Tracey Ullman: They Don't Know
[purchase]
Audiophiles know that 7-time Emmy Award winning actress and comedienne Tracey Ullman - whose late eighties sketch comedy show spawned The Simpsons - was also an international pop star for a short time in the early eighties; her 1983 debut album You Broke My Heart In 17 Places and its 1984 follow-up You Caught Me Out spawned 6 top 100 UK hits, making it all the odder that she would move on from music almost completely, except as a stage-and-screen actress, for the remainder of her long and fruitful career.
Ullman's music tended towards retro Spector-esque 60s and 70s pop with a humorous, over-the-top 80s flair, but this Kirsty MacColl cover, her highest-charting hit, plays it relatively straight. Catchy as hell, and perfectly pop, from swirling intro to short, ringing fade-out.