Synopsis

Tracey Ullman plays a young woman in a 1960s-style romance, eagerly preparing for a date with her working-class boyfriend while ignoring the disapproval of friends and neighbors. The bright, girl-group-inspired setting gradually gives way to a comic glimpse of her later domestic life, where she is pregnant, exhausted, and shopping in slippers. Her romantic fantasy survives through an imagined connection with Paul McCartney, whose unexpected appearance supplies the video's memorable punchline.

Factoids & Trivia

• "They Don't Know" was written and originally recorded by Kirsty MacColl in 1979. Ullman's 1983 version became a much bigger commercial success, reaching No. 2 in the UK and No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100.

• Paul McCartney's appearance was connected to Ullman's small role in his 1984 film *Give My Regards to Broad Street*. The video cameo works as the payoff to Ullman's character's idealized fascination with him.

• Ullman devised the video's storyline herself, using the contrast between romantic daydreaming and mundane domestic life as a comic extension of the song's theme.

• MacColl contributed backing vocals to Ullman's recording. The high-pitched "baby" heard before the third verse is MacColl's voice, retained or added because Ullman could not comfortably sing the note.

• The song became Ullman's signature recording and later served as the theme for the final three seasons of her HBO comedy series *Tracey Takes On...*.

• In the United States, the song and video helped introduce Ullman to MTV audiences. The exposure led to her being invited to serve as a guest MTV video jockey in February 1984.