JK: When you say that, I get emotional about Kirsty. We used to live in this hotel in London, and everyone would come and hang around. And there was this younger girl called Kirsty. She liked Simple Minds and she would hang around, but you know, she would piss us off. She was hanging around, hanging around, and we'd say, "Get out of the way! Go home, you're young." Whatever. She was a ballsy little thing. She was smarter than all of us, and she could just kill us in one line. And that would make us laugh, and then we would let her in the gang.

JK: So, she would come down to the studio. We knew that she was the daughter of Ewan MacColl, albeit they were estranged. But anyway, we knew that she had roots. And we knew that she played a bit of acoustic guitar and did a bit of singing. We allowed her to come down and hang around, and as soon as she'd get in, she started bossing people around.

JK: We were a bit lost on that track. We knew it had a great melody, but the arrangement was kind of puzzling us. And with a stroke, she said, "Do this. And put that there. And put that little bit at the end." And we were like, 'Listen to you!'

JK:: I've got great memories of that. And, of course, she said, 'I want to sing on it, as well. Let me do this thing.' And she went. We were listening to the track, Charlie Burchill and I, and we could hear Kirsty's little voice and how could we not be emotional?

SF: There's a line in the song 'Unchained Melody' that says, 'God speed your love to me.' Is there a connection?

JK: That's wonderful. Yes, there must have been. We loved that song. I think it was [producer] Steve Lillywhite that said, 'You know, there's, 'God speed your love to me' in The Righteous Brothers' 'Unchained Melody.'" And, of course, it's wonderful. Such a great sentiment.

Songfacts Interview
March 2018

JK: When you say that, I get emotional about Kirsty. We used to live in the Columbia Hotel in London, and everyone would come and hang around with us and whoever else was staying. Among them. Bunnymen, ABC, Soft Cell, Human League, Associates etc. There was this seemingly younger London girl called Kirsty. She really liked Simple Minds and she would hang around, but you know, she would piss us off too. Very cheeky, sarcastic, ultimately very funny, totally opinionated. In any case she was hanging around, hanging around, night after night, and we'd tiredly say, "Get out of the way! Go home, what do you know, you're too young " Jesus, we were all so young really. Whatever. She was a ballsy little thing. She was smarter than all of us actually, and she could just kill us in one line. And that would make us laugh, and then we would let her in our gang. She was just "Little Kirsty!" Her and Derek Forbes became quite tight. Derek would say "She's cool, let her come down." I was kind of insecure about people hanging around when we were working however. I still am.

JK: In any case, she would come down to the studio some nights. We the found out that she was the daughter of legendary songwriter, Ewan MacColl. That meant she had roots. Real roots! And we also knew that she played a bit of acoustic guitar and did a bit of singing/writing for the Stiff record label. So we allowed her to come down and hang around more and more, and as soon as she'd get in, she started bossing people around in humorous way I suppose. It was through that that she hooked up with our then producer Steve Lillywhite. Eventually they married some year or so later.

JK: One night, we were a bit lost on that track. We knew it had a great melody, but the arrangement was kind of puzzling us. And with a stroke, she said, "Do this. And put that there. And put that little bit at the end." And we were like, "Listen to you!"

JK: I've got great memories of that. And, of course, she said, "I want to sing on it, as well. Let me do this thing." And she went in the studio and put her beautiful tone down on the track.

JK: We were listening to the track recently, Charlie Burchill and I, and we could hear Kirsty's little voice and really... how could we not be emotional? We miss her an I certainly wish I spent more time with her.

JK: Not that long before the tragic incident that stole Kirsty's life away occurred. She was in Glasgow for some work appointment. Despite the fact that I was not around (Or maybe because I was not around) she decided to pop by my parents house and see them. My mother adored her. We all did, and still do. She was genuinely a great artist. And a great laugh also.

Songfacts Interview
March 2018