Tracey Ullman was introduced to the U.S. audience in the early summer of 1984 when the video to her song “They Don’t Know” received a fair amount of airplay on MTV. The consensus at the time was that people wondered how an unknown like Ullman was able to get Paul McCartney to appear in the video. I, for one, was definitely intrigued. Of course, back then I was unable to Google her name!

“They Don’t Know” was Ullman’s only song in the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100. It peaked at # 8 in May.

A few months later, people in the U.S. would realize that Ullman was able to get Paul to appear in the video because she had a role in the McCartney movie Give My Regards to Broad Street,  which was released in the U.S. in late October 1984. The video to “They Don’t Know” was shot while the movie was being filmed.

Tracey Ullman, who was born in 1959, became popular in England doing sketch comedies on the BBC. She then embarked on a recording career, having a couple of hit records and a total of six songs in the British Top 100 in less than a two year period.

American fans remember her network television show “The Tracey Ullman Show”, which aired from 1987 to 1990. However, few remember that this show spawned a spin-off called “The Simpsons” in 1989.

In 2006, Ullman topped the list for “Wealthiest British Comedians” at an estimated 75 million pounds.

Take a look at Paul’s conspicuous cameo at the end of the video for “They Don’t Know”.

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