Terry by Terry Ullman (Jan 1985)

Terry

written by Kirsty MacColl / Gavin Povey

Why’d you never listen to me?
I could be invisible to you
Anyway, it doesn’t matter now
‘Cause I have met somebody new
Sorry if your heart is broken
Why’s your mouth just hanging open?
Don’t look so surprised, I found another guy

Terry wants my photograph
Terry says our love will last forever (and he should know)
Terry’s not the kind to mess around and change his mind
Terry is as tough as Marlon Brando

Now he’s waiting for me
I just had to break the news to you
You’d better hide your face for a while
If he gets mad there’s no telling what he’ll do
You can see the door is open
So if you don’t want your nose broken
You had better go away
‘Cause Terry’s coming around today

(chorus)

He’s been making eyes at me, it started long ago
So when he said he loved me
I just had to say, “I know, I know, I know…”

You thought you were such a smartie
But Terry knows about karate
There’s other things he’s good at too
Terry’s not a bit like you

(chorus)

Kirsty MacColl

It was still with Kirsty MacColl, but it was for Cole Porter’s “Miss Otis Regrets”, medley with “Just One of Those Things”, for AIDS benefit album Red Hot and Blue in 1990. The two songs were … read more

Of course, like most American fans, we know Tracy Ullman from her sketch television show The Tracey Ullman Show, which launched The Simpsons … but just prior to this, she had a brief singing career with two albums, You Broke My Heart in 17 Places (1983) and You Caught Me Out (1984).

Terry by Kirsty MacColl (Oct 1983)

One of my favorite Ullman songs is called “Terry”, which was written by the late Kirsty MacColl (and producer Gavin Povey). The song was specifically written for Ullman, however her record label, Stiff Records, requested MacColl to record her version for a teen ballads compilation.

MacColl’s version came out a few years before Ullman, in October 1983, and had a music video featuring actor and comedian Ade Edmondson, who played MacColl’s rejected nerdy boyfriend.

Tracey Ullman’s “Terry” song would eventually make its way to her sophomore album, You Caught Me Out (November 1984). The album was never released in America.

The song reminds me of 60s all-girls bands like The Angels’ “My Boyfriend’s Back” or The Shangri-Las’ “Leader Of The Pack”, both are songs about tough boyfriends.

MacColl described Terry as Marlon Brando in On the Waterfront (1954), which she thought he was the greatest thing since Elvis.

Anyway, between the two “Terry” songs, they are almost identical in every way… except for the vocals, of course. If someone plays you the song in a blind test, you may guess half right! It’s that similar.

Personally speaking, I just prefer Ullman’s version a little more. Mainly because Ullman’s music video is funnier. Ullman is going golfing with her man, but Terry, a goofy overweight man comes into her life.

To be fair, both videos are good, do yourself a favor and look them up for yourself.

Bonus: Sweden’s The Happy Birthdays covered “Terry”, as we briefly mentioned in 2007.