Paul Kelly (Australian musician)

Paul Maurice Kelly Template:Post-nominals (born 13 January 1955) is an Australian rock music singer-songwriter and guitarist. He has performed solo, and has led numerous groups, including the Dots, the Coloured Girls, and the Messengers. He has worked with other artists and groups, including associated projects Professor Ratbaggy and Stardust Five. Kelly's music style has ranged from bluegrass to studio-oriented dub reggae, but his core output straddles folk, rock and country. His lyrics capture the vastness of the culture and landscape of Australia by chronicling life about him for over 30 years. David Fricke from Rolling Stone calls Kelly "one of the finest songwriters I have ever heard, Australian or otherwise".<ref name="Fricke"/> Kelly has said, "Song writing is mysterious to me. I still feel like a total beginner. I don't feel like I have got it nailed yet."<ref name="Biog1997"/>

After growing up in Adelaide, Kelly travelled around Australia before settling in Melbourne in 1976. He became involved in the pub rock scene and drug culture and recorded two albums with the Dots. Kelly moved to Sydney by 1985, where he formed Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls. The band was renamed Paul Kelly and the Messengers, initially only for international releases, to avoid possible racial interpretations of the word "coloured". At the end of the 1980s, Kelly returned to Melbourne, and in 1991 he disbanded the Messengers.

Kelly's Top 40 singles include "Billy Baxter", "Before Too Long", "Darling It Hurts", "To Her Door" (his highest-charting local hit in 1987), "Dumb Things" (appeared on United States charts in 1988) and "Roll on Summer". Top-20 albums include Gossip, Under the Sun, Comedy, Songs from the South (1997 compilation), ...Nothing but a Dream, Stolen Apples, Spring and Fall, The Merri Soul Sessions, Seven Sonnets and a Song, Death's Dateless Night (with Charlie Owen), Life Is Fine (his first number-one album) and Nature. Kelly has won 14 Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Music Awards, including his induction into their hall of fame in 1997. Dan Kelly, his nephew, is a singer and guitarist in his own right. Dan performed with Kelly on Ways and Means and Stolen Apples. Both were members of Stardust Five, which released a self-titled album in 2006. On 22 September 2010, Kelly released his memoir, How to Make Gravy, which he described as "it's not traditional; it's writing around the A–Z theme – I tell stories around the song lyrics in alphabetical order".<ref name="Wanted Man" /> His biographical film Paul Kelly: Stories of Me, directed by Ian Darling, was released to cinemas in October 2012.

In 2001, the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) listed the Top 30 Australian songs of all time, which included Kelly's To Her Door, and Treaty, written by Kelly and members of Yothu Yindi. Aside from Treaty, Kelly wrote or co-wrote several songs on Indigenous Australian social issues and historical events. He provided songs for many other artists, tailoring them to their particular vocal range. The album Women at the Well from 2002 had 14 female artists record his songs in tribute.

Kelly was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2017 for distinguished service to the performing arts and to the promotion of the national identity through contributions as a singer, songwriter and musician.<ref name="AO" /> Kelly was married and divorced twice; he has three children and resides in St Kilda, a suburb of Melbourne.

Early life and education

Paul Maurice Kelly<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> was born on 13 January 1955 in Adelaide, to John Erwin Kelly, a lawyer, and Josephine (née Filippini), the sixth of eight surviving children.<ref name="Spirited Men115"/><ref name="KellyBio"/> 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".<ref name="Rip"/>

Although Kelly was raised as a Roman Catholic, he later described himself as a non-believer.<ref name="KellyGravy190"/><ref name="Courier"/> He is the great-great-grandson of Jeremiah Kelly, who emigrated from Ireland in 1852 and settled in Clare, South Australia.<ref name="Spirited Men116"/> His paternal grandfather, Francis Kelly, established a law firm in 1917, which his father, John, joined in 1937.<ref name="Lawyers"/>

John Kelly died in 1968 at the age of 52, after having been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease three years earlier.<ref name="KellyGravy223"/> Paul Kelly was thirteen years old when his father died.<ref name="Rope"/> Kelly described his father: "I have good memories, he was the kind of father that, well, I missed him when he died very much. The older children were growing into him at the time he died. He was not well enough to play sport with me."<ref name="Lure"/><ref name="KellyGravy10"/>

Kelly's maternal grandfather was an Argentine-born, Italian-speaking opera singer, Count Ercole Filippini, a leading baritone for the La Scala Opera Company in Milan.<ref name="Leser204"/>

Filippini was touring Australia in 1914 with a Spanish opera company when World War I broke out; Filippini stayed and later married Anne McPharland, one of his students.<ref name="Spirited Men116"/> As Countessa Anne Filippini, she was Australia's first female symphony orchestra conductor.<ref name="Lure"/> She sang the role of Marguerite in Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) Radio Perth's performance of Faust in 1928.<ref name="Leser204" />

Kelly's grandparents started the Italo-Australian Opera Company, which toured the country in the 1920s.<ref name="Italian"/>

Josephine raised the younger children alone after John's death, but found time to assist others in need.<ref name="Rope"/> Paul's oldest sister, Anne, became a nun and went on to write hymns, while a younger sister, Mary-Jo, plays piano in Latin bands and teaches music.<ref name="Songline"/><ref name="VCASS"/>

His eldest brother, Martin, worked for Edmund Rice International,<ref name="ABCQ"/><ref name="Edmund"/> he passed in 2021 at the age of 69,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> with another brother, Tony, a drug and alcohol counsellor, who ran as an Australian Greens candidate in the 2001 and 2004 federal elections.<ref name="Bunworth"/><ref name="Greens"/> Josephine Kelly moved to Brisbane, where she died in 2000 at the age of 76.<ref name="KellyGravy308"/>

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 (Australian rules), and was named dux of his senior year.<ref name="apra02"/><ref name="WRecords"/> He 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.<ref name="Insight"/>

Kelly spent several years working odd jobs, travelling around the country and learning guitar before he moved to Melbourne in 1976.<ref name="Spirited Men118"/><ref name="McF"/>

Career

1974–1984: Early career and with the Dots

An exterior night street scene which shows a row of galleries, shops and cafés beyond pedestrians and parked cars. A stretch of bricked roadway is in the foreground.

Salamanca Place, Hobart (2007), where, in mid-1974, Kelly made his first public performance—a two-song set comprising Bob Dylan's "Girl from the North Country" and "Streets of Forbes", a traditional Australian folk song about bushranger Ben Hall.<ref name="KellyGravy16"/>

While travelling around Australia, Paul Kelly made his first public performance in 1974 in Hobart.<ref name="Songline" /><ref name="Howl"/> He later recalled:

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,<ref name="apra02" /> although in an interview with Drum Media he recalled writing his first 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".<ref name="jj" />

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.<ref name="McF" /><ref name="ARDb"/> The High Rise Bombers included Kelly (vocals, guitar, songwriter), Martin Armiger (guitar, vocals, songwriter), Lee Cass (bass guitar), Chris Dyson (guitar), Sally Ford (saxophone, songwriter), John Lloyd (drums), and Keith Shadwick (saxophone).<ref name="SpencerHighRise"/> Chris Langman (guitar, vocals) replaced Dyson in early 1978. [Langman never played with the High Rise Bombers and is incorrectly listed as a guitarist on the Melbourne Club album]. In August, after Armiger left for The Sports and Ford for the Kevins, Kelly formed Paul Kelly and the Dots with Langman and Lloyd.<ref name="McF" /> 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.<ref name="McF" /> Template:Listen Kelly had already established himself as a respected songwriter—other Melbourne musicians would go to see him on their nights off.<ref name="NimmervollAllmusic"/> Richard Guilliatt, writing for The Monthly, later described Kelly from a 1979 performance at Richmond's Kingston Hotel, the singer was "a skinny guy with a head of black curls framing a pale face and a bent nose... singing with his eyes closed, one arm outstretched and the other resting on the body of the Fender Telecaster".<ref name="Guilliatt"/> Kelly was introduced to Hilary Brown at one of the Dots' gigs and they later married – the relationship is described in "When I First Met Your Ma" (1992).<ref name="KellyGravy80"/><ref name="SMHSep2010"/> Brown's father supplied Kelly with a gravy recipe – used on "How to Make Gravy" (1996).<ref name="KellyGravy206"/> Their son, Declan, was born in 1980.<ref name="KellyGravy80" /><ref name="SMHSep2010" />

The Dots included various line-ups from 1978 to 1982.<ref name="SpencerPKDots"/> The band released their debut single "Recognition" in 1979, which did not reach the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart top 50.<ref name="McF" /><ref name="Kent"/> The Dots then signed to Mushroom Records, and at the record company's insistence, were renamed Paul Kelly and the Dots. They issued "Billy Baxter" in November 1980, which peaked at No. 38.<ref name="McF" /><ref name="Kent" /> Rock music historian, Ian McFarlane described the single as a "delightful, ska-tinged" track.<ref name="McF" /> Kelly's first television performance was "Billy Baxter" on the national pop show Countdown.<ref name="Carney"/> Their debut album, Talk, followed in March 1981, which reached No. 44 on the Kent Music Report Albums Chart.<ref name="Kent" /> 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.<ref name="McF" /> Release was delayed by line-up changes and because Kelly was assaulted in Melbourne – he had his jaw broken.<ref name="McF" /><ref name="Leser206"/>

In an October 1982 interview with The Australian Women's Weekly, Kelly indicated he was more pleased with Manila than Talk as "It has more unity ... with this one we didn't have people dropping into the studio to play."<ref name="Moore"/> Years later Kelly disavowed both Dots albums: "I wish I could grab the other two and put 'em in a big hole".<ref name="Songline" /><ref name="Jeff"/> The 1982 film, Starstruck, was directed by Gillian Armstrong and starred Jo Kennedy.<ref name="TVGuideStarstruck"/> Paul Kelly and the Dots supplied "Rocking Institution" for its soundtrack and Kelly added to the score.<ref name="TVMemStarstruck"/> Kennedy released "Body and Soul", a cover of Split Enz' "She Got Body, She Got Soul" as a shared single with "Rocking Institution".<ref name="TVMemStarstruck" /> Acting in a minor role in Starstruck was Kaarin Fairfax, who later became Kelly's second wife.<ref name="Songline" /><ref name="TVGuideStarstruck" /> Kelly was without a recording contract after the Dots folded in 1982.<ref name="WRecords" />

Paul Kelly Band was formed in 1983 with Michael Armiger (Martin Armiger's younger brother, bass guitar), Chris Coyne (saxophone), Maurice Frawley (guitar) and Greg Martin (drums). By 1984 Michael Barclay (ex-the Zimmermen) replaced Martin on drums and Graham Lee (guitar, pedal steel guitar) joined.<ref name="McF" /><ref name="SpencerPKBand1983"/> Kelly's involvement in the Melbourne drug culture—he described his heroin addiction as "a long period of occasional use"—resulted in erratic performances.<ref name="Leser206" /> Problems with his marriage and drug use disrupted his career, and by 1984 the marriage had broken up. Hilary had moved to Sydney, initially leaving their young son with Kelly.<ref name="KellyGravy35"/> He disbanded the group three months later and relocated to Sydney so he could share parenting responsibilities with Hilary while Declan grew up.<ref name="Lure" /><ref name="NEAP"/>

1985–1991: Coloured Girls to Messengers

Thirty year old Kelly is shown in left profile playing a guitar in front of a microphone. To his right are two guitarists and a keyboardist amid musical equipment. Behind the keyboard is the drummer at his kit, partly obscured by another microphone. In the background are high fences.

Paul Kelly & the Coloured Girls,
Long Bay Gaol, Christmas Eve, 1985

Paul Kelly stayed with Don Walker (Cold Chisel) in Kings Cross – Walker had lived with Hilary's sister – and wrote new songs on Walker's piano.<ref name="KellyGravy182"/> Kelly then moved into a flat with Paul Hewson (Dragon) in Elizabeth Bay.<ref name="SMHSep2010" /><ref name="Leser207"/> Both Walker and Hewson encouraged Kelly to continue with his song-writing.<ref name="KellyGravy182" /> By January 1985, he recorded the self-funded album—at a cost of $3,500—Post.<ref name="Courier" /> Session musicians included Michael Barclay (Weddings Parties Anything) on harmonies, guitarist Steve Connolly (the Zimmermen), and bass guitarist Ian Rilen (Rose Tattoo, X).<ref name="WRecords" /><ref name="Zimmer"/> 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.<ref name="WRecords" /><ref name="Jeff" />

Kelly dedicated Post to his former flatmate, Hewson, who had died of a heroin overdose in January.<ref name="tribute"/><ref name="Dragon"/> According to McFarlane: "[it's] a stark, highly personalised collection of acoustic songs that showcased the extraordinary breadth of Kelly's songwriting skills."<ref name="McF" /> Rolling Stone (Australia) hailed Post as the best record of 1985.<ref name="Courier" /><ref name="Lure" /> AllMusic's Mike DeGagne felt "While he focuses on life's daily tragedies and tribulations, there is a missing element in the music, as it lacks any vigor or flash".<ref name="DeGagne"/> A single, "From St Kilda to Kings Cross", was released from the album, but did not chart.<ref name="McF" /> Russell Crowe, during his first trip to the US, visited the tourist venue of Death Valley and used Post to refocus himself: "[his] concise insights and acerbic wisdom are exactly the music for strolling the bottom of ancient oceans, both literal and metaphoric".<ref name="Jeff" /> After recording Post, Kelly established a full-time band, which included Armiger, Barclay, and Connolly, bass guitarist Jon Schofield, and keyboardist Peter Bull.<ref name="SpencerPKCG"/>

Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls were named through a joke based on Lou Reed's song "Walk on the Wild Side".<ref name="McF" /><ref name="Jeff" /> Armiger soon left, and the Coloured Girls line-up stabilised in late 1985 as Barclay, Bull, Connolly, and Schofield.<ref name="McF" /><ref name="ARDb" /> Stuart Coupe, Kelly's manager, advised him to sign with Regular Records due to difficulty re-signing with Mushroom's Michael Gudinski.<ref name="Jeff" /> 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.<ref name="Jeff" /><ref name="SongsSouth"/> 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.<ref name="AllMusicE2L4"/><ref name="rock party"/>

In September, Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls released a 24-track double LP, Gossip.<ref name="ARDb" /> 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).<ref name="Songline" /><ref name="Howl" /> Gossip peaked at No. 15, with singles chart success for "Before Too Long" which peaked at No. 15, and "Darling It Hurts" which reached No. 25.<ref name="Kent" /> A single LP version of Gossip featuring 15 songs was issued in the United States by A&M Records in July 1987.<ref name="ARDb" /> DeGagne noted that "[it] bursts at the seams with blustery, distinguished tunes captivating both the somberness and the intrigue thrown forward from this fine Australian storyteller".<ref name="DeGagneGossip"/>

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".<ref name="Forster"/> Due to possible racist connotations, the band changed its name for international releases to Paul Kelly and the Messengers.<ref name="McF" /><ref name="Jeff" /> They made a US tour, initially supporting Crowded House and then headlining, travelling across the US by bus.<ref name="McF" /> "Darling It Hurts" peaked at No. 19 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart in 1987.<ref name="BillS"/> The New York Times rock critic Jon Pareles wrote "Mr. Kelly sang one smart, catchy three-minute song after another – dozens of them – as the band played with no-frills directness" following the band's performance at the Bottom Line Club in New York.<ref name="Pareles"/> Template:Listen 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).<ref name="ARDb" /> On the Kent Music Report Albums Chart, it reached No. 19. The lead single "To Her Door", written by Kelly, peaked at No. 14 on the related singles chart.<ref name="Kent" /><ref name="APRA"/> Forster indicated that the song demonstrated one of Kelly's finest qualities as a songwriter which is his unforced empathy.<ref name="Forster" /> DeGagne observed a style similar to Elvis Costello and Steve Forbert, and said the album provided "acoustically bright story songs and character-based tales with unlimited substance".<ref name="DeGagneUnder"/>

Another single, "Dumb Things", was released in early 1989 and attained No. 36 on the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Singles Chart.<ref name="AusCharts"/> In the US, it reached No. 16 on the Billboard Modern Rock chart.<ref name="BillS" /> The song was included on the soundtrack for the 1988 Yahoo Serious film Young Einstein.<ref name="YoungE"/> The video, directed by Claudia Castle, won an ARIA Award for 'Best Video'.<ref name="ARIAAwards"/><ref name="ARIAAwards1988"/> Kelly met Kaarin Fairfax, his second wife, in 1988 and they married in 1993.<ref name="Lure" /><ref name="Mordue1996"/> From 1989 to 1992 Fairfax supplied backing vocals on tracks by Paul Kelly and the Messengers. In 1990, as country music artist Mary-Jo Starr, she released three singles and an album, Too Many Movies, using the Messengers and Kelly as session musicians. Michael Armiger, Connolly, and Frawley were in her backing tour band, The Drive-in Motel.<ref name="ARDb" /><ref name="ARDbDriveIn"/> Fairfax and Kelly's two children are Madeleine and Memphis.<ref name="Lure" />

So Much Water So Close to Home was released in 1989 by Paul Kelly and the Messengers in all markets. It peaked at No. 10 on the ARIA Albums Chart, but none of its singles reached the ARIA Top 40 Singles Chart.<ref name="AusCharts" /> Forster stated that, with "Everything's Turning to White", Kelly shows mastery in condensing a Raymond Carver tale of fishermen who discover a dead woman's body but continue to fish before reporting their find.<ref name="Forster" /> The same short story was used for the 2006 film, Jindabyne, for which Kelly composed the soundtrack.<ref name="MovieBio"/> DeGagne preferred "Everything's Turning to White" and "Sweet Guy" to the other album tracks, which "seem a little weak in the content department".<ref name="DeGagneWater"/> Kelly relocated back to Melbourne after having lived in Sydney for six years.<ref name="Lure" /><ref name="Songline" /> Another US tour was undertaken, but there was no further chart success for albums or singles released in the US market.<ref name="McF" />

In 1991 the band released Comedy, which peaked at No. 12 on the ARIA Albums Chart.<ref name="AusCharts" /> DeGagne noticed "a folk-filled tinge to each song, but the occasional quickened pace balances out these tunes rather nicely".<ref name="DeGagneComedy"/> "From Little Things Big Things Grow", a seven-minute track from the album, was co-written by Kelly and Kev Carmody.<ref name="APRA" /> It highlights the Gurindji Strike and Vincent Lingiari as part of the Indigenous Australian struggle for land rights and reconciliation.<ref name="McF" /><ref name="GNT"/> Forster indicates it has Dylanesque influences, and shows Kelly "honing the skills of a fine balladeer and storyteller".<ref name="Forster" /> A cover version that was released in May 2008 by The GetUp Mob, part of the GetUp! advocacy group, peaked at No. 4 on the ARIA singles charts.<ref name="AusChartsGetUp"/> This version included samples from speeches by Prime Ministers Paul Keating in 1992 and Kevin Rudd in 2008.<ref name="Morgan"/> 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 No. 11 in September 1991.<ref name="AusChartsTreaty"/><ref name="ASCAP"/>

"To Her Door" and "Treaty" were voted into the APRA Top 30 Australian songs of all time in 2001.<ref name=apra01/> Paul Kelly and the Messengers gave their last performance in August 1991, with Kelly set to pursue a solo career.<ref name="McF" /> 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".<ref name="tribute" /> 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 No. 29.<ref name="AusCharts" /> One track, "Rally Around the Drum", written with Archie Roach, was about an indigenous tent boxing man.<ref name="McF" />

1992–99: Solo career and with others

External shot of a two-storey building. The entrance is at left with the name displayed above. The building has a white picket fence in front. Two workmen are visible descending the entrance steps with a section of the same white fencing. To the right of the entrance is a hand-written notice in green-blue writing: "Patrons must be seated at all times". The building's façade is off-white.

Hotel Esplanade, St Kilda. In May 1995, Kelly recorded tracks for Live at the Continental and the Esplanade (1996) in the hotel's Gershwin Room.<ref name="OPH2a"/>

Since 1992 Paul Kelly has had a solo career, fronted the Paul Kelly Band, and worked in occasional collaborations with other songwriters and performers.<ref name="McF" /> In 1992 he was asked to compose songs for Funerals and Circuses, a Roger Bennett play about racial tensions in small-town Australia.<ref name="Funerals"/><ref name="RogerB"/> Kelly took the role of a petrol attendant when the play premiered at the Adelaide Fringe Festival that year and was directed by his wife, Fairfax.<ref name="AusCouncil"/><ref name="ONTM"/> Kelly co-wrote "Hey Boys" with Mark Seymour (Hunters & Collectors) for the soundtrack of the 1992 Australian film, Garbo; when released as a single it peaked at No. 62.<ref name="Garbo"/> Kelly contributed songs and vocals to the soundtrack of the 1993 television series Seven Deadly Sins.<ref name="SevenDea"/>

Kelly's first post-Messengers solo release was the live double CD Live, May 1992, released in November 1992.<ref name="McF" /> AllMusic's Brett Hartenbach noted that Kelly's band had fleshed out his songs in the studio, but he was still able to show "his vignettes of life, love, and the underbelly of both have plenty of power on their own".<ref name="Hartenbach"/> Kelly had relocated to Los Angeles and signed with Vanguard Records to tour the US as a solo artist.<ref name="McF" /> While in Los Angeles he produced fellow Australian Renée Geyer's album Difficult Woman (1994).<ref name="ARDb" /> Kelly returned to Australia in 1993 and wrote a collection of lyrics, aptly titled Lyrics, which opens with a quote from Anton Chekhov: "I don't have what you would call a philosophy or coherent world view so I shall have to limit myself to describing how my heroes love, marry, give birth, die and speak."<ref name="DontStart"/>Template:Rp<ref name="KellyGravy465"/>

Template:Listen His next album Wanted Man, released in 1994, reached No. 11.<ref name="AusCharts" /> Kelly also composed music for the 1994 film Everynight ... Everynight, directed by Alkinos Tsilimidos. It is set in the notorious H division of Victoria's Pentridge Prison.<ref name="Everynight"/><ref name="NFSA"/> Kelly's next solo releases were Deeper Water in 1995 and Live at the Continental and the Esplanade in 1996.<ref name="ARDb" /> Between March and May 1995 Kelly undertook a seven-week tour of North America, appearing on several dates with Liz Phair and Joe Jackson.<ref name="Tour95"/>

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).<ref name="ARDb" /> Spencer P. Jones (Beasts of Bourbon) was guest guitarist on some performances.<ref name="McF" /> 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 Right Association (APRA) Music Awards.<ref name="APRA1998"/> APRA's Debbie Kruger noted Kelly's "attraction to the theatrical" where the same protagonist is described in "To Her Door", "Love Never Runs on Time" (from Wanted Man) and "How to Make Gravy".<ref name="apra02" />

In 1997, Kelly released his compilation album, Songs from the South: Paul Kelly's Greatest Hits, on Mushroom Records.<ref name="ARDb" /> The 20-track album peaked at No. 2, and has achieved quadruple platinum certification, indicating sales of over 280,000.<ref name="AusCharts" /><ref name="ARIA2006"/> Kelly won the ARIA Award in 1997 for 'Best Male Artist', having been previously nominated in 1993, 1995, and 1996.<ref name="ARIAAwards" /> At 20 September 1997 ceremony, he was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame.<ref name="HoF"/> Kelly won the 'Best Male Artist' award again in 1998, and has been nominated for the same award a further seven times.<ref name="ARIAAwards" />

Kelly's next album, Words and Music, appeared in 1998, which peaked at No. 17, and included three singles that did not reach the Top 40.<ref name="AusCharts" /> Andrew Ford interviewed Kelly for ABC radio's The Music Show in May. Ford found the album "very exciting, very visceral ... you can almost smell the sex". Kelly admitted that he preferred R & B music which deals with sex, love, and joy without becoming "either banal or smug". He finds such songs more difficult to write but believes he has started to do so.<ref name="Ford"/> 1998 also saw Kelly undertaking a three-week tour of Canada and the US to promote Words and Music.<ref name="Tour98"/>

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.<ref name="McF" /><ref name="ARDb" /> The album featured a mix of old and new Kelly songs treated in classic bluegrass fashion.<ref name="McF" /><ref name="Howl" /> "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).<ref name="McF" /><ref name="Joy"/> Smoke was issued on Kelly's new label, Gawdaggie, through EMI Records in October 1999, and peaked at No. 36.<ref name="AusCharts" /> It won three awards from the Victorian Country Music Association: 'Best Group (Open)', 'Best Group (Victorian)', and 'Album of the Year' in 2000.<ref name="VCMA"/> In September Kelly performed at the Spiegeltent at the Edinburgh Festival, as well as shows in London and Dublin.<ref name="Tour99"/>

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.<ref name="ARDbPR"/> 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.<ref name="McF" /> 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.<ref name="DontStart2"/> This second edition was added to the Victorian Certificate of Education English reading list for Year 12 (final year of secondary schooling) in 2006.<ref name="Green"/>

2000–2009: Soundtracks and tribute albums

Template:Main 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.<ref name="TrovePK"/> 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.<ref group="nb">Award wins mentioned here are:

• Lantana award win for 'Best Original Soundtrack' at the ARIA Music Awards of 2002.<ref name="ARIAAwards"/><ref name="ARIAAwards2002"/> The award is shared with fellow composers and performers, Stephen Hadley, Bruce Haymes, Peter Luscombe and Shane O'Mara.<ref name="APRA Lantana"/> All were members of Paul Kelly Band and, except for O'Mara, were also members of Professor Ratbaggy.<ref name="ARDb"/><ref name="ARDbPR"/>
• One Night the Moon award win for 'Open Craft Award' at the Australian Film Institute (AFI) Awards in 2001.<ref name="OneNightMoon"/> The award is shared with fellow composers and performers Mairead Hannan and Kev Carmody.<ref name="OneNightMoon"/>
• One Night the Moon award win for 'Best Soundtrack Album' at the APRA Awards of 2002, Screen Music Awards presented by Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) and Australian Guild of Screen Composers.<ref name="SMAWin2002"/><ref name="APRAAGSC"/> The award is shared with fellow composers and performers, Mairead Hannan, Carmody, John Romeril, Deirdre Hannan, Alice Garner.<ref name="SMAWin2002"/><ref name="APRA One Night the Moon"/>
• One Night the Moon award win for 'Best Music Score' at the Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards of 2002. The award is shared with Mairead Hannan and Carmody.<ref name="FCCA"/><ref name="Urban"/>
• Jindabyne award win for 'Best Music' at Valladolid International Film Festival in 2006.<ref name="MurdochUni"/> The award is shared with composer and performer Dan Luscombe, who was a member of Paul Kelly Band.<ref name="MurdochUni"/><ref name="ARDbDL"/>

</ref>

Kelly also acted in One Night the Moon alongside his then wife, Fairfax, and with their younger daughter Memphis.<ref name="TrovePK" /><ref name="TroveKF"/> All three sing on the soundtrack, including together for the lullaby, "One Night the Moon".<ref name="AusScreen"/> According to Romaine Moreton, Australian Screen Online curator, the "lullaby that the family sings, written by Paul Kelly, sets the tone of the film ... The song is used in this film as a vehicle to explore the characters' interior worlds, something very unusual for a film".<ref name="AusScreen" /> Kelly and Fairfax separated before the film's release.<ref name="ONTM" />

Roll on Summer was released in 2000 as a four-track EP, which peaked at No. 40 on the ARIA singles charts.<ref name="ARDb" /><ref name="AusCharts" /> Kelly issued ...Nothing but a Dream in 2001, returning to his core singer-songwriter style.<ref name="Howl" /> It peaked at No. 7 on the albums chart,<ref name="AusCharts" /> and achieved gold record status.<ref name="ARIA2001"/> The North American version of ...Nothing but a Dream added all four tracks from the Roll on Summer EP as bonus tracks.<ref name="TroveNBD"/> Murray Bramwell appraised four Kelly-related works in Adelaide Review, "each of them indicative of the rich variety of his gift". On the album ...Nothing but a Dream, he preferred the opening track, "If I Could Start Today Again", to the radio single, "Somewhere in the City", and found the album generally to be "full of familiar Kelly riffs and trademarks". On Silent Partner Kelly's songwriting with Hale provides "some splendid instrumentals" with "a delightfully airy sound". The Lantana soundtrack showed Kelly's "confidence as a composer and his strong grasp of a wide range of musical styles". Finally, One Night the Moon included Mairead Hannan's "richly melodic Irish airs" which "beautifully counterpoint Kelly's work" and Carmody's "distinctive ballads".<ref name="BramwellJan02"/>

In March 2001 Kelly was a support act for Bob Dylan's tour of Australia.<ref name="Dylan"/> 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).<ref name="Tour01"/> In 2002 he undertook a six-week tour of North America,<ref name="Tour02"/><ref name="Jeckell"/> which was followed by a tour of the UK and Ireland later that year.<ref name="Tour02A"/> 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;<ref name="Howl" /><ref name="Webb"/> and Stories of Me, which featured fellow songwriters James Reyne, Mia Dyson, and Jeff Lang.<ref name="Donovan"/> 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".<ref name="Bauder"/> 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.<ref name="Tour03"/><ref name="Wilson"/>

Ways & Means was issued in 2004 and peaked at No. 13.<ref name="AusCharts" /> 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.<ref name="ARDb" /><ref name="BramwellJune04"/> Bramwell was impressed with their live performance in May: "Kelly steers and shapes not only his music, but the way he presents it. A live show is never just knocked together ... the details are always careful".<ref name="BramwellJune04" /> In February ABC Television started broadcasting the series Fireflies, which featured a score by Kelly and Stephen Rae.<ref name="FireCast"/> The associated soundtrack CD, Fireflies: Songs of Paul Kelly, included tracks by Kelly, Paul Kelly and the Boon Companions, Professor Ratbaggy, and Paul Kelly with Uncle Bill.<ref name="FireCD"/> Sian Prior sang with the Boon Companions on the Fireflies track "Los Cucumbros", which later appeared on Stardust Five.<ref name="LosCucumbros"/><ref name="Stardust5"/> Prior, an opera singer, became Kelly's girlfriend in 2002.<ref name="Songline" /><ref name="UniMelb"/> They met when she interviewed him for Sunday Arts on ABC Radio. Prior is also a journalist and university lecturer.<ref name="Songline" /><ref name="UniMelb" />

In March 2004 Kelly performed across North America, including New York, Boston, Chicago, Seattle, and Los Angeles.<ref name="Tour04"/> This was followed by a more extensive series of shows between July and September throughout North America and Europe.<ref name="Tour04A"/> In December, in Melbourne, Kelly performed 100 of his songs in alphabetical order over two nights.<ref name="Ziffer"/> 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.<ref name="Bonus"/><ref name="KellyGravyFly"/> 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 No. 23 on the ARIA albums charts.<ref name="AusCharts" /> 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).<ref name="RYMPK"/> 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.<ref name="CanadianFoggy"/>

In June 2005 Kelly put together Timor Leste – Freedom Rising, a collaboration of Australian artists donating new recordings, unreleased tracks, and b-sides to make connections between a wide range of music to raise money for environmental, health, and education projects in East Timor (Timor-Leste).<ref name="dBMag"/> Funds raised from the album went to Life, Love and Health and The Alola Foundation.<ref name="Stewart"/><ref name="Dwarf"/> On 26 March 2006 Kelly performed at the Commonwealth Games closing ceremony in Melbourne, singing "Leaps and Bounds" and "Rally Around the Drum".<ref name="Hogan"/><ref name="SMH06"/> On 8 October Paul Kelly and the Boon Companions, Hoodoo Gurus, and Sime Nugent performed at the Athenaeum Theatre in Melbourne to again raise funds for Life, Love and Health, and to help support their ongoing programs in Timor-Leste in response to the needs of the people during the humanitarian crisis.<ref name="Dwarf" /><ref name="VLGA"/>

Kelly formed Stardust Five in 2006, with the same line-up as Paul Kelly and the Boon Companions from Ways & Means. They released their self-titled debut album in March, with each member contributing by composing the music and Kelly providing lyrics.<ref name="Zuel"/> The album has backing vocals by Prior on two tracks.<ref name="MusicAusStardust"/> Kelly toured North America again in 2006,<ref name="Tour06"/> appearing together with The Waifs at clubs and festivals in several US states and the Canadian province of Alberta.<ref name="Tamworth"/><ref name="Robson"/> In November–December Kelly undertook his A-Z tour, a series of solo acoustic performances playing 100 of his songs in alphabetical order over four nights, at the Brisbane Powerhouse, Melbourne's Spiegeltent, and at the Sydney Opera House.<ref name="KellyGravyFly" /><ref name="LiveAZ"/>

In 2007 Kelly released Stolen Apples, containing songs based on religious themes; it peaked at No. 8, and achieved gold record status.<ref name="AusCharts" /><ref name="ARIA2007"/> Following the album's recording, Dan Luscombe left to join The Drones. He was replaced by Ashley Naylor (Even) on guitar and Cameron Bruce (The Polaroids) on keyboards.<ref name="Rip" /> 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, was filmed and released on DVD as Live Apples: Stolen Apples Performed Live in its Entirety Plus 16 More Songs, in April 2008.<ref name="Sennet"/><ref name="Musichead"/>

Kelly made his first appearance at the Big Day Out concerts across Australia in early 2008,<ref name="BigDay"/> while in March he performed at the South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas.<ref name="Murfett"/> Kelly released Stolen Apples in Ireland and the UK in July, and followed with a tour there in August.<ref name="Tour08"/> 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 No. 7 and No. 30 on the list.<ref name="AgeTop50"/><ref name="AgeBest"/> Kelly was nominated as 'Best Male Artist' for "To Her Door (Live)" and Best Music DVD for Live Apples at the 2008 ARIA Awards.<ref name="ARIAAwards" /> 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.<ref name="Cashmere"/>

Upper body shot of a woman with Kelly. Both are smiling; she has her left arm across his back to his left shoulder. Kelly is wearing a hat, black jacket, and red shirt and is cradling a guitar (mostly out of view).

Country singer Melinda Schneider and Kelly collaborated on "Still Here".
Photo taken in December 2008

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.<ref name="ARIA Nov2008"/> 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,<ref name="ARIA Nov2008" /><ref name="DVD"/> a collection of Kelly's home videos made over the past 23 years. Also included are several live performances.<ref name="Cashmere" /> 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".<ref name="jj" />

In the beginning of 2009 he supported Leonard Cohen's tour of Australia – his first return in 24 years.<ref name="Adams"/> 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.<ref name="CMAA2009"/> In February, in response to hearing about the devastation to the Yarra Valley region of Victoria in Australia, Cohen and Kelly donated $200,000 to the Victorian Bushfire Appeal in support of those affected by the extensive Black Saturday bushfires that razed the area just weeks after their performance at the Rochford Winery for the A Day on the Green concert.<ref name="Pepper"/> Kelly performed at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 14 March for Sound Relief, a multi-venue rock music concert in support of victims of the bushfires.<ref name="NineMSN"/> The event was held simultaneously with a concert at the Sydney Cricket Ground.<ref name="NineMSN" /> All proceeds from the Melbourne concert went to the Red Cross Victorian Bushfire relief.<ref name="NineMSN" /> Also performing at the Melbourne concert were Augie March, Bliss n Eso with Paris Wells, Gabriella Cilmi, Hunters & Collectors, Jack Johnson, Chambers and Shane Nicholson with Troy Cassar-Daley, Kings of Leon, Jet, Midnight Oil, Liam Finn, Split Enz, and Wolfmother.<ref name="Official"/>

On 13 and 14 November, radio station Triple J presented a Kelly tribute concert—marking his 30th anniversary as a solo artist—at the Forum Theatre in Melbourne, and highlighted his contribution to Australian music. The line-up included Missy Higgins, John Butler, Paul Dempsey (Something for Kate), Katy Steele (Little Birdy), Bob Evans, Ozi Batla (The Herd), Dan Kelly, Clare Bowditch, Jae Laffer (The Panics), Adalita Srsen (Magic Dirt), Dan Sultan, and Megan Washington interpreting Kelly's songs, with members of Augie March as the backing band and Ashley Naylor as musical director.<ref name="tribute" /> A recording of the concerts was released by ABC Music as a DVD and a double CD, Before Too Long, with a bonus CD featuring original songs by Kelly, on 19 February 2010.<ref name="BeforeToo"/> Kelly's national 'More Songs from the South' tour in December 2009 included band members Vika Bull on vocals, Peter Luscombe on drums, Bill McDonald on bass guitar and backing vocals, Naylor on guitar, and Cameron Bruce on keyboards.<ref name="Mikolai"/><ref name="PerthNow"/> Kelly contributed to the national magazine, The Monthly, from 2009 to 2010.<ref name="Monthly"/>

2010–2013: How to Make Gravy, Stories of Me and Spring and Fall

56-year-old Kelly is standing at a microphone with his guitar slung over his shoulders. His right arm is bent at the elbow towards the viewer, while his left is at his hip. He wears a grey suit with an orange shirt.

Kelly performing "The A-Z Shows" in New York City, September 2011. The tour was in support of his memoir, How to Make Gravy and the related 8×CD boxed set, A – Z Recordings, both issued in September 2010.<ref name="Penguin"/><ref name="AtoZ"/>

Paul Kelly published his memoir, How to Make Gravy, via Penguin Books (Australia) on 22 September 2010.<ref name="Penguin" /> "It's a mongrel memoir. It's a bit hard to describe at the moment. It's not traditional; it's writing around the A-Z theme – I tell stories around the song lyrics in alphabetical order. It's slow, so it will be a while coming, but I'll get there".<ref name="Wanted Man"/> As a companion to his memoir, he issued an 8×CD box set, A – Z Recordings, with live performances from his A – Z Tours from 2004 to 2010.<ref name="KellyGravyFly" /> The 105 tracks are listed alphabetically, and were typically performed over four nights. The set includes a booklet of photographs.<ref name="AtoZ" /> The related audio book on 16×CDs has Kelly joined by Australian actors, Cate Blanchett, Russell Crowe, Judy Davis, Hugh Jackman and Ben Mendelsohn each reading a chosen chapter.<ref name="ReadingsGravy"/>

Maurice Frawley, a guitarist for Kelly in various groups who co-wrote "Look So Fine, Feel So Low" (1987), died of cancer in May 2009.<ref name="Frawley"/> Kelly worked with Charlie Owen and others to create a 3×CD tribute album, Long Gone Whistle – The Songs of Maurice Frawley, which was released in August 2010.<ref name="Donovan10"/><ref name="Mathieson"/> In July that year, Kelly performed at Splendour in the Grass.<ref name="SitG"/> On 15 December 2010 he was inducted into The Age EG Awards Hall of Fame.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="EGAwards"/> In April 2011 Kelly performed at the East Coast Blues & Roots Music Festival (Bluesfest), which was followed by appearances as a special guest at Dylan's concerts in Sydney and Melbourne.<ref name="SmithPeter"/><ref name="WilsonR"/> 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.<ref name="Coetsee"/> 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 Anh Do's The Happiest Refugee.<ref name="ABCMay2011"/><ref name="McDonaldJuly2011"/>

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.<ref name="TeKoha"/> Nui Te Koha of Sunday Herald Sun declared "Kelly, an integral part of Melbourne folklore and its music scene, and a noted footy tragic, deserved his place on the Grand Final stage – which has been long overdue ... broadcaster Seven's refusal to show Kelly's performance, except the last verse of 'Leaps and Bounds', was no laughing matter".<ref name="TeKoha" /> On 19 October that year, Kelly issued a new studio album, Spring and Fall, which debuted at No. 8.<ref name="AusCharts" /> 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.<ref name="Semo"/><ref name="Middlemast"/>

File:Paul Kelly and Neil Finn.jpg

Neil Finn (left) and Kelly. In February and March 2013 the pair toured Australia, which is recorded on a live album and related DVD, Goin' Your Way (November 2013).<ref name="Shedden 2013"/><ref name="Tour Dates"/>
Finn had earlier praised Kelly's song writing "There is something unique and powerful about the way Kelly mixes up everyday detail with the big issues of life, death, love and struggle – not a trace of pretence or fakery in there".<ref name="Songline" />

Also in October, a biographical film, Paul Kelly: Stories of Me, directed by Ian Darling, was released.<ref name="Strickland"/> Darling had worked on the project for two years and it included "insights from family, friends, musicians and music journalists, as well as Kelly himself".<ref name="Strickland"/> The Australian Financial ReviewTemplate:'s Katrina Strickland described the documentary as "not a critique of his music, nor an intrusive look at his personal life" which uses a "much less linear approach to the life of a musician whose career has spanned four decades".<ref name="Strickland"/> After it appeared on ABC-TV in October of the following year, Andrew P. Street of The Guardian noted it "brings an ambitious, complex young Kelly to life – making a relisten of his work essential".<ref name="Street 2013"/>

2013–2016: Collaborative albums

During February and March 2013, Kelly and Neil Finn undertook a collaborative tour of Australia.<ref name="Shedden 2013" /><ref name="Tour Dates" /> Their performance on 10 March at the Sydney Opera House was recorded for the live album, Goin' Your Way (8 November 2013).<ref name="Shedden 2013" /> It was issued as a 2× CD, which peaked at No. 5 on the ARIA Albums Chart;<ref name="AUS Charts Your"/> and also as a DVD, which peaked at No. 1 on the related ARIA Music DVD Chart.<ref name="ARIAReport 1238"/> Later in March, Kelly toured New Zealand with Dan Kelly to promote Spring and Fall by playing in church venues.<ref name="ter Ellen"/>

Goin' Your Way was the first of several collaborative albums Kelly would release in the following years. The Merri Soul Sessions was released December 2014, and features contributions from the Bull sisters, Kira Puru, Clairy Browne and Dan Sultan. The ensemble would also tour together in late 2014 and early 2015. In 2016, Kelly would release two albums: Seven Sonnets and a Song in April, which was a musical recreation of selected works by William Shakespeare; and Death's Dateless Night in October, a covers album with Charlie Owen.

2017–present: Life Is Fine and Nature

File:Paul Kelly Rockdogs Community Cup.jpg

Kelly coached Espy Rockdogs to victory at the 2011 Community Cup in Australian rules football. Kelly an ardent supporter of the code, performed at the 2019 AFL Grand Final. He also wrote "Every Step of the Way" to honour indigenous player Eddie Betts, is his struggle against racism in that sport in 2021.

Kelly's first solo album in five years, Life Is Fine, was released in August 2017.<ref name="AusCharts" /> The album became his first number-one album and won him four ARIA Awards at that year's ceremony.<ref name="AusCharts" /><ref name="Cockburn"/> In November and December 2017, Kelly and his band undertook a seventeen-performance tour of thirteen metropolitan and regional Australian cities, as well as four performances in three cities in New Zealand to promote the release of Life is Fine. Supports on the tour included Steve Earle, Middle Kids, Busby Marou and The Eastern.<ref name="McDiarmid"/><ref name="Fitzsimmons"/> Kelly was also a featured artist on the 2018 Groovin' the Moo festival.

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On 5 February 2020, Kelly released a single titled, "Sleep, Australia, Sleep". The song addresses Australia's response to climate change.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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 wake up call - a critique of the widespread attitude amongst humans that we are the most important life form on the planet."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In July 2023, Kelly released a book and song titled, "Khawaja", inspired by Usman Khawaja.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In November 2023, Kelly was inducted into the South Australian Music Awards Hall of Fame.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Musical style and songwriting

Kelly standing at a microphone, he is shown in right profile, wearing a harmonica in a cradle and staring into the distance.

Kelly with a harmonica in a cradle, Chill Island Festival, Phillip Island, November 2007

Paul Kelly has been acknowledged as one of Australia's best singer-songwriters.<ref name="PowerH"/> His music style has ranged from bluegrass to studio-oriented dub reggae, but his core output comfortably straddles folk, rock, and country.<ref name="NEAP" /><ref name="Attfield"/> His lyrics capture Australia's vastness both in culture and landscape; he has chronicled life about him for over 30 years and is described as the poet laureate of Australia.<ref name="Rope" /><ref name="McF" /> According to music writer Glenn A. Baker, his Australian-ness may be a reason Kelly has not achieved international success.<ref name="Songline" /> David Fricke from Rolling Stone calls Kelly "one of the finest songwriters I have ever heard, Australian or otherwise."<ref name="Fricke" />

Fellow songwriter Neil Finn (Crowded House) has said, "There is something unique and powerful about the way Kelly mixes up everyday detail with the big issues of life, death, love and struggle – not a trace of pretence or fakery in there".<ref name="Songline" /> Ross Clelland, writing for Rolling Stone, described Kelly: "[W]hile he was (rightly) lauded for his ability to sing of injustice without ranting, or deal with the darker sides of human nature non-judgementally, often overlooked was the fact he could write a damn fine melodic hook to go with those words".<ref name="Clelland"/> Tim Freedman (The Whitlams) acknowledges Kelly, Peter Garrett (Midnight Oil), and John Schumann (Redgum) as inspiring him by "[furnishing] our suburbs with our own myths and social history".<ref name="Mordue"/> However, Kelly has been quoted as saying "Song writing is mysterious to me. I still feel like a total beginner. I don't feel like I have got it nailed yet".<ref name="Biog1997" /><ref name="Civics"/> In 2007 Kelly donated his 'Lee Oskar' harmonica to the Sydney Powerhouse Museum. The museum's statement of significance cites Kelly's talent as a songwriter, his distinctive voice, and his harmonica playing, particularly on Live, May 1992.<ref name="PowerH" /> Template:Listen

Kelly described his songwriting as "a scavenging art, a desperate act. For me it's a bit from here, a bit from there, fumbling around, never quite knowing what you're doing ... Song writing is like a way of feeling connected to mystery."<ref name="jj" /> He has resisted the label of 'storyteller' and insists that his songs are not strictly autobiographical; "they come from imagining someone in a particular situation. Sometimes a sequence of events happens which makes it more a story, but other times it's just that situation".<ref name="apra02" /> Sometimes the same character is found in different songs, such as in "To Her Door", "Love Never Runs on Time", and "How to Make Gravy".<ref name="apra02" />

Kelly has also provided songs for many other artists, tailoring them to their particular vocal range. Women at the Well (2002) had 14 female artists record his songs in tribute.<ref name="Howl" /> According to Kelly, he adapted his song "Foggy Highway" for Renée Geyer because "I admired her deep soul singing, ferocious and vulnerable ... When I heard the finished version ... the hairs rose up on the back of my neck."<ref name="KellyGravy94"/> Kelly and The Stormwater Boys recorded it in a bluegrass style as the title track for the 2005 album Foggy Highway.<ref name="KellyGravy166"/> Divinyls' lead singer Christina Amphlett recorded "Before Too Long"—she was attracted by the lyrics—she interpreted the song's narrator as being a stalker, and provided a female perspective in a darkly menacing manner à-la Fatal Attraction.<ref name="Webb" />

Kelly has written songs with and for numerous artists, including Mick Thomas, Geyer, Kate Ceberano, Vika and Linda Bull, Nick Cave, Nick Barker, Kasey Chambers, Yothu Yindi, Archie Roach, Gyan, Monique Brumby, Kelly Willis, Missy Higgins, and Troy Cassar-Daley.<ref name="apra02" /> He has described how some songs he writes are suited to other vocal ranges. "Quite often, I'm trying to write a certain kind of song and it's more ambitious than what my voice will get to. That's how I started writing songs with other people in mind".<ref name="Hillman"/> Kelly and Carmody's "From Little Things Big Things Grow" was analysed by Sydney University's Linguistics professor James R Martin. "[They] render the story as a narrative ... with the familiar Orientation, Complication, Evaluation, Resolution and Coda staging". Martin finds that Kelly and Carmody made the point that when people exert their rights with support from friends, they may defeat those with prestige.<ref name="Martin"/>

Kelly understands that co-writing with other songwriters lends power to his songs. "You often write songs with collaborators that you would never write by yourself. It's a way of dragging a song out of you that you wouldn't have come up with".<ref name="apra02" /> One of his collaborators, Linda Bull, described Kelly's process: they would start with a simple chat. "We'd just chuck ideas around and he'd pick the best bits. He'd take all the bluntness and crudeness out of it and make it beautiful; that's his magic ... It's conversations that you have Template:Sic".<ref name="Songline" /> Forster summarised his 2009 review of Kelly's compilation, Songs from the South, with "[his songs] sound easy and approachable ... Then you think: If the songs are so simple and the ideas behind them so clear, why aren't more people writing like Paul Kelly and sounding as good as he does?"<ref name="Forster" /> In 2010 Carmody and Kelly's "From Little Things Big Things Grow" was added to the National Film and Sound Archive's Sounds of Australia Registry.<ref name="SoundsReg"/>

Personal life

Kelly's first marriage (1980–84) was to Hilary Brown; the couple had a son, Declan, who later worked as a radio presenter on 3RRR's Against the Arctic from 2006.<ref name="Lure"/><ref name="Songline"/> As of 2007, he was a DJ around Melbourne and played the drums.<ref name="Hargreaves"/> For Paul Kelly: Stories of Me, Declan recalled his feelings whenever he hears "When I First Met Your Ma", which describes Kelly's courtship of Hilary Brown.<ref name="Street 2013"/> Brown remembered "songs written especially for and about her" but also about other women, she quipped "There are too many girls out there! One for every song!"<ref name="Street 2013"/>

Kelly's second marriage (1993–2001) was to actress Kaarin Fairfax.<ref name="Mordue1996"/> The MonthlyTemplate:'s Richard Guilliatt travelled with Kelly, his band and "his new love and future wife, the diminutive" Fairfax on a section of the group's US tour prior to the release of Under the Sun.<ref name="Guilliatt"/> The couple have two daughters, Madeleine and Memphis.<ref name="Lure"/> From 1989 to 1992, Fairfax supplied backing vocals on tracks by Paul Kelly and the Messengers. In 1990, as Mary-Jo Starr, a country music artist, Fairfax released three singles and an album called Too Many Movies. Memphis Kelly starred alongside her parents in the Rachel Perkins short film One Night the Moon (2001) for which Paul Kelly composed the score.<ref name="Lure"/><ref name="TrovePK"/> After the couple separated in 2001, Madeleine and Memphis stayed with Fairfax, but Kelly maintained contact with his daughters.<ref name="Songline"/> In 2010, Madeleine and Memphis formed a pop indie trio, Wishful, with Sam Humphrey; they were later joined by Harley Hamer and Caleb Williams. In March 2014, Wishful performed at the Port Fairy Folk Festival.<ref name="Wishful"/>

Kelly was in a relationship with Sian Prior, a journalist, university lecturer and opera singer, from 2002 to 2011.<ref name="Songline"/><ref name="UniMelb"/> They met when Kelly was interviewed on her Sunday Arts ABC radio program.<ref name="Songline"/> Kelly wrote "You're 39, You're Beautiful and You're Mine" for Prior who was already 40 by the time he finished.<ref name="Songline"/> Prior has played clarinet and provided backing vocals on some of Kelly's songs, as well as with the Stardust Five.<ref name="Harbour"/> She has performed live with Kelly on several occasions, including clarinet on six tracks of his A – Z Recordings boxed set.<ref name="Stands"/><ref name="Quarry"/><ref name="Shedden"/>

In his memoir, Kelly credited Prior with inspiring him to give up his long-term heroin addiction, "I got lucky, I met a woman who said: 'It's me or it'. She gave me the number of a counsellor ... I thought about 'it' every day for a long time. Less now".<ref name="KellyGravy79"/> The couple had separated during the making of Kelly's biopic, however the separation is not mentioned and Prior is not interviewed in the film.<ref name="Strickland"/><ref name="Street 2013"/> According to Prior after a date in 2011, "[we] came home. He sat on the bed. 'I've decided I want to be single again,' he told her. 'Yes, I have been with other women.'"<ref name="Wood"/> The split occurred after she had filmed her interview and "after the breakup, [she] requested the footage not be used. Her presence in Kelly's life is as a footnote in the credits. It's as if she was never there."<ref name="Wood"/>

Siân Darling became Kelly's partner. They met in 2014 performing in a theatre show called Funeral. The couple continue to live and work together from their St Kilda base. Darling is an artist, activist, curator and producer and has been working on Kelly's professional management team since 2018.Template:Citation needed Her influence on Kelly's work is noted in the Stuart Coupe biography. Darling is the subject of several songs and has produced and directed some of Kelly's music videos: "With the One I Love", "Sleep Australia Sleep" and "When We're Both Old and Mad". Darling produced the 2020 re-issue version of Carmody's album Cannot Buy My Soul.<ref name="Phillips G">Template:Cite journal</ref>

A man at left is playing an electric guitar, while 56-year-old Kelly plays his acoustic guitar. Both are looking down towards their own guitar, each uses a plectrum in their right hand while the left is on the fret board. In front of each is a microphone on its stand.

Paul Kelly (at right) and his nephew, Dan Kelly, performing at Rockwood Music Hall in September 2011

Kelly's brother, Martin, is the father of Dan Kelly, a singer-guitarist.<ref name="Uncle Paul"/> Dan has performed with his uncle on several of Kelly's albums, including Ways and Means, as a member of Paul Kelly and the Boon Companions, and on Stolen Apples. Dan and Paul were both members of Stardust Five, which released Stardust Five.

Paul Kelly's younger sister, Mary Jo Kelly, is a Melbourne-based pianist who performed with him on the track "South of Germany" for Paul Kelly Live at the Athenaeum, May 1992 (1992).<ref name="LosCucumbros"/> She has performed in Latin bands and worked as a music teacher at the Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School.<ref name="Songline"/><ref name="VCASS"/> Mary Jo provided piano on Archie Roach's album Charcoal Lane (1990), which was produced by Kelly and Connolly.<ref name="NLACharcoalLane"/><ref name="AllmusicCharcoal"/>

Awards and recognition

Template:Main Paul Kelly has won several awards, including 17 ARIA Awards from the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), and five APRA Awards from either the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) alone or together with the Australian Guild of Screen Composers. APRA named "To Her Door", solely written by Kelly,<ref name="APRA" /> and "Treaty", written by Kelly and members of Yothu Yindi,<ref name="ASCAP" /> in their Top 30 best Australian songs of all time in 2001.<ref name="apra01" /> Kelly was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 1997, alongside the Bee Gees and Graeme Bell.<ref name="ARIAAwards" /><ref name="HoF" /> He has won six Country Music Awards from the Country Music Association of Australia,<ref name="CMAA1990"/><ref name="CMAA2000"/> and four Mo Awards (Australian entertainment industry).<ref name="Mo1989"/><ref name="Mo1990"/> Kelly was a Victorian State Finalist for the 2012 Australian of the Year Award.<ref name="VicAusOTYear"/> Kelly was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2017 for distinguished service to the performing arts and to the promotion of the national identity through contributions as a singer, songwriter and musician.<ref name=AO/>

In August 2022, the City of Adelaide renamed a laneway in the city centre off Flinders Street Paul Kelly Lane. Previously named Pilgrim Lane after the adjacent Pilgrim Uniting Church, the lane is now called Paul Kelly Lane. It is the fourth such renaming after musicians associated with the city, the others being Sia Furler, No Fixed Address, and Cold Chisel.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Bibliography

Paul Kelly has written, co-written or edited the following:<ref name="Funerals" /><ref name="MABooksList"/>

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Discography

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• Talk (with the Dots) (1981)
• Manila (with the Dots) (1982)
• Post (1985)
• Gossip (with the Coloured Girls) (1986)
• Under the Sun (with the Coloured Girls) (1987)
• So Much Water So Close to Home (with the Messengers) (1989)
• Comedy (with The Messengers) (1991)
• Hidden Things (with The Messengers) (1992)
• Wanted Man (1994)
• Deeper Water (1995)
• Words and Music (1998)
• Smoke (with Uncle Bill) (1999)
• Professor Ratbaggy (with Professor Ratbaggy) (1999)
• ...Nothing but a Dream (2001)
• Ways & Means (2004)
• Foggy Highway (with The Stormwater Boys) (2005)
• Stardust Five (with Stardust Five) (2006)
• Stolen Apples (2007)
• Spring and Fall (2012)
• The Merri Soul Sessions (with Vika and Linda Bull, Dan Sultan, Kira Puru and Clairy Browne) (2014)
• Seven Sonnets and a Song (2016)
• Death's Dateless Night (with Charlie Owen) (2016)
• Life Is Fine (2017)
• Nature (2018)
• Thirteen Ways to Look at Birds (with James Ledger, Alice Keath, and Seraphim Trio) (2019)
• Forty Days (2020)
• Please Leave Your Light On<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> (with Paul Grabowsky) (2020)
• Paul Kelly's Christmas Train (2021)
• Fever Longing Still (2024)

Films

Paul Kelly: Stories of Me (1 October 2012) is an Australian documentary by Shark Island Productions.<ref name="Strickland"/> The film is an intimate portrait of Kelly that follows his 40-year career as Australia's foremost singer-songwriter.<ref name="Strickland"/> The film won the Film Critics Circle Award in 2012 for Best Documentary, and the ASE Award in 2013 for Best Documentary Editing. Nominations include the ADG Award in 2013 for Best Documentary Feature and AACTA Award 2013 for Best Sound in a Documentary. The film was part of the Official Selection at the Melbourne International Film Festival 2012<ref name="Buckeridge"/> and the Canberra International Film Festival in that year.<ref name="CIFF"/>

See also

• Music of Australia
• Bands and accompanying musicians of Paul Kelly

Notes

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References

General

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• Template:Cite book Note: Original profile was published as "Paul Kelly" in Good Weekend, The Sydney Morning Herald, on 2 June 1991.Template:ISSN. Template:OCLC.
• Template:Cite book Note: Archived copy at WHAMMO (Worldwide Home of Australasian Music and More Online) homepage of Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop.
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• Template:Cite book<ref name="NLASpencer"/>

Specific

External links

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• "From Little Things Big Things Grow" Audio sample and description at Australian Screen.
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