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Covering the musical career of Tracey Ullman In support of her brief but fondly remembered musical career, Tracey Ullman made at least five music videos and appeared on several TV programs in Europe and the U.S. Clicking on the thumbnail images will cause larger versions of the images to open in a separate window. Music VideosBreakaway
In this video, Tracey is a schoolgirl listening to a record along with two of her friends. She's using a hairbrush as a pretend microphone. They Don't Know
We see Tracey at her makeup table, apparently getting ready for a date. Interleaved with this, we see her on her date with her boyfriend, a rather greasy looking guy named Paul. As we see them bowling, we get the idea that she may not be too happy with him. During the bridge, we see some home movie footage of Tracey as a toddler getting a swat from her mother and as a 5-year old (approx.) showing off her dog. Back to the story: we see her really dressed down at the grocery store, shopping along with her young daughter. Paul is a stockboy there, and he grabs her rear as she passes by. She's upset by this, and then she proceeds to fantasize about her dream boyfriend, who also happens to be named Paul -- Paul McCartney, that is. Move Over Darling
The theme of this video is a ballroom dancing contest. Tracey is at the beauty parlor getting her hair done, while her partner, an engine driver, is on the job but is somewhat anxious. Later, he picks her up in his motorcycle with sidecar, and they go to the competition. The contest goes well until he picks her up and throws her into the air. He's thrown her clear up into the mirrored ball, hanging on for dear life! But the judges are impressed, and they give Tracey and partner the top prize. We see them chugging off into the sunset on his engine. FYI: Look for a cameo appearance by Hank Marvin, legendary guitarist of the Shadows, at the beginning of the video. The ballroom scenes were filmed at the Rivoli Ballroom in Brockley (citation). My Guy (a.k.a. My Guy's Mad At Me)
I have a partial copy of this video as it aired on German TV in the mid-80's. It's missing the slow-paced introduction. Tracey is a waitress, and one of the customers is Neil Kinnock, who was then head of the Labour Party in Britain. Sunglasses
Appropriately enough, this video is set at the beach. Tracey and her boyfriend arrive at the beach, and he attracts all the girls. Tracey is not too happy with that. He continues to flirt with them, and she continues to steam. Sitting next to her on the beach is a rather geeky guy who gets no respect. When getting an ice cream cone, he trips and falls in the sand, and everyone kicks sand in his face. In the meantime, Tracey's been trying on different pairs of sunglasses. Later, when riding with the girls in a boat, the unfaithful boyfriend falls overboard. He can't swim. The geeky guy runs into the surf; he's the lifeguard. He rescues the boyfriend, and he and Tracey sail off into the sunset. FYI: Some photos taken during the shooting of the video can be found on the back of the jacket of the 12" single of the song. Helpless
This video takes place backstage and onstage at a theater, where Tracey and her friends are preparing to sing. Oddly enough, the entire audience is composed of children. Terry
In this video, Tracey is the girlfriend/fiancée of a rather well-to-do gentleman, but she seems a bit underwhelmed by him. She seems to be more attracted to a rather large motorcycle-riding guy who bears some resemblance to Robbie Coltrane [might it be him?]. Eventually, she ditches the stiff in favor of the biker.
Other Musical AppearancesU.S.MTV Guest VJ, Feb.13-17, 1984 Strictly speaking, this may not belong in a section about musical appearances, since this wasn't a musical performance per se. However, it was MTV, and there isn't any other place to mention it, so I'll mention it here. In 1984, I was living in a college dormitory that did not have cable TV, so I never saw this. If anyone out there had the foresight to save a recording of this, I want to talk to you; you can contact me at roger@rreini.com. Tonight Show, Feb. 17 1984 This is described in the section on talk show appearances. Solid Gold, Mar. 24 1984
This is the date on which it aired in Detroit. It may have aired on different dates in different markets. Solid Gold was a weekly countdown of the top hits in the country. In addition to the Solid Gold dancers, it featured the top acts of the day lip-synching their hits. Besides Tracey, the performers in this episode were Shalamar, the Pretenders, Culture Club, Stevie Nicks, and Paul Young, along with a Culture Club video. EuropeThis list is undoubtedly far from comprehensive. Any and all help is welcomed; contact me. Top Of The Pops -- Britain
Tracey appeared several times on this venerable program in the UK. I have footage of her appearances to sing (well, mime) "Breakaway" and "They Don't Know" MusikLaden -- April 21 1983 (Germany)
Tracey performed "Breakaway" in a manner very similar to the Tops Of The Pops version. Sh! It's Saturday, c.1983/4 -- Denmark I don't know anything about this other than what she said about it on an appearance with David Letterman (see the talk show summary for 1985). Bananas -- Germany, 1983
I have about half of this clip. In it, Tracey is a milkmaid attempting to milk a cow, but the cow is uncooperative. Then "They Don't Know" begins. She's still in the milkmaid costume, not her normal TDK outfit. Unknown -- Germany (?), 1983
Tracey and her mates performed "They Don't Know", sharing the stage with dancing snowmen (!). At the end of the song, she goes over to one of the snowmen, bites off the tip of its carrot nose, and is chewing it with a bit of a smirk as the song ends. Unknown -- Germany (?), c. 1983
A performance of "Bobby's Girl" Unknown -- Sweden, c.1983 This appearance plugging "They Don't Know" was used in the mid-'80s documentary Women In Rock. Pop Explosion Number Two -- Britain, c.1983/4 This was a 44-minute (probably an hour, if you count commercials) program that was produced by Granada for ITV. Appearing on the show in addition to Tracey were Boy George, the Style Council, the Eurythmics and Rick Springfield. Bananas, c. 1984 -- possibly Germany
A German reader of this site recalls this program as being called "Musik Laden", which was a long-running music program in Germany. However, in the one clip I've seen from this program, there is a reference to "Bananas", which could have been the name of the program. Regardless of what it's called, Tracey performed (lip-synched) three songs: "My Guy", "Sunglasses" and "Breakaway." Page written by Roger
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