing vocals to the
Simple Minds 1984 album,
Sparkle in the Rain. Her vocals can be heard on the tracks "Speed Your Love to Me" and "Street Hassle". When Stiff Records went bankrupt in 1986, MacColl was left unable to record in her own right, as no record company bought her contract from the
official receiver. However, she had regular session work as a backing vocalist, and she frequently sang on records produced or engineered by her husband,
Steve Lillywhite, including tracks for
The Rolling Stones on the
Dirty Work album,
Robert Plant,
the Smiths,
Alison Moyet,
Shriekback,
Simple Minds,
Talking Heads,
Big Country,
Anni-Frid Lyngstad (of
ABBA) and
the Wonder Stuff, among others. She appeared in the videos "
Welcome to the Cheap Seats" for the Wonder Stuff and "
(Nothing But) Flowers" for Talking Heads (along with
Johnny Marr, ex-member of
the Smiths). MacColl also set the track sequencing for
U2's acclaimed breakthrough album
The Joshua Tree, for which Lillywhite provided mixes. MacColl re-emerged in the British charts in December 1987, reaching number 2 with
the Pogues on "
Fairytale of New York", singing a duet with
Shane MacGowan. This led to her accompanying the Pogues on their British and European tour in 1988, an experience which she said helped her temporarily overcome her
stage fright. In March 1989, MacColl sang backing vocals on the
Happy Mondays'
Hallelujah EP. After the contract issue was resolved, MacColl returned to recording as a solo artist and received critical acclaim upon the release of
Kite (LP) in 1989. The album was widely praised by critics, and featured collaborations with
David Gilmour and
Johnny Marr. MacColl's lyrics addressed life in
Margaret Thatcher's Britain and addressed the vagaries of love in "
Don't Come the Cowboy with Me Sonny Jim!". Although
Kite contained many original compositions, MacColl's biggest chart success from the album was the cover of
the Kinks' song "
Days", which gave her a UK top 20 hit in July 1989. A bonus track on the CD version of
Kite was a cover of
the Smiths song "You Just Haven't Earned It Yet, Baby". During this time, MacColl featured on the British TV sketch comedy
French and Saunders, appearing as herself, singing songs including "15 Minutes" and "Don't Come the Cowboy with Me Sonny Jim!" (from
Kite), "Still Life" (the B-side of the "Days" single), "Girls on Bikes" (a reworking of B-side "Am I Right?") and, with comedy duo Raw Sex, the
Frank and
Nancy Sinatra hit "
Somethin' Stupid". She continued to write and record, releasing the album
Electric Landlady in 1991. The album's title was coined by
Johnny Marr as a play on the
Jimi Hendrix album title
Electric Ladyland. It included her most successful chart hit in North America, "
Walking Down Madison", co-written with Marr and a top 30 hit in the UK. Despite the song's U.S. chart success,
Landlady was not a hit for Virgin Records and in 1992, when Virgin was sold to EMI, MacColl was dropped from the label. MacColl released
Titanic Days, informed by her failing marriage with Lillywhite, in 1993, but
ZTT Records had agreed only to release the album as a "one-off" and declined to sign her to a contract. The album included "Soho Square", an original composition set in London. After MacColl's death a memorial bench was placed in
Soho Square inscribed with a lyric from the song where fans could pay their respects. In 1995, she released two new singles on Virgin, "
Caroline" and a cover of
Lou Reed's "
Perfect Day" (a duet with
Evan Dando), together with the "best of" compilation
Galore.
Galore became MacColl's only album to reach the top 10 in the
UK Albums Chart, but neither of the new singles, nor a re-released "Days", made the Top 40. MacColl did not record again for several years; her frustration with the music business was exacerbated by a lengthy case of writer's block. MacColl herself admitted that she was ready to give up her music career and become an English teacher in South America. In 1998, the album
What Do Pretty Girls Do? was released, containing
BBC Radio 1 live sessions (featuring
Billy Bragg on two songs) that were broadcast between 1989 and 1995. After several trips to Cuba and Brazil, MacColl recorded the
world music-inspired (particularly Cuban and other Latin American forms)
Tropical Brainstorm, which was released in 2000 to critical acclaim. It included the song "
In These Shoes?", which garnered airplay in the U.S., was covered by
Bette Midler and featured in the HBO show
Sex and the City. After MacColl's death it was adopted by
Catherine Tate as the theme tune for her
BBC programme
The Catherine Tate Show, and featured on the soundtrack to film
Kinky Boots. However, despite the relative success of
Tropical Brainstorm, MacColl had been dropped by
V2 Records prior to her death. ==Television==