Paul Kelly spotlights world favourites in Making Gravy show, Riverstage

Paul Kelly’s latest music spotlights some of his – and the world’s – favourite authors. He’s bringing it to Riverstage this month, sharing the bill with a host of big names.

With his wealth of songs Paul Kelly has reached that enviable position where there is no pressure for him to write the next hit.

He is however writing and creating some of his best music and is not afraid to mix it with celebrated works of poets Dylan Thomas or Walt Whitman on his latest record Nature.

The album dovetails with the launch of Paul’s new book Love Is Strong as Death ($40, Hamish Hamilton), an anthology of poems that have inspired and challenged him, a number of which he has set to music.

“For me, that’s a new way to write songs. Words are the hardest part of writing songs. To have a great set of words to start with makes it much easier,” says Paul, who will return to Brisbane’s Riverstage on Dec 21.

Love is Strong as Death by Paul Kelly

“I’ll probably keep putting poems to music for fun as I go along and I’ll probably just keep writing songs one by one but they don’t happen quickly. I just let it happen; you can’t force it.

“I don’t worry about writing so much anymore. I’ve put out a lot of records. If I didn’t make another record, it would be fine. The world doesn’t need another record from me. I’m happy to step out of the way; other people are coming, let them come.”

Paul has always been a big supporter of Australian talent and his third year of the Making Gravy Tour highlights this, sharing the bill with Courtney Barnett, Kate Miller-Heidke and New Zealand singer-songwriter Marlon Williams.

Paul Kelly performs before during the 2019 AFL Grand Final match at the MCG, 2019. Photo: Ryan Pierse/AFL Media/via Getty Images

“The idea was to make it a mini festival to celebrate other Australian songwriters and bands and play with a few people that I really admire,” he says.

“It’s not just for them that I do that; I do it for me. I’m always interested in new music and new songwriters. I get influenced by the next generation as much as they might be influenced by me or my peers.

“Pick it up and pass it on. That is my little motto. I learnt from people that came before me and was influenced also by my peers, bands like The Go-Betweens, The Triffids, The Saints and The Hoodoo Gurus. They were influencing me at the same time as we were performing and I think it goes both ways.”

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There have been plenty of creative detours for Paul, who has composed film scores and recorded with his reggae-funk outfit Professor Ratbaggy and country band the Stormwater Boys. But staying relevant as a solo artist has never been an issue.

“I have children in their 20s and 30s and my nephew Dan (Kelly) that I play with; they are always turning me on to new music. As you get older you can easily start to lose touch with what is going on so I like to play with younger acts because I get to hear new music and make new discoveries.”

Paul Kelly will perform at Riverstage Dec 21. Picture: Cybele Malinowski

As an artist, Paul also seems immune to changes in the industry such as the rapid decline in CD sales and the rise of streaming services.

“Most people now don’t even bother to buy music because they can stream it. I love it. Someone can tell me about an artist and I can have a listen on a streaming service without having to hunt down the record.

“I think that accessibility has been great and paradoxically I think it makes it more important if you are going to do an album, to make that album have a real coherence and something people will enjoy listening in order from start to finish. In some ways I think it’s made us smarten up.

“But I still like the idea of a self-contained album that rewards the listener from start to finish and the songs talk to each other and relate to each other.”

Paul Kelly – Making Gravy, Dec 21, Riverstage, city, $109.90. ticketmaster.com.au