You've heard Kirsty McColl before. If you read this site and like indie rock, I'd be willing to bet money on it. She's sung backup for the Smiths, done duets with Shane McGowan of the Pogues, and brought life to songs for others (by writing "They Don't Know - an early MTV favorite, sung by Tracey Ullmann) as well as covering songs by other writers ("A New England" by Billy Bragg is particularly good).

You can get a sampling of her work in Real Audio format on the long-running Kirsty McColl Freeworld website. Otherwise, as an introduction, I'd recommend her 'best-of' album Galore, which was released prior to her death. She was hit by a speedboat off the coast of Cozumel in December 2000, just as she was beginning to explore Latin music in greater depth with her last album, Tropical Brainstorm.