Sometime during the early eighties, a peculiar PV began airing on Night Trax starring a Lucille Ball-ish singer in a very kitschy retro-50’s style video called “They Don’t Know”. I’d later learn the woman was a popular British entertainer named Tracey Ullman.I was directed towards the video by a friend who knew my love of The Beatles, and one day the video came on and he told me, “Hey, you should check this video out- at the end of the song, her boyfriend turns out to be Paul McCartney!” Well, he was right, and I found the video, with Sir Paul as a country bumpkin truck drivin’ fool and bubbly Tracey as his lil’ lady, was so sweet and charming, I fell in love with the song in an instant!
Although no more significant singles came out of Tracey, she’d would later become a household name when she started her TV show The Tracey Ullman Show in 1987 (the skit show most famous for launching the careers of The Simpsons), and she'd go on to star in the award winning HBO shows “Tracey Takes On…” as well!
Fast forward to the year 1994, where Britpop music had taken over my life. My favorite groups at this time were the usual suspects like Belly, Lush, Darling Buds, Sundays, etc, and I was a big collector of these giant CD collections called VOLUME (fill in the number) that featured new and unreleased singles of the latest Britpop outfit!
VOLUME 10 had just arrived, and I immediately snatched it up as it featured both Tiny Monroe and Echobelly as well as a new song from Lush. Listening to the CD, I was plasantly surprised to hear a group called GIGOLO AUNTS doing a VERY Beatlesy rendition of the Tracey Ullman song!! Their version was so jangly and poppy (rather Smithereens-ish in tone), I ran about, getting all of my friends to listen to it!
It has since become one of our very favorite tunes, and the point was never clearer than when my friend Gerg found his copy of VOLUME TEN had oxidized(!) and wouldn’t play any more! He called me in a panic, first making me make sure that MY copy was okay, then begging me to burn him a copy so he could still have the song! I, of course, happily did so!
Fast forward again to around 2001, and I’m listening to a newly released greatest hits package of artist Kirsty MacColl’s work called “Galore!”, a collection I wanted for favorite tunes “Walking Down Madison”, “Innocence”, “I Can’t Stop Killing You”, and the catchy Smiths cover of “You Just Haven’t Earned it yet, Baby”, but was surprised to find what I assumed was another cover of “They Don’t Know”…and found out that the tune was originally written and recorded by Kirsty herself- Tracey Ullman and Gigolo Aunts had been covering KIRSTY all along!
Listening to Kirsty’s version was quite stunning- to hear the “actual version” which sounded so sincere and melancholy really hit home with me. But you know, in their own way, all the versions of the song are terrific, whether it be the Tracey Ullman version, the Gigolo Aunts one or Kirsty’s original song, so I decided to cobble together the three versions of Kirsty’s beautiful, upbeat and utterly unstoppable tune for everyone to lend an ear to- there’s no doubt in my mind that you will like at leat ONE of the versions of this song- it’s just TOO GOOD!
They Don't Know
You've been around for such a long time now
Oh maybe I could leave you but I don't know how
And why should I be lonely every night
When I can be with you
Oh yes you make it right
And I don't listen to the guys who say
That you're bad for me and I should turn you away
'Cos they don't know about us
And they've never heard of love
I get a feeling when I look at you
Wherever you go now I wanna be there too
They say we're crazy but I just don't care
And if they keep on talking still they get nowhere
So I don't mind if they don't understand
When I look at you and you hold my hand
'Cos they don't know about us
And they've never heard of love
Why should it matter to us if they don't approve
We should just take our chances while we've got nothing to lose
Baby
There's no need for living in the past
Now I've found good loving gonna make it last
I tell the others don't bother me
'Cos when they look at you they don't see what I see
No I don't listen to their wasted lines
Got my eyes wide open and I see the signs
But they don't know about us
And they've never heard of love
No I don't listen to their wasted lines
Got my eyes wide open and I see the signs
But they don't know about us
And they've never heard of love
©1979
