Paul Maurice Kelly was born on 13 January 1955 in Adelaide, Australia, the sixth of eight children. He attended Rostrevor College, where he played trumpet and studied piano, became the first XI cricket captain and played in the first XVIII football (Australian rules) team.
Kelly studied arts at Flinders University but left after a term, disillusioned with academic life. He began writing prose and spent several years working odd jobs, travelling around the country and learning guitar before moving to Melbourne in 1976.
That same year, Kelly appeared on Debutantes, a compilation album featuring various Melbourne-based artists, and joined pub-rockers The High Rise Bombers. In August 1978, he formed Paul Kelly and the Dots (pictured).
The new band released their debut single, Recognition, in 1979 and signed to Mushroom Records. They issued the ska-tinged single Billy Baxter in November 1980, which peaked at #38.
Their debut album, Talk, followed in March 1981, which reached #44. 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.
The Dots subsequently broke up, and Kelly was left without a recording contract.
The Paul Kelly Band was formed in 1983, but problems with his marriage and drug use disrupted his career, and by 1984, the marriage had broken up.
By January 1985, Kelly had recorded the self-funded album Post. The single, From St Kilda to Kings Cross, was released from the album but did not chart. Kelly then formed a full-time band, The Coloured Girls (named after a line in the Lou Reed song Walk on the Wild Side).
In September 1985, Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls released the 24-track double LP, Gossip, which peaked at #15 and produced the singles Before Too Long (which also peaked at #15) and Darling It Hurts (which reached # 25). To avoid possible racist connotations, the band changed its name for international releases to Paul Kelly and the Messengers.
A second album, Under the Sun, was released in late 1987 in Australia and New Zealand and in early 1988 in North America and Europe. The lead single, To Her Door, reached #14 on the Australian singles chart.
So Much Water So Close to Home was released in 1989, but none of its singles reached the charts. In 1991, the band released Comedy, and The Messengers gave their last performance in August 1991.
Kelly subsequently pursued a successful solo career, often collaborating with other songwriters and performers. During the 2000s, he often worked as a composer for film and TV scores and soundtracks.
He has been acknowledged as one of Australia’s best singer-songwriters, and his lyrics capture Australia’s vastness both in culture and landscape. He is often described as “the poet laureate of Australia”.
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The new band released their debut single, Recognition, in 1979 and signed to Mushroom Records. They issued the ska-tinged single Billy Baxter in November 1980, which peaked at #38.
A second album, Under the Sun, was released in late 1987 in Australia and New Zealand and in early 1988 in North America and Europe. The lead single, To Her Door, reached #14 on the Australian singles chart.
