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Brian Kennedy.
Though many may not immediately know his name, Irish tenor Brian Kennedy has fostered great reviews for his work; not only in the Broadway version of Riverdance and through collaborations with the likes of Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Secret Garden and others, but also his six years spent collaborating with the brilliant but often uncompromising Van Morrison on albums such as 'The Healing Game' and 'Back on Top.'
Critics have often described his pure tenor voice as being angel-like and its clarity and certainty of pitch often initially seem at odds with Morrison's often improvised and explorative style of vocalising. Talking from Belfast, Kennedy explains that this unlikely collaboration worked incredibly well as the ensuing recordings and concerts more than adequately attest. "Van's vocal style and timbre is often instrument-like. He sings like a saxophone but as long as I watch his mouth when singing, there are no real problems. He stutters, starts and repeats phrases a lot just like a horn."
A highlight of this period lay in a short tour of California a few years ago with Morrison, Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell whom Kennedy describes as his "idol and a sheer joy to work with. She was so professional, approachable and so down to earth. She was not at all given to tantrums or prima donna-like behaviour, and at the end of the tour she generously gave me a signed lithograph of one of her album covers ['Taming the Tiger'] which now proudly graces a wall in my home. More recently I've worked on two BBC TV series ['Brian Kennedy On Song'] and a spin-off album in which I interpret a wide variety of Irish songs from the traditional to my own and in collaboration with the likes of Paul Brady and Sinead O'Connor."
The Australian shows which will feature many Irish songs will also encompass his own and others, including his beautiful interpretation of Neil Young's Only Love Will Break Your Heart: a highlight of the recently released 'Brian Kennedy Live In Belfast' CD and DVD recorded late last year.
Although Kennedy was brought up in Belfast on the notorious Falls Road, it wasn't until he left Northern Ireland to make his fortune in London in his late teens that he discovered much about Irish poetry and music. "I didn't grow up in an environment where this music was central. We didn't even have a record player in the house," he laughs. "It was more important to duck the flying bombs and arguments and it wasn't 'til music lessons at high school that it was discovered that I had perfect pitch."
In addition to his acclaimed career as a singer Kennedy has also recently signed a book deal with Hodder. His first novel 'The Arrival of Feargal Flynn' has recently reached number three on the Irish bestseller list.
"I didn't discover the joys of literature until leaving Belfast. I didn't know Yeats and Kavanagh. I didn't write much at school. Writing is a solitary task. I like to talk a lot about ideas with people. But I went to writers' retreats in Ireland and it was hard to keep quiet. Ireland has always been an outsider, so being identified as an Irish singer and now a writer has become increasingly important to me."
Similarly there are many parallels between his novel's hero and Kennedy. Both are gay and comfortable as such. "I'm as out now as I can possibly be. I'm a happy gay man and writing the novel has meant talking a lot more about my sexual preference than I normally would. In a fictional work you can distance yourself from it though of course there are strongly autobiographical elements in the book. When I'm singing, sexuality and preference don't really come into it. That's about a more direct universal and deeper sort of communication."
Brett Allen-Bayes
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Brian Kennedy will perform at the Peter Lehmann winery on Sat 20 Nov and the Church Of The Holy Trinity, Clarence Gardens on Sun 21 Nov.
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