The release of Paul Kelly’s latest album, Stolen Apples, was followed by a tour on which Australia’s foremost singer songwriter and his six-strong band presented the 11-song album in its entirety before highlighting some dozen or so old favourites. As Stolen Apples was a concept album of sorts, it made sense and a concert DVD, Live Apples, was recently released which features the entire Stolen Apples album from go to whoa as well as a further 15 songs from Paul’s extensive back catalogue as well as a duet with New Buffalo on The Triffids’ Raining Pleasure.
We speak to Paul over the phone and I begin by telling him that my hi-fi amplifier, which I’d bought second-hand back in the early ’70s, had finally decided to retire from active service while the Stolen Apples DVD was playing.
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that,” Paul genuinely responds. “Maybe you can get it fixed. Is that hi-fi place on Grenfell St still there? That’s where I bought my first stereo amplifier back in the ’70s.”
Legend has it that Paul Kelly was born in a taxi outside North Adelaide’s Calvary Hospital. As a teenager he became fan of Bob Dylan (and would much, much later tour Australia with him) but found it hard to get gigs. “This young bloke used to ask me if he could play at some of my gigs,” the organiser of a regular, hippiesque monthly music event at Burnside Town Hall told me a few years ago at a backyard barbeque. “He said he knew a few Bob Dylan songs but I always said no as every singer songwriter was doing Dylan back then I only found out much later that I’d knocked back Paul Kelly.”
Paul then moved to Melbourne in the late ’70s where he joined a rock band called The High Rise Bombers before forming The Dots, a group which recorded two albums as well supporting Dire Straits at Adelaide’s Festival Theatre in 1982.
After spending quite some time recuperating from a street bashing, Paul then released the critically acclaimed acoustic album, Post, before forming a new band, The Coloured Girls, who had to change their name to The Messengers when they toured the US. Singles from the albums Into The Sun and Gossip scored much radio play and since then Paul has released many more albums, scored several film soundtracks (including Lantana) and provided the music for several plays. He has also acted in plays and films and flirted with dub reggae with Professor Ratbaggy as well as bluegrass with The Stormwater Boys and Uncle Bill.
Was it always planned to record a DVD of Stolen Apples?
“When we were rehearsing for the tour, it was going really well and it was the first time I’d played with a six-piece band for a while so we had the whole palette at our command to do Stolen Apples as well as lots of other songs. So we thought it’d be a good thing to film it.”
Paul went on to say that the concerts, with Stolen Apples before performed in its entirety followed by old favourites, was well accepted.
“We made sure that everyone knew that was going to be the case and people accepted the challenge of hearing completely new material. And they knew they would be rewarded for that by getting heaps of old songs in the second half.”
Was there any reason behind recording the live DVD at Toowoomba’s Empire Theatre?
“It’s just such a good old theatre – a beautiful venue we’d often played before – and it was five weeks into the tour. So we knew that by then that we’d be really up and running. So it worked out to be the right time and right place.
“And Renegade Film Productions did a great job,” Paul continues. “They do RockWiz so we knew them from that. And Paul Drane, their director, has been around for a while. Paul did that famous AC/DC clip of Bon Scott on the back of a truck doing It’s A Long Way To The Top. So we’ve crossed paths over the years.”
Drummer Peter ‘Lucky’ Luscombe is wearing his now trademark polka dot shirt.
“Lucky’s had about 23 polka dot shirts by the time we did the DVD. So it would be even more by now. He’s always on the look out for a good polka dot shirt.”
Dan Luscombe had played guitar and keyboards on the Stolen Apples CD but left soon after to join The Drones. He was replaced in Paul’s touring band by guitarist Ashley Naylor (of Even) and keyboard player Cameron Bruce (of The Polaroids).
“We finished the record in late 2006 and Dan joined The Drones in early 2007 so we always knew he wouldn’t be available for any touring. But it worked out well because we started rehearsing for the tour it became obvious that we needed a keyboard player. It we had toured with Dan, he would have played the keyboard parts on the record as well as guitar. So by getting Cameron on board, we had the luxury of having two guitar players [Ashley Naylor] and Dan Kelly] as well as a keyboard player.
“And having a dedicated keyboard player meant we could go back and do a lot of earlier songs,” Paul concludes. “I hadn’t realised until I went back and listened to my old records how much keyboards were involved. I’d been playing with a fairly guitar-based format for so long that I’d kind of forgotten how much they were a large part of some of the earlier songs. So it was good to go back and give them some attention. It was surprising how much piano there in songs like To Her Door.”
Paul Kelly’s Live Apples DVD is out now via EMI.