The Best Of Tracey Ullman

Tracey first achieved fame in her native Britain as a comedienne, then had a brief career as a pop singer before moving to America, where she resumed her career as a comedienne. The public are always suspicious of established celebrities becoming pop singers, but make no mistake, Tracey can sing, as this and other collections of her music show. She knew her limitations and worked within them effectively and well.

Tracey recorded two original albums on LP. The first, You broke my heart in 17 places, was pure magic. The second, You caught me out, was quite a good effort with some magic moments. A compilation album was released containing the best tracks from the first two plus some other songs, including My guy, that didn't appear on either.

Tracey's biggest hit, They don't know, was a cover of a song by the brilliant Kirsty MacColl, whose own version of the song had mysteriously flopped. Tracey took the song to number two in the UK and number eight in the USA. It went to number one in Norway and several other countries. After that Kirsty supplied Tracey with other songs – You broke my heart in 17 places, You caught me out, Terry

Tracey had other hits in the UK, all covers. Breakaway (Jackie De Shannon) peaked at four. Move over darling peaked at eight in Britain just as Doris Day's original had done although neither made the USA charts. Sunglasses was first recorded by Skeeter Davis but was quickly covered by Sandy Posey. My guy was originally written and recorded by Madness as My girl. The minor hit Helpless is a Motown song originally recorded by Kim Weston.

Tracey recorded many other covers of songs from the late fifties to the early eighties including Shattered (Sandy Posey), Life is a rock but the radio rolled me (Reunion), I'm always touched by your presence dear (Blondie), Give him a great big kiss (Shangri Las), I don't want our loving to die (the Herd), Bad motorcycle (Storey sisters), I know what boys want (Waitresses), If I had you (Korgis) and Falling in and out of love (Sinceros).

Tracey also co-wrote some of the songs here, though I admit that I prefer to hear her sing covers. This compilation omits (for example) Bobby's girl, one of my favorite recordings by Tracey. Of course, there are several compilations to choose from and if it really matters, you can compare the track listings to see what the differences are.

As befitting a comedienne, Tracey's music is upbeat, fun, music not to be taken too seriously but Tracey is no mere novelty singer. This is great party music but can be enjoyed in any setting.

Tracey first achieved fame in her native Britain as a comedienne, then had a brief career as a pop singer before moving to America, where she resumed her career as a comedienne. The public are always suspicious of established celebrities becoming pop singers, but make no mistake, Tracey can sing, as this and other collections of her music show. She knew her limitations and worked within them effectively and well.

Tracey recorded two original albums on LP. The first, You broke my heart in 17 places, was pure magic. The second, You caught me out, was quite a good effort with some magic moments. A compilation album was released containing the best tracks from the first two plus some other songs, including My guy, that didn't appear on either.

Tracey's biggest hit, They don't know, was a cover of a song by the brilliant Kirsty MacColl, whose own version of the song had mysteriously flopped. Tracey took the song to number two in the UK and number eight in the USA. It went to number one in Norway and several other countries. After that Kirsty supplied Tracey with other songs – You broke my heart in 17 places, You caught me out, Terry

Tracey had other hits in the UK, all covers. Breakaway (Jackie De Shannon) peaked at four. Move over darling peaked at eight in Britain just as Doris Day's original had done although neither made the USA charts. Sunglasses was first recorded by Skeeter Davis but was quickly covered by Sandy Posey. My guy was originally written and recorded by Madness as My girl. The minor hit Helpless is a Motown song originally recorded by Kim Weston.

Tracey recorded many other covers of songs from the late fifties to the early eighties including Long live love (Sandie Shaw). Shattered (Sandy Posey), Oh what a night (the Dells), Bobby's girl (Marcie Blaine in the USA, Susan Maughan in the UK), Life is a rock but the radio rolled me (Reunion), I'm always touched by your presence dear (Blondie), I close my eyes and count to ten (Dusty Springfield), Baby I lied (Deborah Allen), I don't want our loving to die (the Herd) and Falling in and out of love (Sinceros).

As befitting a comedienne, Tracey's music is upbeat, fun music not to be taken too seriously but Tracey is no mere novelty singer. This is great party music but can be enjoyed in any setting.