Fairytale of New York singer Kirsty MacColl tragically died in freak accident after saving son's life
The tragic incident leading to the singer's death is still a controversial topic almost 25 years later
Kirsty MacColl, one of the singers responsible for popular festive tune 'Fairytale of New York', suffered a sad and tragic death, saving her son's life in the process.
Born in Croydon, London on 10 October 1959, the British singer went on to have a successful career in the music industry in the 1980s and 90s, making a name for herself particularly in the new wave and alternative rock genres, while staying true to her roots in folk music.
In fact, before becoming a solo artist, she sang backing vocals for some famous groups of the time, from Simple Minds and The Smiths.
MacColl's breakout song coincidently turned out to be the most popular of her career, with hit Christmas song 'Fairytale of New York'.
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The pop song was a duet with Shane McGowan and the Pogues, with the tune later being viewed as her legacy.
Who was Kirsty MacColl?
Despite folk music having a strong influence on MacColl, 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 MacColl 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.
MacColl spotted the boat, and pushed her son Jamie out of its way, but she was tragically struck, suffering severe head and chest injuries. These ultimately killed the artist on impact.
Her body was taken back to the UK, where MacColl was cremated at a funeral service at Mortlake Crematorium in Kew on 20th January 2001.
What happened afterwards?
The powerboat that was responsible for her 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 found guilty of culpable homicide. He was sentenced to two years and ten months in prison.
However, he avoided the prison sentence and instead paid. a minimal fine of £61, as well as being 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.
Joshua Nair