'Paul Maurice Kelly' (born
13 January 1955 in
Adelaide,
South Australia) is an
Australian singer-songwriter and is recognized as an icon of Australian rock music as a member of the
ARIA Hall of Fame. He is now based in
Melbourne, Australia.
His output has ranged from
bluegrass to studio-oriented
dub reggae, but his core output comfortably straddles
folk,
rock, and even some
country. His lyrics, simply and laconically voiced, have managed to speak to Australian experiences and history perhaps more broadly and directly than any other artist, from "Bradman"
[1], about the Australian cricketer
Sir Donald Bradman, through "To Her Door"
[2], a tale of a struggling couple's breakup and attempts at reconciliation, to "Every Fucking City"
[3], a darkly comic story of a backpacker chasing a former girlfriend through a Europe stripped of distinctive national character.
Paul Kelly and the coloured girls - Long Bay Jail Xmas eve 1985
Life and career
Kelly was born in
Adelaide,
South Australia, the sixth of nine children, in a family of
Irish Catholic heritage. He attended
Saint Ignatius' College, Adelaide and
Rostrevor College, and then
Flinders University.
Kelly's career can be broken into three distinct periods: first as Paul Kelly & The Dots; then as Paul Kelly & The Coloured Girls, later known as Paul Kelly & the Messengers; and lastly as Paul Kelly the solo artist (a period that also included his involvement with side-projects
Professor Ratbaggy, a more groove-oriented and less song-based ensemble and with
Uncle Bill/
Stormwater Boys, both blue-grass ensembles).
In the late 1970s Kelly was vocalist for the Melbourne pub-rock band "The High Rise Bombers", following their dissolution he formed "Paul Kelly & The Dots". The Dots period (roughly 1978-1982), saw the release of two albums, ''
Talk'' in 1981, ''
Manila'' in 1982 and the ''
Urban Opera'' in 1985. It was followed by a year or two of uncertainty, plagued with drug use, as Kelly grew as a songwriter but lacked a recording contract. In the liner notes to his 1997 Greatest Hits Collection, ''Songs From The South Dowling'', Kelly makes special mention of Michelle Higgins, a former
Mushroom Records Pty Ltd employee who "bolted herself in a hotel room ... and refused to exit until [she] had 2 record deals".
Kelly performed his song "To Her Door" (including the line '...to her f
★
★
★ king door' on live national television) at the
Australian Live Aid concert in 1985. On
7 July,
2007 Kelly performed at the
Australian leg of
Live Earth.
Solo and collaboration
Though he has worked with other songwriters since 1992, the years from then till the present, might be considered his solo period. His first post-Messengers solo release was the (truly solo) live double CD ''
Live, May 1992'' in 1992, followed by ''
Wanted Man'' in 1994; ''
Deeper Water'' in 1995; ''
Live At The Continental And The Esplanade'' in 1996; ''
Words and Music'' in 1998; ''
Smoke'' (with Uncle Bill) in 1999; ''
Professor Ratbaggy'' (as member of
Professor Ratbaggy) in 1999; ''
Nothing But A Dream'' in 2001; ''
Ways & Means'' in 2004; and ''
Foggy Highway'' (with The Stormwater Girls) in 2005. In 2006, Paul Kelly formed a group called
Stardust Five, who released their self-titled debut album in March of that year.
Kelly had a big year in 1999, releasing two albums — both in very different musical directions from each other, and from what he was known for. ''
Professor Ratbaggy'' had a more groove-oriented style compared to his usual folk or rock formula, using samples, synth and percussion. ''
Smoke'', released with Uncle Bill, was poles apart: a
bluegrass album composed of a few new songs and several of his old songs played in bluegrass style. "Our Sunshine" was one of the new songs on the album and was written as a tribute to
Ned Kelly, a famous Australian outlaw. Kelly and Uncle Bill were nominated for a
Golden Trombone Award for the song "Until Death to Them Part".
During his solo years, Kelly has also worked as a composer of film and TV scores including ''
Lantana'', ''Silent Partner'' and ''
One Night The Moon'' in 2001 and ''Fireflies'' in 2004.
In 2002 and 2003, two albums of Paul Kelly songs were released: ''Women At The Well'' featured songs performed by female artists including
Bic Runga,
Jenny Morris,
Renée Geyer,
Magic Dirt,
Rebecca Barnard,
Christine Anu, and
Kasey Chambers; and ''Stories Of Me'' featured artists like
James Reyne and
Jeff Lang.
A book of Paul Kelly's lyrics, titled simply ''"Lyrics"'' was published in 1993. A second anthology of lyrics was first published in 1999 - "''Don't Start Me Talking (Lyrics 1984-2004)''" - and is now in its second and third edition (2004).
[4]
Kelly has written songs with and for many other artists, including
Mick Thomas,
Renée Geyer,
Kate Ceberano,
Vika and Linda Bull,
Nick Cave, T-Pain,
Nick Barker,
Kasey Chambers,
Yothu Yindi,
Archie Roach,
Gyan,
Monique Brumby and
Troy Cassar-Daley.
He has also covered songs by other groups including
Hot Chocolate and
Australian Crawl.
In December 2004, in Melbourne, he performed 100 of his songs in alphabetical order, over two nights. A similar show was performed at the Studio at Sydney Opera House in Sydney (Australia) in December 2006.
Discography
Albums
Paul Kelly & The Dots
★ ''Talk'' (1981)
★ ''Manilla'' (1982)
Paul Kelly
★ ''
Post'' (1985) AUS #46
Paul Kelly & The Coloured Girls°
★ ''
Gossip'' (1986) AUS #15
★ ''
Under The Sun'' (1987) AUS #19
° ''credited as Paul Kelly & The Messengers in North America''
Paul Kelly & The Messengers
★ ''
So Much Water So Close To Home'' (1989) AUS #10
★ ''
Comedy'' (1991) AUS #14
★ ''
Hidden Things'' (1992) AUS #37
Paul Kelly
★ ''Paul Kelly Live 1992'' (1992) AUS #53
★ ''
Wanted Man'' (1994) AUS #11
★ ''
Deeper Water'' (1995) AUS #40
★ ''
Live at the Continental and the Esplanade'' (1996)
★ ''How To Make Gravy EP'' (1996)
★ '' (1997) AUS #2
★ ''
Words and Music'' (1998) AUS #17
★ ''
Professor Ratbaggy'' (1999)
★ ''
Smoke'' (1999) AUS #36
★ ''Roll on Summer EP'' (1999) AUS #40
★ ''
Nothing But A Dream'' (2001) AUS #7
★ ''
Ways & Means'' (2004) AUS #13
Paul Kelly and the Stormwater Boys
★ ''
Foggy Highway'' (2005) AUS #22
Stardust Five
★ ''
Stardust Five'' (2006)
Paul Kelly
★ ''
Stolen Apples'' (2007) AUS #8
Singles
External links
★ http://www.paulkelly.com.au including
lyrics
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