TRACEY ULLMAN They Don't Know 10 INCH SINGLE

Yes, you read the title correctly, a ten-inch single! The British label Stiff Records issued the longer version of Tracey Ullman's huge trans-Atlantic hit 'They Don't Know' and here it is in all its glory! I still get goose bumps listening to this track for so many reasons. I can't believe it is been 40 years since this fab retro song came into my life. I hadn't heard of Kirsty MacColl in 1984, but I would a few years later when a colleague introduced me to her.

Kirsty wrote and recorded 'They Don't Know' some 4 years before Tracey covered it, and sadly it was not a hit for Kirsty, but she made plenty of money thanks to the Top 10 American and British charts that Tracey's version graced. A #1 in Ireland and Norway of all places, the song would have a third life thanks to the hit TV series 'Tracey Takes On' which used the track for its titles. I absolutely adored this recording from the very first time I heard it, and it still gets me joyous and weepy in equal measure 40 years on. It reminds me of a personal matter that was page turning for me, so I have forever associated it with that experience, but as with all great pop culture, it has resonance way beyond just one association.

Kirsty MacColl would not only provide other compositions for the pair of retro pastiche long players that Tracey recorded in 1983 and 1984, she would also be the proud owner of the vocal of 'Baybee' in this very recording - something I thought for many years was Tracey! Kirsty also wrote for other artists and for herself and enjoyed a much respected and loved career in her own name, until her tragic death in 2000. It was a shocking piece of news to discover that this brilliant singer and songwriter was dead at just 41.

But back to Tracey, 'They Don't Know' wasn't her only chart success, but in America it rendered her a one hit wonder. In Britain (Ullman's country of birth), three other songs would chart. Here in Australia, other than me buying her records, 'They Don't Know' struggled to do any better than #56 and two months floating in the Top 100. Shame, Australia, Shame!

I hope all who see and hear this wonderful recording get even a fraction of the joy it has brought me for 5 decades. Long live Tracey Ullman - a comedic genius and a talent for anything she dares to tackle!