Tuesday, January 31, 1984
Dubliners star singer Luke Kelly dies
Singer Luke Kelly of the Dubliners died last night. Be was admitted to the Richmond Hospital on Saturday night.
One of the original members of the Dubliners, Mr. Kelly (44) had two major operations following a brain tumour in 1980, but had apparently made a quick recovery following the most recent operation. Although his participation with the Dubliners over the past few years had been hindered by
his ill health, he resumed his banjo-playing singing role with the group last summer.
Born at the North Wall in Dublin, he worked at a variety of jobs in England during his early life, including hotel cellenran, vacuum cleaner salesman, and window cleaner.
He spent some time as a travelling folk singer in Paris before he returned to Dublin in 1962, when the Dubliners were formed following a John
Molloy show in the Gate Theatre.
As well as his immediate family with Luke when he died last night at around 11 p.m. were his Dubliner colleagues and close friends, Ronnie Drew and Eamon Campbell.
Ronnie Drew said that while any tribute he would pay to the memory of Luke Kelly was bound to be biased, he considered Luke to be the best ballad singer of all time.
“He was an inspiration to me and so many others,” sail1 Ronnie.
Eamon Campbell said that as Luke's role in the group was hampered by his illness in recent years, and Eamon's own part became more prominent, they developed a strong and deep friendship.
“He was the best ballad singer in Europe, and started so many off. He was a great fellow, and I was very very close to him. We weren't running around the streets together, but we grew very close over the years,” said an emotional Eamon.
Folk singer Liam Clancy. of the Makem and Clancy team, paid tribute to the “very, very good singer” Luke Kelly, whom he helped get started over 20 years ago.
Liam was deeply shocked to hear of Luke's death, although he had known he was seriously
ill since last summer.
“It was an Irish festival in the Berkshire Mountains in New York state, but Luke seemed very subdued. It was obvious that his problem with his health was bad and he seemed resigned to it.
The pain was very intense and just before Christmas the doctors said he would only live a fen months. I believe Luke knew this. ”
Tuesday, January 31, 1984 (The Evening Press)
Luke Kelly…ahead of the rest
VERVE, ENTHUSIASM AND A SHARP MIND
LUKE KELLY died last night and we knew each other in a sort of stand-off way for about 23 years. I always had great respect for his rat-trap mind, as Hemmingway called it, his absorption of printed intelligence in every newspaper and periodical, his devotion to the socialist ideal and, in the world of contemporary folksong, his skill and interest which kept him ahead of all others in the newest developments, the latest important songs, the facts about those who were singing them.
I could tell many stories about Luke, a lot of them personal. We travelled together when The Dubliners became commercially famous and the newspaper I was working for at that time thought their concerts abroad important enough to warrant news stories. Like many who had not worked on newspapers, but who wished they had, Luke had noble notions on the business. He had wanted to he a journalist, he Often told me, and with his sharp, mind he would undoubtedly have been a formidable commentator,
especially on political matters. Some time before Jack Kennedy's assassination he showed me one night in O'Donoghue's some songs written by a person called Bob Dylan.
“His real name is Zimmer-man,” said Luke, “and you have to read this stuff.”
It was in an American magazine called ‘Sing Out,' then unavailable here. The songs were of social issues, of course, and American, but there was one called ‘Blowin' in the Wind' Which Luke said would be popular, though he was characteristically skeptical
enough to wonder if Dylan had in fact written it at all.
Luke set off to get himself a folksong education with “the master,” Ewan MacColl, in (London. He spent two years there in an unofficial university of contemporary folksong composing.
This was a time when MacColl, with Charles Parker, was producing radio folksong documentaries for the BBC such as ‘Singing the Fishing,' one of the songs from which ‘The Bonny Shoals of Herring,' Became internationally popular. Luke returned to Ireland to rejoin Ronnie and Barney and Ciaran and his songs of social comment in that strident tenor voice made him immediately popular. In the singing with The Dubliners then there was the great distinction between he and Ronnie Drew. Both had totally different styles.
One of their greatest successes Was the show ‘Finnegan Wakes' at the Gate.
Much will be written and spoken about Luke. I have my own memories of tours and concerts in the US, Canada and Germany. In the middle of one night of traditional music he got up on a table in a house I lived in and astonished all by singing Paul McCartney's ‘Yesterday'.
Luke could always see the great songs of the contemporary writers. though they were not necessarily part of the folksong tradition, contemporary or otherwise, in which he was working.
The verve, the enthusiasm, the sharp mind were what made him outstanding as a performer. As an interpretative artist in folksong he is important internationally and his recordings will be a definitive memory of an energy That came out of the hard streets of Dublin.
Dubliners star singer Luke Kelly dies
Singer Luke Kelly of the Dubliners died last night. Be was admitted to the Richmond Hospital on Saturday night.
One of the original members of the Dubliners, Mr. Kelly (44) had two major operations following a brain tumour in 1980, but had apparently made a quick recovery following the most recent operation. Although his participation with the Dubliners over the past few years had been hindered by
his ill health, he resumed his banjo-playing singing role with the group last summer.
Born at the North Wall in Dublin, he worked at a variety of jobs in England during his early life, including hotel cellenran, vacuum cleaner salesman, and window cleaner.
He spent some time as a travelling folk singer in Paris before he returned to Dublin in 1962, when the Dubliners were formed following a John
Molloy show in the Gate Theatre.
 |
| Luke Kelly |
Ronnie Drew said that while any tribute he would pay to the memory of Luke Kelly was bound to be biased, he considered Luke to be the best ballad singer of all time.
“He was an inspiration to me and so many others,” sail1 Ronnie.
Eamon Campbell said that as Luke's role in the group was hampered by his illness in recent years, and Eamon's own part became more prominent, they developed a strong and deep friendship.
“He was the best ballad singer in Europe, and started so many off. He was a great fellow, and I was very very close to him. We weren't running around the streets together, but we grew very close over the years,” said an emotional Eamon.
Folk singer Liam Clancy. of the Makem and Clancy team, paid tribute to the “very, very good singer” Luke Kelly, whom he helped get started over 20 years ago.
Liam was deeply shocked to hear of Luke's death, although he had known he was seriously
ill since last summer.
“It was an Irish festival in the Berkshire Mountains in New York state, but Luke seemed very subdued. It was obvious that his problem with his health was bad and he seemed resigned to it.
The pain was very intense and just before Christmas the doctors said he would only live a fen months. I believe Luke knew this. ”
Tuesday, January 31, 1984 (The Evening Press)
Luke Kelly…ahead of the rest
VERVE, ENTHUSIASM AND A SHARP MIND
LUKE KELLY died last night and we knew each other in a sort of stand-off way for about 23 years. I always had great respect for his rat-trap mind, as Hemmingway called it, his absorption of printed intelligence in every newspaper and periodical, his devotion to the socialist ideal and, in the world of contemporary folksong, his skill and interest which kept him ahead of all others in the newest developments, the latest important songs, the facts about those who were singing them.
I could tell many stories about Luke, a lot of them personal. We travelled together when The Dubliners became commercially famous and the newspaper I was working for at that time thought their concerts abroad important enough to warrant news stories. Like many who had not worked on newspapers, but who wished they had, Luke had noble notions on the business. He had wanted to he a journalist, he Often told me, and with his sharp, mind he would undoubtedly have been a formidable commentator,
especially on political matters. Some time before Jack Kennedy's assassination he showed me one night in O'Donoghue's some songs written by a person called Bob Dylan.
“His real name is Zimmer-man,” said Luke, “and you have to read this stuff.”
It was in an American magazine called ‘Sing Out,' then unavailable here. The songs were of social issues, of course, and American, but there was one called ‘Blowin' in the Wind' Which Luke said would be popular, though he was characteristically skeptical
enough to wonder if Dylan had in fact written it at all.
Luke set off to get himself a folksong education with “the master,” Ewan MacColl, in (London. He spent two years there in an unofficial university of contemporary folksong composing.
This was a time when MacColl, with Charles Parker, was producing radio folksong documentaries for the BBC such as ‘Singing the Fishing,' one of the songs from which ‘The Bonny Shoals of Herring,' Became internationally popular. Luke returned to Ireland to rejoin Ronnie and Barney and Ciaran and his songs of social comment in that strident tenor voice made him immediately popular. In the singing with The Dubliners then there was the great distinction between he and Ronnie Drew. Both had totally different styles.
One of their greatest successes Was the show ‘Finnegan Wakes' at the Gate.
Much will be written and spoken about Luke. I have my own memories of tours and concerts in the US, Canada and Germany. In the middle of one night of traditional music he got up on a table in a house I lived in and astonished all by singing Paul McCartney's ‘Yesterday'.
Luke could always see the great songs of the contemporary writers. though they were not necessarily part of the folksong tradition, contemporary or otherwise, in which he was working.
The verve, the enthusiasm, the sharp mind were what made him outstanding as a performer. As an interpretative artist in folksong he is important internationally and his recordings will be a definitive memory of an energy That came out of the hard streets of Dublin.
