Paul Brady

For other people named Paul Brady, seePaul Brady (disambiguation).

Paul Brady
Brady in 2009
Background information
Birth name	Paul Joseph Brady
Born	(1947-05-19)19 May 1947 Belfast,Northern Ireland
Origin	Strabane,County Tyrone,Northern Ireland
Genres	Folk Irish traditional pop rock adult contemporary
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter musician
Instruments	Vocals guitar piano mandolin bouzouki tin whistle
Years active	1965–present
Labels	Shanachie Fontana Mercury PeeBee Music Green Linnet
Website	paulbrady.com

Paul Joseph Brady(born 19 May 1947)is an Irish singer-songwriter and musician fromStrabane,Northern Ireland.His work straddlesfolkandpop.He was interested in a wide variety of music from an early age.

Initially popular for playingIrish traditional musicin a duo withAndy Irvineand later withTommy PeoplesandMatt Molloy,he later turned to a morerock-inspired electric style with poignant political lyrics. Some of his most popular songs are: "Crazy Dreams", "Nothing but the Same Old Story", "The Island","Night Hunting Time "," Steel Claw "and"Paradise Is Here".

Early life

Paul Joseph Brady was born inBelfastand raised in the small town ofStrabaneinCounty Tyrone,Northern Ireland, on the border withCounty Donegal,Republic of Ireland.His father Seán Brady and mother Mollie Brady née McElholm were school teachers. Brady was educated at Sion Mills Primary School,St. Columb's College,Derry andUniversity College Dublin.He is featured in the documentary filmThe Boys of St. Columb's.

He began learning piano around age six and by the age of eleven he had begun to play guitar, spending hours of hisschool holidayslearning every song thatthe Shadowshad recorded. He was also influenced byChuck Berry.

In 1963, Brady began performing as a piano player in a hotel inBundoran,Donegal. In October 1964, he attendedUniversity College Dublinand performed with a number ofRnBgroups, covering songs by the likes ofRay CharlesandJames Brown.The first of these was the Inmates (late 1964–about April 1965), which evolved into the Kult (about April–December 1965), featuring Brady, Jackie McAuley (ex-Them,and future Belfast Gypsies andTrader Horne), Brendan Bonass, and Dave Pennefather. Brady can be seen in the documentary filmCharlie Is My Darlingwaiting outside Dublin'sAdelphi Theatreforthe Rolling Stones' concert of 3 September 1965. He next joined Rootzgroup (late 1965–May 1966) and Rockhouse (about May–December 1966).

Musical career

1960s and 1970s

During his time at college inDublin,the country saw a huge rise in interest intraditional Irish music.Brady joined the popular Irish bandThe Johnstonswhen Michael Johnston left in May 1967.They moved to London, England, in 1969 and subsequently to New York City in 1972 to expand their audience. Despite some success, Brady returned to Ireland in 1974 to join the Irish groupPlanxty,the band that would subsequently launch the solo careers ofAndy Irvine,Liam O'Flynn,Dónal Lunny,andChristy Moore.

WhenPlanxtydisbanded in late 1975, Brady formed a duo with Irvine from 1976 to 1978, a partnership that produced the successful album,Andy Irvine/Paul Brady.The next few years saw him establish his popularity and reputation as one of Ireland's best interpreters of traditional songs.His versions of ballads like "Arthur McBride"and"The Lakes of Pontchartrain"were considered definitive and are still popular at concerts today. In 1975 in New York he recorded two albums forShanachie Recordsas guitar accompanist to resident Irish fiddlers Andy McGann and Paddy Reynolds. He also recorded a 1976 album,The High Part of the Road,for the same label with Irish fiddlerTommy Peoples.And a 1977 Shanachie album with another Irish fiddler named John Vesey.

Solo career

In 1978, Brady released his first solo album,Welcome Here Kind Stranger,which won him critical acclaim and was awarded the Melody Maker Folk Album of the Year. However, it would prove to be Brady's last album covering traditional material. He decided to delve into pop and rock music, and released his first album of this genre in 1981,Hard Station.

Brady released a number of successful solo albums throughout the 1980s:True for You(1983),Back to the Centre(1985), andPrimitive Dance(1987). By the end of the decade, Brady was recognised and accepted as a respected performer and songwriter.His songs were being covered by a number of other artists, includingSantanaandDave Edmunds.

WhenTina Turnerheard a demo of his song "Paradise Is Here",she recorded it for herBreak Every Rulealbum of 1986.By now, he was a favourite songwriter among such artists asBob DylanandBonnie Raitt,who would do a duet with Brady on his 1991 album,Trick or Treat.A couple of Brady songs soon appeared on Raitt's albumLuck of the Draw,including the title track.

Dylan was sufficiently impressed by Brady's work to name-check him in the booklet of his 1985 box set,Biograph.The actual quote was "(...) people get too famous too fast these days and it destroys them. Some guys got it down-Leonard Cohen, Paul Brady, Lou Reed, secret heroes, John Prine, David Allen Coe, Tom Waits. I listen more to that kind of stuff than whatever is popular at the moment. They're not just witchdoctoring up the planet, they don't set up barriers (...)".

In 1991, Brady reached number 5 in theIrish Singles ChartwithNobody Knows.

Since hisHard Stationalbum (1981), Brady was on various major labels until he created his own label, PeeBee Music, in the late 1990s. He released three albums in the 1990s:Trick or Treat,Songs & Crazy Dreams(a remixed compilation of earlier songs) andSpirits Colliding,which were met with critical acclaim.Trick or Treatwas onFontana/Mercury Recordsand received a lot of promotion. As a result, some critics considered it his debut album and noted that the record benefited from the expertise of experienced studio musicians, as well as producerGary Katz,who worked with the rock groupSteely Dan.Rolling Stone,after praising Brady's earlier but less-known solo records, calledTrick or TreatBrady's "most compelling collection."

Brady performing in 2006

Brady went on to record several other albums (15 in total since he went solo in 1978) and collaborated with a number of other established musicians includingBonnie RaittandRichard Thompson.In 2006, he collaborated withCara Dillonon the track "The Streets of Derry" from her albumAfter the Morning.He has also worked withFiachra Trench.

He performedIrish languagesongs as a character in the 2002Matthew BarneyfilmCremaster 3.He also played tin whistle on the single "One" by Greg Pearle in 2008, from the albumBeautiful You,a collaboration between Greg Pearle andJohn Illsley;this song featured in the 2008 filmAnton,directed by Graham Cantwell.

Brady's fifteenth studio album,Hooba Dooba,was released in March 2010.

As of 2017, a friendship was struck withTheo Katzman(vulfpeck) and Brady toured Ireland in 2019 as half of this duo with Joe Dart, also of vulfpeck,Louis Catoand Lee Pardini.

Brady had continued to tour, record and collaborate with other artists.In 2019, Jimmy Buffett began performing a cover of Brady's hit, "The World is What you Make It". In September 2019, Brady joined Jimmy Buffett on his tour stops in both Dublin and London.

He released the album "Unfinished Business" on his own label PeeBee Music, licensed to Proper Music UK, in 2017.

While Brady and Andy Irvine's planned tour of their 1976 albumAndy Irvine, Paul Bradywas impacted by the Covid pandemic, they finished the tour in 2022.Musicians to join them on the tour included fiddle playerKevin Burkeand multi-instrumentalistDónal Lunny,both of whom had played on the original album.

Awards

In 2009, Brady received an honorary degree ofDoctor of Lettersfrom theUniversity of Ulster,in recognition of his services to traditional Irish music and songwriting.

Discography

Solo studio albums

• Welcome Here Kind Stranger(1978)
• Hard Station(1981)
• True for You(1983)
• Back to the Centre(1985)
• Primitive Dance(1987)
• Trick or Treat(1991)
• Spirits Colliding(1995)
• Oh What a World(2000)
• Say What You Feel(2005)
• Hooba Dooba(2010)
• Unfinished Business(2017)
• Maybe So(2022)

Solo live albums

• Full Moon(1984)
• The Paul Brady Songbook(album and DVD) Live recordings for RTÉ TV series (2002)
• The Missing Liberty Tapes(2002) - Recorded Live at Liberty Hall, Dublin, 21 July 1978

Solo compilation albums

• Songs & Crazy Dreams(1992)
• Nobody Knows: The Best of Paul Brady(1999)
• Dancer in the Fire: A Paul Brady Anthology(2012)

With Andy Irvine

• Andy Irvine/Paul Brady(1976)
• Andy Irvine/70th Birthday Concert at Vicar St 2012(2014)

With Tommy Peoples

• The High Part of the Road(1975)

With Matt Molloy and Tommy Peoples

• Molloy, Brady, Peoples(1977)

With Andy McGann and Paddy Reynolds

• Fiddle Duet(1976)

With Andy McGann

• It's a Hard Road to Travel(1977)

With John Vesey

• The First Month of Spring(1977)

With John Kavanagh and Sean O'Casey

• The Green Crow Caws(1980)

With various artists

• The Gathering(1981) Paul Brady, Peter Browne,Andy Irvine,Dónal Lunny,Matt Molloy,Tommy Potts,Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill(Brady plays on three tracks)
• Feed The Folk(1985), Temple Records FTP01, ( "The Green Fields Of Canada" )
• The Rough Guide to Irish Music(1996)

DVDs

• TheTransatlantic SessionsSeries 3(2007) (various artists)
• The Paul Brady Songbook(2002)
• Paul Brady Live at Rockpalast 1983(Repertoire Records 2016)

External links

• Paul Brady homepage
• Paul Brady & Andy Irvine – Paddy's Green Shamrock ShoreonYouTube
• Paul Brady & Andy Irvine – The Lakes of PonchartrainonYouTube
• Immortal Jukebox article on Paul Brady