My Kirsty - End of the Fairytale

by Jean MacColl

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, and celebrates her brilliant career at the front rank of the music business in the 1980s and 1990s, with such hits as the Pogues collaboration 'Fairytale of New York'. It 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.'A MOVING AND BEAUTIFUL PORTRAIT.' The Daily Mail

Genres: Music, Biography

370 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 6, 2014

Reviews

[Philip · Rating 3 out of 5]

Could your mum write a biography of your life? Yes, she might know your major life events, but what about all the other stuff? The fun stuff. Would she know about your first kiss? Your first love? Your first drink? Drugs? Sex? I don't know about you, but for the majority of my teens and twenties, I tried to keep my mum ignorant of what I was getting up to, so it's no surprise this book doesn't know any of that stuff about Kirsty either.

That's why this book is slightly disappointing. When a famous musician writes an autobiography, they know first-hand what went on; the good, the bad and the ugly, and the best bios share ALL that stuff. Even when a biography is written by a music journalist, they talk to friends, enemies, fans, they research what was written in the newspapers and watch old interviews to try to get as full a picture of the person in question as possible.

That's what this book is lacking. Jean MacColl only knows what Kirsty told her, which I'm sure is far from the whole story. Even events she was present for, like Kirsty being a sickly child and admitted many times to hospital, we only hear her side of things as an anxious mother. But how did Kirsty feel being put in an oxygen tent at a young age? Was she scared? Did it leave a psychological scar or did it not bother her? We don't know.

Jean also goes into a lot of details about her own life, almost like this is a shared biography. There are lots of stories and chapters just about her own life, and what she did while Kirsty was off recording or on tour. I'm sure she was a nice enough woman, but if you bought a biography of Madonna would you want to spend half the book reading about what her mum got up to while she was at the height of her fame?

This is an adoring mother's recollection of her daughter's life and tragically early death. The fact that she wasn't there for the majority of stuff concerned with Kirsty's musical career, makes this a strange and very incomplete account of Kirsty's time in the music biz.

[David Highton · Rating 3 out of 5]

not a rounded biography but a mothers perspective, joyful angry and sad

[Heather Moss · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the first 60% of the book. I was less interested in the legal aftermath of Kirsty's death.

[Jackie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Was so looking forward to reading this but ended up very disappointed.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent yet also heartbreaking book which made me buy all of the Kirsty MacColl albums after finishing it. Moments of loveliness among the sad premature ending so it's not all a 'boo hoo' type of read.

[Nicky · Rating 5 out of 5]

intriguing and heartbreaking in equal measure.