Tragic story behind Fairytale of New York singer Kirsty MacColl’s death right after she saved son’s life (2024)

The story behind Kirsty MacColl's death is incredibly tragic, as the singer saved her son's life right before her demise.

The British singer was a successful artist, predominantly throughout the 1980s and 90s, thriving in the new wave and alternative rock genres, while continuing to stick to her folk roots.

Starting out by singing backing vocals for popular groups such as Simple Minds and The Smiths, she eventually made a name for herself in the pop music realm when she duetted with Shane McGowan and The Pogues on the famous Christmas song 'Fairytale of New York'.

The festive season banger remains as the legacy of the singer-songwriter, who was born in Croydon, London, on 10 October 1959.

Who was Kirsty MacColl?

Her father was Ewan MacColl, one of the most influential figures during the folk-revival in 1960s Britain, founding England's first-ever folk music club, called The Ballads and Blues Club.

Despite folk music having a strong influence on Kirsty, she started a career in music with Croydon punk rock band Drug Addix in the late 1970s, becoming a back up vocalist under the name 'Mandy Doubt'.

Record executives passed on signing the band, but chose to sign Kirsty as a solo artist, beginning her career in the music industry.

She struggled to chart in the early stages of her career, but managed to break the top 20 with country-pop song 'There's a Guy Works Down the Chip Shop Swears He's Elvis' in 1981.

A cover of Billy Bragg's 'A New England' in 1985 became her biggest ever solo hit, as it charted at number seven in the UK, two years before the iconic 'Fairytale of New York' was released.

By December 2000, the artist had established herself as a well-respected artist, and was in Cuba recording the presentation of a radio programme for the BBC.

How did Kirsty MacColl die?

Following her TV work, she travelled to Cozumel, Mexico for a holiday with her two sons and boyfriend James Knight.

She went diving with her two boys in a reef, with the area marked as a watercraft-restricted zone.

After they resurfaced, a powerboat entered the restricted zone at a dangerously high speed, and headed towards the trio.

Kirsty spotted the boat, and pushed her son Jamie out of its way, but she was tragically struck by the powerboat, with severe head and chest injuries killing the artist on impact.

Her body was taken back to the UK, where Kirsty was cremated at a funeral service at Mortlake Crematorium in Kew on 20th January 2001.

What happened afterwards?

The powerboat that was responsible for the Brit's death was owned by the founder of Comercial Mexicana supermarket chain, Carlos González Nova.

He is also the brother of the chain's multimillionaire president, Guillermo González Nova.

It was later revealed that an employee of Guillermo, José Cen Yam, was in control of the boat at the time of the incident and was then found guilty of culpable homicide and sentenced to two years and ten months in prison.

However, he avoided the prison sentence, instead paying a minimal fine of £61 and was also ordered to pay money towards MacColl's family.

MacColl's family then launched the Justice For Kirsty campaign following this, which pushed for a judicial review due to the supposed lack of cooperation from the Mexican government on the incident.

In 2009, Carlos González Nova died of natural causes aged 92, which led to the dissolution of the Justice For Kirsty campaign.

All remaining funds were donated to charity, which her family said that 'Kirsty would have approved' of.

And on 27 May, MacColl's stepmother told The Sun that she believed the singer will 'never get justice' after her death.

Featured Image Credit: Patrick Ford/Kerstin Rodgers/Redferns/Getty

Topics:Music, Celebrity, News