Background …

I have “forever” been a great fan and follower of the late great Kirsty MacColl and her music has long been a strong inspiration to me, to the extent that I include some 50 of her songs in my repertoire.  As a result, when I was pondering what theme to base my next live show on back in 2015, a friend in Northern Ireland basically said “Well, it's obvious, isn't it?  You should do a show of Kirsty MacColl songs!”  She was right - of course she was.

I then set about deciding which songs to feature and realised that I should produce an album (which turned into two albums!) to accompany and support the show.  The resulting albums, “In These Shoes?” and “Soho Square” are full studio productions, recorded at Pegasus Studios in Cairns, Australia, co-produced with the extraordinary Nigel Pegrum; the musicians on the albums are all amazing and each one brilliant in their own field - I'm supremely proud of the results we've managed to achieve.  Having previously included two ‘Kirsty’ tracks on my first studio album, recorded with the same team, I then had my own renditions of a total of 23 songs from Kirsty's back catalogue.  Together with that same professional team I have since (2022) recorded a further seven songs, although to date they are only available as individual downloads.  I have also produced a little 12-page booklet which I describe as “A potted history of the life and career of Kirsty MacColl, a few relevant bits, anyway!”  You can order your copy of any of my CDs, or the booklet, or download any of my recorded tracks via My shop .

Having attended several of the annual “Kirstyfest” events in Soho Square, London (a celebration of Kirsty's life and music) I have met and made friends with many fellow Kirsty fans, and even a couple of her musical collaborators as well as some of her family members (most notably her Mother and both her sons).  Via the Facebook page known as the Kirsty MacColl Fan Gang I have got to ‘know’ many more fans (even if we've never met!).  I turned to these fans to help me choose which songs to include both on the albums and in the shows, which has made it all a team effort!

The show …

The show is a journey through the life and music of the late and much loved British singer/songwriter Kirsty MacColl.  Kirsty's songs take the listener's emotions on a roller-coaster ride from joy to sorrow and back again.  In my show I take you on my version of that journey mixing songs with snippets of Kirsty's life and times, the whole story told with much love and warmth.  There will be tears - but will they be of sorrow or of laughter?  I generally define the show as “PG” as a couple of the songs contain ‘adult themes’ but there is no obscene language and even the slightly raunchy songs are generally not considered in the least bit offensive.  I haven't had any complaints yet!

For most of the songs I accompany myself on guitar; for others I am accompanied by my “band in a stick” - having recorded a total of 30 Kirsty songs, all professionally recorded and produced using professional musicians and backing singers, I am lucky enough to have perfect backing tracks for the songs that need a little more ‘oomph!’

Some of the songs included were only released on singles and/or compilation albums and have been chosen to showcase the diversity of Kirsty's talent - a brilliant singer/songwriter/performer taken from us far too soon.

Previous performances …

The show - Fringe Festivals special …

The first opportunity to perform the show turned out to be at Fringe Festivals, so I pared the overall show plan down to one 60 minute set.  This meant having to limit the amount and length of the snippets about Kirsty's life and reduce the number of songs to 12.  I decided that those 12 should all be drawn from the 23 I had recorded, and I have chosen those that I think help me showcase Kirsty's musical journey through life.

Previous performances …

23 Jan. 2020 - Wembley Hotel, Perth Fringe World - My Tribute to Kirsty MacColl
24 Jan. 2020 - Wembley Hotel, Perth Fringe World - My Tribute to Kirsty MacColl
03 Mar. 2020 - Adelaide Town Hall, Adelaide Fringe - My Tribute to Kirsty MacColl
04 Mar. 2020 - Adelaide Town Hall, Adelaide Fringe - cancelled due to illness
05 Mar. 2020 - Adelaide Town Hall, Adelaide Fringe - My Tribute to Kirsty MacColl
06 Mar. 2020 - Adelaide Town Hall, Adelaide Fringe - My Tribute to Kirsty MacColl
07 Mar. 2020 - Adelaide Town Hall, Adelaide Fringe - My Tribute to Kirsty MacColl
06-12 Aug. 2020 - AMC@UCC, Edinburgh Festival Fringe - cancelled due to Covid 19
23-26 Aug. 2020 - Laughing Horse@Raging Bull, Edinburgh Festival Fringe - cancelled due to Covid 19.