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    Sun on the Water: The Brilliant Life and Tragic Death of Kirsty MacColl
    Unavailable
    Sun on the Water: The Brilliant Life and Tragic Death of Kirsty MacColl
    Unavailable
    Sun on the Water: The Brilliant Life and Tragic Death of Kirsty MacColl
    Ebook412 pages6 hours

    Sun on the Water: The Brilliant Life and Tragic Death of Kirsty MacColl

    By Jean MacColl

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    Kirsty MacColl led a dazzling life—tender, creative, heroic, and full of love. This book, by her mother Jean MacColl, charts with moving insight Kirsty's early years, celebrates her brilliant career at the front rank of the music business in the 1980s and 1990s, and mourns her tragic and untimely death—killed by a speedboat in Mexican waters in December 2000. It also tells, with heartfelt truth, the shocking story of the elaborate cover-up and gross miscarriage of justice that followed, and appeals for justice to be done in her name. Daughter of legendary folksinger Ewan MacColl and dancer Jean, Kirsty was a precocious child, troubled by ill health, whose talent quickly blossomed into a unique artistry. She signed to the Stiff Records label and after her first tentative success moved to Polydor, which brought her her first major airplay with "There's a Guy Works Down the Chip Shop Swears He's Elvis," demonstrating Kirsty's trademark dry wit and social awareness. Top-ten success—and widespread acclaim as a musical postergirl of the times—followed with such hits as "A New England" and "Days", but it was her 1987 collaboration with The Pogues on the Christmas hit "Fairytale of New York" which really brought her brand of feisty folk-pop to an international audience. By then married to producer Steve Lillywhite, her talents lent magic to an astonishing array of creative collaborations; this book includes new reflections on her life by many of her friends and colleagues, including Jools Holland and Billy Bragg. In 2006 Bono dedicated U2's Mexico concert performances of "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" to Kirsty's memory. But Kirsty's family, friends, and fans still haven't found what they're looking for—justice for those responsible for the needless hit-and-run accident that took her life. Soon after Kirsty's death, Jean and her friend and colleague John Dalby started the Justice for Kirsty Campaign, which has now grown into a worldwide organization, ably spearheaded by human rights activist Fred Shortland. The campaign will continue until justice is done. Meanwhile, Kirsty's vivacious personality lives on in the enduring legacy of her brilliant music. This remarkable book—in equal parts a celebration and an appeal for truth—tells the story of both.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherJohn Blake
    Release dateJul 1, 2009
    ISBN9781782192671
    Unavailable
    Sun on the Water: The Brilliant Life and Tragic Death of Kirsty MacColl

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    Reviews for Sun on the Water

    3.5/5

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    • 5/5
      Kirsty MacColl's tragic death in December 2000 robbed the music world of a great singer/songwriter but it also robbed Jean MacColl of her youngest child and in her heartfelt, loving book she tells us of her relationship with Kirsty and the anger that fuels her search for justice over Kirsty's manslaughter off the coast of Cozumel that sunny afternoon.In her book which had me smiling then moist-eyed then angry, Jean shares memories of her exceptionally bright and inquisitive little girl who captivated all who met her. They shared a unique relationship due to the fact that because Kirsty had chronic asthma as a child she was rarely well enough to go to school so mother and daughter were rarely parted.This is a biography where for once the subject's showbiz career is sketched in as Jean is more interested in Kirsty's life offstage with her friends & family and above all her devotion to her two sons. This is done so well that while reading of the aftermath of Kirsty's death I again felt the feeling I had when I heard the news.. that I had lost a friend.The failure of the Cozumel and wider Mexican judiciary to conduct a proper investigation into Kirsty's death is still a shocking indictment of the corruption inherent in the system - no doubt helped along by the fact that the man who owns and was on board the speedboat that killed Kirsty is Guillermo Gonzalez Nova, one of the richest men in Mexico.This is a book that ultimately one wishes should never have been written but for it's central core of love and pride I am glad Jean did.