Tracy Ullman - They Don't Know (complete video)

What this video is

Released in autumn 1983, 'They Don't Know' was Tracey Ullman's breakthrough hit, reaching #2 in the UK and #8 in the US. As a cover of Kirsty MacColl's 1979 Stiff Records composition, the video and song participated in a broader early-1980s British pop nostalgia wave, revisiting 1960s girl-group sonics and visual codes. The video is a landmark example of Stiff Records' wit-forward promotional philosophy applied to…

Why it matters

A pivotal artifact of early-1980s British girl-group revivalist pop, demonstrating how Stiff Records applied irreverent, comedy-inflected narrative filmmaking to music video promotion. The video helped establish the archetype of the comedic UK pop promo, influencing subsequent British artists who…

The director

David Robinson (born 14 May 1944, Drumcondra, Dublin), nicknamed 'Robbo', is an Irish music executive, music video director, record producer, music manager, and photographer. He co-founded Stiff Records in August 1976 with Jake Riviera, signing The Damned,…