They Don’t Know – But New Kirsty MacColl Compilation Will Change That
If you were intimidated by UMR’s See That Girl (1979-2000), an 8CD dive into the music of Kirsty MacColl released back in 2023, Edsel has licensed a new 2CD collection offering 30 songs from the same era, due out this week.
Free World – The Best of Kirsty MacColl 1979-2000 is a well-curated mix of singles, B-sides and fan favorites from the dearly missed British songstress, including the stellar debut “They Don’t Know”; hits like “A New England,” “Days” and “Walking Down Madison”; and team-ups with “A New England” songwriter Billy Bragg (“Darling, Let’s Have Another Baby”), Evan Dando of The Lemonheads (a take on Lou Reed’s “Perfect Day”) and, of course, MacColl’s off-kilter holiday team-up with The Pogues, “Fairytale of New York.” (A yellow double vinyl edition was released in 2024, offering four less tracks.)
MacColl, the daughter of “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” songwriter Ewan MacColl, was poised to be one of the new rock voices of England in the early ’80s, proving herself as a songwriter from the release of her debut “They Don’t Know.” (Though barred from the U.K. chart due to a distributor’s strike, it did become a U.S. Top 10 when covered by comedian Tracey Ullman.) Her unique voice as a writer would coexist alongside her knack for song interpretation on “Days” (a cover of The Kinks), Bragg’s “A New England” (with extra verses penned just for her) and even The Smiths’ “You Just Haven’t Earned It Yet, Baby,” heard on the soundtrack to She’s Having a Baby. (Smiths guitarist/songwriter Johnny Marr would become a treasured collaborator.) Though her commercial success was often fleeting, her work was championed by critics and fans up to and past the tragic occurrence of her passing in a boat accident in 2000. She was only 41 years old.
Free World – The Best of Kirsty MacColl 1979-2000 is on CD from Edsel starting this Friday, October 3. You can pre-order it at the links below; as an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
Free World – The Best of Kirsty MacColl 1979-2000 (Edsel EDSL0257 (U.K.), 2025) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
* CD bonus track
CD 1
- A New England
- Innocence (Single Remix)
- They Don’t Know
- There’s a Guy Works Down the Chip Shop Swears He’s Elvis
- Don’t Come the Cowboy with Me, Sonny Jim!
- Can’t Stop Killing You
- England 2 Colombia 0
- Walking Down Madison (7″ Mix)
- Free World (Radio Edit)
- Terry
- Don’t Go Near the Water *
- No Victims *
- You Just Haven’t Earned It Yet, Baby
- Fifteen Minutes
- Mother’s Ruin
CD 2
- Mambo De La Luna (Single Edit)
- Angel (Single Edit)
- In These Shoes?
- My Affair (Single Edit)
- Treachery
- Caroline
- Days
- He’s on the Beach (Single Version)
- Soho Square
- Darling, Let’s Have Another Baby – Kirsty MacColl & Billy Bragg
- All I Ever Wanted (Single Version)
- Perfect Day – Kirsty MacColl & Evan Dando
- All The Tears That I Cried *
- You and Me Baby *
- Fairytale of New York – The Pogues with Kirsty MacColl
Disc 1, Track 1 from Stiff single BUY 216, 1984
Original versions of Disc 1, Tracks 2, 5, 9, 12 and 14-15 and Disc 2, Tracks 7 and 14 from Kite – Virgin KMLP 1, 1989
Disc 1, Track 3 from Stiff single BUY 47, 1979
Disc 1, Track 4 from Desperate Character – Polydor POLS 1035, 1981
Original versions of Disc 1, Track 6 and Disc 2, Tracks 2 and 9 from Titanic Days – ZTT 4509-94711-2, 1994
Original versions of Disc 1, Track 7 and Disc 2, Tracks 1, 3 and 5 from Tropical Brainstorm – V2 VVR1009872, 2000
Original versions of Disc 1, Track 8 and Disc 2, Tracks 4 and 11 from Electric Landlady – Virgin V-2663, 1991
Disc 1, Track 10 from Stiff single BUY 190, 1983
Disc 1, Track 11 from “My Affair” single – Virgin VS-1354, 1991
Disc 1, Track 13 from She’s Having a Baby (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) – I.R.S. Records 6211, 1988
Disc 2, Tracks 6 and 12 from Galore (The Best Of) – Virgin CDV-2763, 1995
Disc 2, Track 8 from Stiff single BUY 225, 1985
Disc 2, Track 10 from “Walking Down Madison” CD single – Virgin VSCDG 1348, 1991
Disc 2, Track 13 from “My Affair” CD single – Virgin VSCDG 1354, 1991
Disc 2, Track 15 from If I Should Fall from Grace with God – Stiff/Pogue Mahone TC-NYR-1, 1988
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Oh gosh, Kirsty is (and will always be) deeply missed, cuz she was such a unique witty funny pointed genius…i have that brilliant 8CD boxset so i dont need it…but i may still buy it on vinyl to have some Kirsty on coloured vinyl…as a 2CD it IS well curated, no fault in the selections, perfect for newbies…last year i met her dear friend Billy Bragg on the Cayamo Cruise & we were talking Kirsty, how she would have loved it…BB signed both Kirsty sets (See That Girl & From Croydon To Cuba…the 1 great pic of Billy & Kirsty in both) & his own big box “The Roaring Forty”…and on the upcoming 2nd Little Steven Underground Garage Cruise in April, 2026, its stopping in Cozumel, Mexico, where she perished, so while there i want to pay my respects…