HISTORY OF AUSTRALIAN MUSIC FROM 1960 UNTIL 2000: PAUL KELLY

Tuesday 8 October 2013

PAUL KELLY

Paul Maurice Kelly was born on 13 January 1955 in Adelaide, South Australia, to John Erwin Kelly, a lawyer, and Josephine (née Filippini), the sixth of eight surviving children. According to Rip It Up magazine, "legend has it" that Kelly's mother gave birth to him "in a taxi outside North Adelaide's Calvary Hospital". Kelly attended Rostrevor College, a Christian Brothers school, where he played trumpet and studied piano, became the first XI cricket captain, played in the first XVIII football team (AFL), and he was named dux of his senior year. Kelly studied arts at Flinders University in 1973, but left after a term, disillusioned with academic life. He began writing prose and started a magazine with some friends.

While travelling around Australia, Paul Kelly made his first public performance in 1974 in Hobart. He later recalled: ''I was living there at the time and there was a folk club at Salamanca Place. They had a night, I think a Monday night, where anyone could get up. I sang Dylan's "Girl from North Country" and "Streets of Forbes", a traditional Australian song about Ben Hall. I can't really remember how it went – I remember I had a lot to drink afterwards from relief. I was incredibly nervous''.

His first published song, "It's the Falling Apart that Makes You", was written after listening to Van Morrison's 'Astral Weeks' at the age of 19, although in an interview with Drum Media he recalled writing his first unpublished song: "It was an open-tuning and had four lines about catching trains. I have got a recording of it somewhere. It was called 'Catching a Train'. I wrote a lot of songs about trains early on, trains and fires, and then I moved on to water". In 1976, Kelly appeared on 'Debutantes', a compilation album featuring various Melbourne-based artists, and joined pub-rockers The High Rise Bombers from 1977 to 1978. The High Rise Bombers included Kelly (vocals, guitar, songwriter), Martin Armiger (guitar, vocals), Lee Cass (bass), Chris Dyson (guitar), Sally Ford (sax), John Lloyd (drums), and Keith Shadwick (sax). Chris Langman (guitar, vocals) replaced Dyson in early 1978. In August, after Armiger left for The Sports and Ford for The Kevins, Kelly formed Paul Kelly and the Dots with Langman and Lloyd. The High Rise Bombers recorded two tracks, "She's Got It" and "Domestic Criminal", which appeared on 'The Melbourne Club', a 1981 compilation by various artists on Missing Link Records.

The Dots included various line-ups from 1978 to 1982. The band released their debut single "Recognition" in 1979, which did not reach the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart top 50. Paul Kelly and the Dots signed to Mushroom Records and issued "Billy Baxter" in November 1980, which peaked at #38. Kelly's first television performance was "Billy Baxter" on the national pop show Countdown. Their debut album, 'Talk', followed in March 1981, which reached #44 on the Kent Music Report Albums Chart. Late in 1981 Paul Kelly and the Dots recorded their second album, 'Manila', in the Philippines' capital. It was issued in August 1982, but had no chart success. Release was delayed by line-up changes and because Kelly was assaulted in Melbourne – he had his jaw broken.

The 1982 film, Starstruck, was directed by Gillian Armstrong and starred Jo Kennedy. Paul Kelly and the Dots supplied "Rocking Institution" for its soundtrack and Kelly added to the score. Kennedy released "Body and Soul", a cover of Split Enz' "She Got Body, She Got Soul" as a shared single with "Rocking Institution". Acting in a minor role in Starstruck was Kaarin Fairfax, who later became Kelly's second wife. Kelly was without a recording contract after the Dots folded in 1982.

Paul Kelly Band was formed in 1983 with Michael Armiger (Martin Armiger's younger brother, bass guitar), Chris Coyne (sax), Maurice Frawley (guitar) and Greg Martin (drums). By 1984 Michael Barclay replaced Martin on drums and Graham Lee (guitar, pedal steel guitar) joined. He disbanded the group three months later and relocated to Sydney. By January 1985, he recorded the self-funded album 'Post' which cost $3,500. Session musicians included Michael Barclay (Weddings, Parties, Anything) on harmonies, guitarist Steve Connolly (The Zimmermen), and bass guitarist Ian Rilen (Rose Tattoo, X). They spent two weeks recording at Clive Shakespeare's studio. Shakespeare engineered the album and co-produced with Kelly. It was released in May 1985 on the independent label White Records and licensed to Mushroom Records. After recording 'Post', Kelly established a full-time band, which included Armiger, Barclay, and Connolly, bass guitarist Jon Schofield, and keyboardist Peter Bull.

Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls were named through a joke based on Lou Reed's song "Walk on the Wild Side". Armiger soon left, and the Coloured Girls line-up stabilised in late 1985 as Barclay, Bull, Connolly, and Schofield. Stuart Coupe, Kelly's manager, advised him to sign with Regular Records due to difficulty re-signing with Mushroom's Michael Gudinski. Michelle Higgins, Mushroom's public relations officer, was a Kelly supporter and locked herself into a Sebel Townhouse Hotel room—at Mushroom's expense—for nearly a week in mid-1986 and refused to leave until Gudinski had signed Kelly to a two-album recording contract. Kelly performed for The Rock Party, a charity project initiated by The National Campaign Against Drug Abuse, which included other Australasian musicians. The Rock Party released a 12" single, "Everything to Live For", which was produced by Joe Wissert, Phil Rigger, and Phil Beazley.

In September, Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls released a 24-track double LP, 'Gossip'. The album included remakes of four songs from 'Post', and also featured "Maralinga (Rainy Land)", a song about the effects of British nuclear tests on the Maralinga Tjarutja (indigenous people of Maralinga, South Australia). 'Gossip' peaked at #15, with singles chart success for "Before Too Long" which peaked at #15, and "Darling It Hurts" which reached #25. A single LP version of 'Gossip' featuring 15 songs was issued in the United States by A&M Records in July 1987.

'Gossip' was co-produced by Kelly and Alan Thorne (Hoodoo Gurus, The Stems) who, according to music journalist Robert Forster (former The Go-Betweens singer-songwriter), helped the band create "a sound that will not only influence future roots-rock bands but, through its directness, sparkle and dedication to the song, will also come to be seen as particularly Australian. Ultimately, it means the records these people made together are timeless". Due to possible racist connotations, the band changed its name for international releases to Paul Kelly and the Messengers. They made a US tour, initially supporting Crowded House and then headlining, travelling across the US by bus. "Darling, It Hurts" peaked at #19 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart in 1987.

Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls' second album, 'Under the Sun', was released in late 1987 in Australia and New Zealand, and in early 1988 in North America and Europe (under the name Paul Kelly and the Messengers). On the Kent Music Report Albums Chart, it reached #19. The lead single "To Her Door", written by Kelly, peaked at #14 on the related singles chart. Another single, "Dumb Things", was released in early 1989 and attained #36 on the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Singles Chart. In the US, it reached #16 on the Billboard Modern Rock chart. The song was included on the soundtrack for the 1988 Yahoo Serious film Young Einstein. The video, directed by Claudia Castle, won an ARIA Award for 'Best Video'.

'So Much Water So Close to Home' was released in 1989 by Paul Kelly and the Messengers in all markets. It peaked at #10 on the ARIA Albums Chart, but none of its singles reached the ARIA Top 40 Singles Chart. Kelly relocated back to Melbourne after having lived in Sydney for six years. Another US tour was undertaken, but there was no further chart success for albums or singles released in the US market.

In 1991 the band released 'Comedy', which peaked at #12 on the ARIA Albums Chart. "From Little Things Big Things Grow", a seven-minute track from the album, was co-written by Kelly and Kev Carmody. It highlights The Gurindji Strike and Vincent Lingiari as part of the Indigenous Australian struggle for land rights and reconciliation. A cover version that was released in May 2008 by The GetUp Mob, part of the GetUp! advocacy group, peaked at #4 on the ARIA singles charts. This version included samples from speeches by Prime Ministers Paul Keating in 1992 and Kevin Rudd in 2008. It featured vocals by Carmody and Kelly, as well as other Australian artists. Kelly collaborated with members of indigenous band Yothu Yindi to write "Treaty", which peaked at #11 in September 1991.

"To Her Door" and "Treaty" were voted into the APRA Top 30 Australian songs of all time in 2001. Paul Kelly and the Messengers gave their last performance in August 1991, with Kelly set to pursue a solo career. He justified his decision: "We forged a style together. But I felt if we had kept going it would have got formulaic and that's why I broke it up. I wanted to try and start moving into other areas, start mixing things up". Paul Kelly and the Messengers' final album, 'Hidden Things', was a collection of previously released B-sides, stray non-LP tracks, radio sessions, and other rarities. It was released in May 1992, and reached #29. One track, "Rally Around the Drum", written with Archie Roach, was about an indigenous tent boxing man.

Kelly's first post-Messengers solo release was the live double CD 'Live', May 1992, released in November 1992. Kelly had relocated to Los Angeles and signed with Vanguard Records to tour the US as a solo artist. While in Los Angeles he produced fellow Australian Renée Geyer's album 'Difficult Woman' (1994). Kelly returned to Australia in 1993. His next album 'Wanted Man', released in 1994, reached #11. Kelly also composed music for the 1994 film Everynight directed by Alkinos Tsilimidos. Kelly's next solo releases were 'Deeper Water' in 1995 and 'Live at the Continental and the Esplanade' in 1996. Between March and May 1995 Kelly undertook a seven-week tour of North America, appearing on several dates with Liz Phair and Joe Jackson.

By 1996, Paul Kelly Band members included Stephen Hadley (bass, ex-Black Sorrows), Bruce Haymes (keyboards), Peter Luscombe (drums, ex-Black Sorrows), and Shane O'Mara (guitar). Spencer P. Jones (Beasts of Bourbon) was guest guitarist on some performances. This line-up issued the CD-EP 'How to Make Gravy', with the title track earning Kelly a 'Song of the Year' nomination at the 1998 Australasian Performing Rights Association (APRA) Music Awards.

In 1997, Kelly released his compilation album, 'Songs from the South: Paul Kelly's Greatest Hits', on Mushroom Records. The 20-track album peaked at #2, and has achieved quadruple platinum certification, indicating sales of over 280,000. Kelly won the ARIA Award in 1997 for 'Best Male Artist', having been previously nominated in 1993, 1995, and 1996. On 20 September 1997 ceremony, he was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame. Kelly won the 'Best Male Artist' award again in 1998 and has been nominated for the same award a further seven times.

Kelly's next album, 'Words and Music', appeared in 1998, which peaked at #17, and included three singles that did not reach the Top 40. 'Smoke' was released by Paul Kelly with Uncle Bill; the latter is a Melbourne bluegrass band comprising Gerry Hale on guitar, dobro, mandolin, fiddle, and vocals; Adam Gare on fiddle, mandolin, and vocals; Peter Somerville on banjo and vocals; and Stuart Speed on double bass. The album featured a mix of old and new Kelly songs treated in classic bluegrass fashion. "Our Sunshine", newly written, was a tribute to Ned Kelly, a famous Australian outlaw (not related). Kelly had previously recorded a Slim Dusty track with Uncle Bill, "Thanks a Lot", for the compilation 'Where Joy Kills Sorrow' (1997). 'Smoke' was issued on Kelly's new label, Gawdaggie, through EMI Records in October 1999, and peaked at #36. It won three awards from the Victorian Country Music Association: 'Best Group (Open)', 'Best Group (Victorian)', and 'Album of the Year' in 2000. In September Kelly performed at the Spiegeltent at the Edinburgh Festival, as well as shows in London and Dublin.

In 1999 Kelly formed the band Professor Ratbaggy with Hadley (bass guitar, backing vocals), Haymes (keyboards, organ, backing vocals) and Luscombe (drums). Kelly provided guitars and vocals for their debut album, 'Professor Ratbaggy', on EMI Records. Songs were written jointly by all group members and their work was a more groove-oriented style compared to Kelly's usual folk or rock formula, using samples, synthesiser and percussion. Kelly's second anthology of lyrics entitled Don't Start Me Talking was first published in 1999, with subsequent songs appended in the 2004 edition. This second edition was added to the Victorian Certificate of Education English reading list for Year 12 (final year of secondary schooling) in 2006.

During the 2000s Paul Kelly worked as a composer for film and TV scores and soundtracks, including Lantana (also as a member of Professor Ratbaggy), Silent Partner, and One Night the Moon in 2001, Fireflies in 2004, and Jindabyne in 2006. These works have resulted in five award wins: ARIA 'Best Original Soundtrack' for Lantana (with Hadley, Haymes and O'Mara); Australian Film Institute (AFI) 'Open Craft Award', Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards 'Best Music Score', and Screen Music Award 'Best Soundtrack Album' for One Night the Moon (with Mairead Hannan, Carmody, John Romeril, Deirdre Hannan, and Alice Garner); Valladolid International Film Festival 'Best Music' award for Jindabyne; and six further nominations.

'Roll on Summer' was released in 2000 as a four-track EP, which peaked at #40 on the ARIA singles charts. Kelly issued 'Nothing but a Dream' in 2001, returning to his core singer-songwriter style. It peaked at #7 on the albums chart, and achieved gold record status. The North American version of 'Nothing but a Dream' added all four tracks from the 'Roll on Summer' EP as bonus tracks.

In March 2001 Kelly was a support act for Bob Dylan's tour of Australia. Between August and November Kelly performed a series of acoustic shows in New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Spain, and France (the latter supporting Ani DiFranco). In 2002 he undertook a six-week tour of North America, which was followed by a tour of the UK and Ireland later that year. In 2002 and 2003 two tribute albums of Kelly's songs were released: 'Women at the Well' featured songs performed by female artists, including Bic Runga, Jenny Morris, Renée Geyer, Magic Dirt, Rebecca Barnard (Rebecca's Empire), Christine Anu, and Kasey Chambers; and 'Stories of Me', which featured fellow songwriters James Reyne, Mia Dyson, and Jeff Lang. Chambers, a country music artist, sees Kelly as a role model: "He's the perfect example of the storyteller that I would love to be". In 2003 Kelly undertook a tour of North America, the UK, and Ireland, performing at the Edmonton International Fringe Festival and again at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

'Ways & Means' was issued in 2004 and peaked at #13. Though identified as a solo record, it was more of a group effort, with a backing band, later dubbed the Boon Companions, co-writing most of the tracks. The Boon Companions consisted of Kelly's nephew Dan Kelly on guitar, Peter Luscombe on drums, his brother Dan Luscombe on guitar and keyboards, and Bill McDonald on bass guitar.

In March 2004 Kelly performed across North America, including New York, Boston, Chicago, Seattle, and Los Angeles. This was followed by a more extensive series of shows between July and September throughout North America and Europe. In December, in Melbourne, Kelly performed 100 of his songs in alphabetical order over two nights. A similar set of shows were performed in a studio at Sydney Opera House in December 2006, these and similar sets became known as his A to Z shows. 'Foggy Highway' was a second bluegrass-oriented album for Kelly, credited to Paul Kelly and the Stormwater Boys and issued in 2005. It peaked at #23 on the ARIA albums charts. The line-up for the majority of the tracks was Kelly, Mick Albeck (fiddle), James Gillard (bass guitar), Rod McCormack (guitar), Ian Simpson (banjo), and Trev Warner (mandolin). As with 'Smoke' (his previous bluegrass release), 'Foggy Highway' consisted of a mix of new compositions and rearranged Kelly classics. The Canadian edition of the release included a four-song bonus EP of out-takes.

In 2007 Kelly released 'Stolen Apples', containing songs based on religious themes; it peaked at #8, and achieved gold record status. A tour in support of the album saw Kelly perform the entire album plus selected hits from his catalogue. One of the last performances, on 20 September 2007 in Toowoomba, Queensland, was filmed and released on DVD as Live Apples: Stolen Apples Performed Live in its Entirety Plus 16 More Songs, in April 2008.

Kelly made his first appearance at the Big Day Out concerts across Australia in early 2008, while in March he performed at the South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas. Kelly released 'Stolen Apples' in Ireland and the UK in July and followed with a tour there in August. In June The Age newspaper commemorated 50 years of Australian rock 'n' roll (the anniversary of the release of Johnny O'Keefe's "Wild One") by selecting the Top 50 Australian Albums. Kelly's albums 'Gossip' and 'Post' rated at #7 and #30 on the list. Kelly was nominated as 'Best Male Artist' for "To Her Door (Live)" and 'Best Music DVD' for Live Apples at the 2008 ARIA Awards. In September he announced that he had reacquired the rights to his old catalogue, including those originally released by Mushroom Records—later bought out by Warner Bros. Records.

In November, as a result of the acquisition EMI released 'Songs from the South – Volume 2', a collection of Kelly's songs from the last decade, following on from 'Songs from the South – Volume 1'. The new compilation featured the first physical release of Kelly's song, "Shane Warne". Volume 1 and Volume 2 are available separately but also as a combined double album. EMI released a DVD, Paul Kelly – The Video Collection 1985–2008, a collection of Kelly's home videos made over the past 23 years. Also included are several live performances. Songs from the South – Volume 2 included one new song, "Thoughts in the Middle of the Night", which he described as "It's a band song, we all wrote it together. There's a poem by James Fenton, a British poet, called "The Mistake", which is probably an influence on the lyrics. It's a waking up in the middle of the night song, for anyone who's woken up at 3 am and not been able to get back to sleep".

In the beginning of 2009, he supported Leonard Cohen's tour of Australia – his first return in 24 years. Kelly's duet with country singer Melinda Schneider, "Still Here", won 'Vocal Collaboration of the Year' at the 2009 CMAA Country Music Awards of Australia. In April 2011 Kelly performed at the East Coast Blues & Roots Music Festival (Bluesfest), which was followed by appearances as a special guest on Dylan's concerts in Sydney and Melbourne. Later that month, Kelly co-headlined a show with Neil Finn at Red Hill Auditorium in Perth; it was the first music concert at the new venue. In May his memoir, How to Make Gravy, was short-listed for the Prime Minister's Literary Award in the non-fiction category; while in July it was co-winner of 'Biography of the Year' at the Australian Book Industry Awards – with Ahn Do's The Happiest Refugee.

On 29 September 2012 Kelly performed "How to Make Gravy" and "Leaps and Bounds" at the AFL Grand Final although most of the performance was not broadcast on Seven Network's pre-game segment. On 19 October that year, Kelly issued a new studio album, 'Spring and Fall', which debuted at #8. It was recorded with Dan Kelly and Machine Translations' J Walker. Guest musicians include former band members Peter and Dan Luscombe, Vika and Linda Bull, and new collaborator, Laura Jean.

During February and March 2013 Kelly and Neil Finn undertook a collaborative tour of Australia. Their performance on 10 March at the Sydney Opera House was recorded for the live album, 'Goin' Your Way' (8 November 2013). It was issued as a 2× CD, which peaked at #5 on the ARIA Albums Chart; and also as a DVD, which peaked at #1 on the related ARIA Music DVD Chart. Later in March he toured New Zealand with his nephew to promote 'Spring and Fall' by playing in church venues.

Kelly issued a run of top 20 studio albums, 'The Merri Soul Sessions' (December 2014), 'Seven Sonnets and a Song' (April 2016), 'Death's Dateless Night' (with Charlie Owen, October 2016), and 'Life Is Fine' (August 2017). The latter became his first number-one album and provided four trophies at that year's ARIA Awards. In November and December 2017 Kelly undertook a seventeen-performance tour of thirteen metropolitan and regional Australian cities and four performances in three cities in New Zealand to promote the release of 'Life is Fine', with support from Steve Earle, Middle Kids, Busby Marou and The Eastern.

In August 2018, Kelly announced the release of a new album, 'Nature', in October. The album's lead single, "With the One I Love", was released on the same day. He released another compilation album in November 2019, covering 1985–2019, 'Songs from the South: 1985-2019'. In September 2019, he performed at the MCG in the pre-game show at the 2019 AFL Grand Final Day.

On 5 February 2020, Kelly released a single titled, "Sleep, Australia, Sleep". The song addresses Australia's response to climate change. Before the release of the single, the lyrics were published by The Sydney Morning Herald, with Kelly describing the song as "a lament in the form of a lullaby. Paradoxically, it can also be heard as a wakeup call - a critique of the widespread attitude amongst humans that we are the most important life form on the planet." In September 2021, Kelly released a song inspired by Australian Rules footballer Eddie Betts and his battle with racism, titled "Every Step of the Way". On 19 November 2021, Kelly released his twenty-eighth studio album, Paul Kelly's Christmas Train. In July 2023, Kelly released a book and song titled, "Khawaja", inspired by Usman Khawaja.

SINGLES

Billy Baxter

Paul Kelly & The Dots

29 DEC '80

#38

Before Too Long