Brian Kennedy
T hough initially known to Australian audiences because of his work with the great Van Morrison, the Belfast born tenor Brian Kennedy has done the hard work by regularly touring and yes, he'll be gracing our shores again next month. As always, he's eager to talk of his work which has by now grown to include the publication of two novels, work on an autobiography due for publication later this year and a finely crafted disc of covers ('Interpretations') released last year as well as the forthcoming receipt of a life time achievement award at this year's Meteor awards in Ireland. Talking on the phone from Belfast he reminds me that it has indeed been two and a half years since his last sojourn 'down under'. He explains that "it's been a busy couple of years" since we last heard him and that "the world has changed in front of us with all the recessions and everything. But thank goodness, what is rising to the top is that people need their music, comedy and art more than ever, thank goodness!" He explains that he loves coming to Australia and that "this time it's going to be interesting as I now have returning punters and there will be people who may read and come along and it's the first time that they've ever seen or heard of me. So I'm in your hands," he laughs openly."...and I love that Aussie thing where they'll read something, say, 'oh he's playing locally so let's check him out.' So at the concerts expect music from the last twenty years and of course each show will be slightly different." In fact it's hard to believe that Kennedy has spent twenty odd years in the business, working with the likes of Morrison, Dylan and even the great Joni Mitchell, He's also done 'Riverdance' on Broadway and issued several albums, not only of Irish and Australian folksongs, but originals and most recently an albums of cover versions. Brian finds it hard to believe that he's getting a lifetime achievement award, confiding "I know it's extraordinary, isn't it? It's one of those awards where you think 'I think I just don't feel old enough. It should be given to an older artist'. But it has been twenty years of making music and this incredible rollercoaster ride going through this industry with Van and all the things I've done. So it's particularly flattering coming from my peers. You know on the night U2 will be there, Snow Patrol and all these incredible people so I do feel very proud." Next he moves onto the subject of his latest release, 'Interpretations', an album of cover versions from Cole Porter's Night And Day to Marianne Faithfull's Dreaming My Dreams. It's an eclectic selection that often sees him accompanied by an orchestra. "You know, I was thinking about the kind of record I wanted to make and I found that I was always going back to Joni Mitchell's 'Both Sides Now'. That's where I found the standard Answer Me, My Love. That's where it comes from. It's a beautiful song and I was also looking at George Michael's 'From the Last Century' and Michael Buble and of course he sings a lot of older tunes. I just started having fun with it and of course Sinead O'Connor also made a covers album." "It's kind of like a pet project where I can choose a new song like Galileo by Declan O'Rourke from Dublin. Anyhow, these ideas sparked a fire and we did it with a full orchestra and basically within three days. I'm so proud of it. With something like Brown Eyed Girl, I thought 'we can't touch this; it's too famous'. But when I heard the arrangement, I fell in love with it. Now it's kind of like a prayer. You forget what a great lyricist Van is, you know. However the producer did choose most of the material." From here Kennedy takes time to explain that he's taken a bit of a break from writing the third of his triptych of Feargal Flynn novels to write an autobiography. "The thing you're going to see first is the autobiography rather than the third novel. It's scheduled for an October release and I'm nearly there. You know, I give my full attention to whatever I'm working on at the moment - be it writing or music. It's kind of like crop rotation, where one field gets a rest whilst another is ploughed. Writing is a solitary occupation; you only have the story for company. So after this, I'm always dying to do some gigs and by the end of a tour, I usually want to be on my own." Brian Kennedy will return to the Governor Hindmarsh on Tuesday 2 March.  |
Issue 487
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