Kirsty MacColl

Kirsty MacColl (October 10, 1959 – December 18, 2000), was a British pop singer-songwriter.

MacColl's death and posthumous career

On December 18, 2000, while swimming in a restricted diving area with her family on a holiday in Cozumel, she was killed in a collision with a powerboat while managing to drag her son out of its path. The boat was owned by Mexican supermarket millionaire Guillermo González Nova (owner of Comercial Mexicana and the national Costco franchise), who was on board with several members of his family. A boathand, José Cen Yam, claimed to have been driving the boat and was found guilty of culpable homicide and, under Mexican law, allowed to pay a fine of 1034 pesos (about U.S.$90) in lieu of a prison sentence of that many days. However, eyewitnesses contradict Cen Yam's claim to have been driving and also González Nova's claim that the boat was travelling at a speed of only one knot.

Related Topics:
December 18 - 2000 - Cozumel - Mexican - Guillermo González Nova - Comercial Mexicana - Costco - Pesos - U.S.$ - Knot

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MacColl's family are campaigning for a judicial review into the events surrounding her death, including an application to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. The BBC has featured on several of its channels a documentary by Olivia Lichtenstein, entitled "Who Killed Kirsty MacColl?"

Related Topics:
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights - Olivia Lichtenstein

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Since MacColl's death, Billy Bragg has always included "her" extra verses when performing "A New England". She was honored in 2002 with a memorial concert in London at the Royal Festival Hall, featuring a number of musicians that had worked with her, or been influenced by her.

Related Topics:
Billy Bragg - London - Royal Festival Hall

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In 2001, a bench was placed by the southern entrance to London's Soho Square as a memorial to her, after a lyric from one of her most poignant songs: "An empty bench in Soho Square/ If you'd have come you'd have found me there".

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MacColl continues to receive media exposure; in 2004 a biography of MacColl authored by Karen O'Brien, Kirsty MacColl : The One and Only, was published. As for her music, a retrospective three-CD set spanning her full career, From Croydon To Cuba, was released in 2005. Titanic Days was re-released in 2005 as a deluxe 2CD set, and Kite and Electric Landlady were also remastered and rereleased with additional tracks. Her first album Desperate Character remains out of print, but some tracks from that work were included in the box set. On 7 August 2005 The Best of Kirsty MacColl (a single-disc version of From Croydon To Cuba, including the 'new' single "Sun on the Water") made its debut on the UK album charts at number 17.

Related Topics:
2004 - Karen O'Brien - 2005

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