The Kelly Family

The Kelly Family
Left to right: Jimmy, Patricia, Paddy, Kathy and John in 1989
Background information
Also known as	The Kellys
Origin	United States
Genres	Pop, pop rock, folklore
Years active	1970s – 2008
Labels	Kel-Life, EMI, BMG, Ariola, Polydor, Universal
Website	KellyFamily.nl
Past members
Dan Kelly Barbara-Ann Kelly Caroline Kelly Paul Kelly Kathy Kelly John Kelly Patricia Kelly Jimmy Kelly Joey Kelly Barby Kelly Paddy Kelly Maite Kelly Angelo Kelly

The Kelly Family is an Irish-American-European music group consisting of a multi-generational family, who play a repertoire of rock, pop and folk music. They have had chart and concert success in Europe and other parts of the world, especially in Germany, the Benelux countries, Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, Spain and Portugal. They have sold over 20 million albums since the early 1980s.

For many years, the group presented a gypsy image and a vagabonding lifestyle, travelling around Europe in a double-decker bus and houseboat. Their image was enhanced by their eclectic and often homemade clothing, and the very long hair worn by both male and female members of the band. In recent years, they have presented a more mainstream look.

Background

The group had its origins in May 1965, when Daniel Kelly Sr. and his first wife, Joanne, left their native United States, with their children Daniel Jr., Caroline, Catherine and Paul, and settled in Spain, where Daniel opened an antiques shop.^[1] Kelly and Joanne separated, and Joanne returned to the US with Daniel Jr., who suffered from a disability.^[1] In 1970, Kelly married Barbara Ann Suokko. Daniel Kelly and Barbara had eight children, with the eldest, John, born in 1967, and the youngest, Angelo, in 1981. The children were home-schooled and given lessons in music and dance.

In 1974, the older children, Caroline, Kathy and Paul, formed a band, The Kelly Kids, at first busking, then performing at parties and local events. They became well-known enough that they appeared on Spanish television in 1975.^[2] The band was joined by the younger members of the family as they matured and learned to play musical instruments. The band's popularity increased in Spain, with several performances on television and in circuses. In 1976, they went on tour as The Kelly Family, in Italy, Germany and Holland, followed by Ireland in 1977. Then, in 1978, they toured again, in their hallmark double-decker bus.^[1] Daniel Kelly and Barbara joined the children for performances, Barbara often performing with a baby in her arms.

In 1977, they landed a record contract in Germany. Their first major chart hit came in 1980, with the song "Who'll Come With Me (David's Song)", with John Kelly, aged 12, as the solo performer. The song, with a Gaelic melody by Vladimir Cosma, was the theme to a German television production, "The Adventures of David Balfour", based on Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson, and hit number 1 in the Netherlands and Belgium, and the top 20 in Germany.

Barbara Kelly died of breast cancer in 1982, shortly after the birth of the youngest child, Angelo. Her last words to her family were "Keep on singing!"^[1] The band continued to record, Daniel Kelly having formed his own recording company in 1980. As the older members of the family reached adulthood, Caroline and Paul left the band, Caroline to study nursing and Paul to become a chef. In 1990, Daniel Kelly suffered a stroke, but he remained a leading figure in the group until his death in 2002.

The Kelly Family continued recording and performing, covering famous songs such as We are the World and The Rose, but writing most of their own music based on family and personal experience, their Catholic faith and their world view. Songs include Santa Maria; Why, Why, Why; Sometime I Wish I was an Angel, the video of which popularised a younger family member, Paddy; the haunting Mama, in which Barbara Kelly is mourned by her children; and The Pee Pee Song, in which the common childhood problem of bedwetting is hilariously celebrated by the raucous, flaxen haired baby-of-the-family, Angelo.

In the 1990s, the group enjoyed their biggest success. Their 1994 album Over the Hump sold more than 2.25 million copies in Germany alone, and 4.5 million copies throughout Europe. In 1995, to promote the album, they played a concert to a Vienna audience of 250,000. In the same year they filled the Westfalenhalle, Dortmund, nine times in a row, a feat no other musician has since accomplished. In 1996 they headlined their first Stadium Tour, filling some of Europe's largest venues. They also got a rare chance to play in Beijing, China, in front of 20,000 people. In 1998 they bought a castle, Schloss Gymnich, on the Rhine near Cologne, Germany. And About the same time, Adam Kelly, son of Papa Kelly’s younger brother Henry, started performing with his cousins in The Kelly Family.^[1] Success continued until they started to disagree on a professional basis at the beginning of the year 2000. In 2002 the Family lost their father Papa Kelly (Dan), from yet another stroke. That same year the family was in the German euro song competition with the song "I wanna be loved" and came fourth.

In 2002, Barby's ongoing illness forced her retirement from the band and, to the intense disappointment of his fans, Paddy cut off his long hair and joined a religious order in France. Members of the family continue to perform as soloists or together, or in combination with their partners, as both Jimmy and John married singers. Fan interest prompted a comeback with gigs in Germany in 2007.

Members

Name	Birth	Birthplaces	Notes
Daniel Jerome ("Dan")	11 October 1930	Erie, Pennsylvania, USA	Father and leader of the Kelly Family. Died, 5 August 2002, Cologne, Germany[3]
Barbara Ann	2 June 1946		"Mama" of the Kelly Family. Died, 10 November 1982, Belascoain, Spain[3]
Daniel ("Danny")	1961	USA	Performed with the Kelly Kids; lives in the USA, no children
Caroline	1962	USA	Performed with the Kelly Kids; works as a nurse in the USA, is married, no children
Kathleen Ann ("Kathy")	6 March 1963	Leominster, Massachusetts, USA	Tours with Kelly Family, gives solo concerts. Divorced with one son, Sean
Paul	16 March 1964	Leominster, Massachusetts, USA	One of Kelly Kids, rejoined Kelly Family. Married, six sons and a daughter
John Michael ("Johnny")	8 March 1967	Talavera de la Reina, Spain	Married to Maite (née Itoiz, b. 27 January 1975), no children
Maria Patricia ("Patricia")	25 November 1969	Gamonal, Spain	Married to Denis Sawinkin (b. 19 February 1973), two sons Alexander Joseph and Ignatius Aaron Maria
James Victor ("Jimmy")	18 February 1971	Gamonal, Spain	Married to Maike (née Höchst, b. 3 November 1980), two daughters Aimee Benedicta Maria and Máire Therese Seraphine
Joseph Maria ("Joey")	20 December 1972	Toledo, Spain	Married to Tanja (née Niethen, b. 25 January 1973), has two sons and a daughter; Luke Christopher, Leon Daniel and Lilian Ann
Barbara Ann ("Barby")	28 April 1975	Belascoain, Spain	Left the band in 2002, due to illness
Michael Patrick ("Paddy")	5 December 1977	Dublin, Ireland	Left band in early 2004,[4] to study theology. He joined the Saint-John community where he was a monk, and had taken the name John Paul Mary. He recently quit the monastery and announced that he will be back into making music in 2011
Maite Star	4 December 1979	West-Berlin, Federal Republic of Germany	Married to Florent Raimond (b. 5 January 1975), has two daughters Agnes Therese Barbara and Josephine Katherine Francoise
Angelo Gabriele	23 December 1981	Pamplona, Spain	Married to Kira (née Harms, b. 7 October 1979), has two sons and two daughters: Gabriel Jerome, Helen Josephine and Emma Maria and Joseph Ewan Gregory Walter[5]

Discography

Main article: The Kelly Family discography

For the solo recordings of the individual members please see Solo Recordings.

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e} Kelly Family Biography, last.fm
2. ^ [1]^{[dead link]}
3. ^ ^{a b} Neue Seite 1. Kellyfamilysite.de. Retrieved on 2010-10-23.
4. ^ http://web.archive.org/web/20091027140526/http://www.geocities.com/shamrockno/fammembers_childrenofdanbarbara.html
5. ^ News from Angelo. | angelokelly.com. Angelokelly.de (2010-09-22). Retrieved on 2010-10-23.

Notes

• Peter Wendling, Die Kelly Family, die Geschichte einer Supergruppe, Goldmann 1995 (German Book)
• Lisa Reinhard, Die Kelly Family und ihre Erfolge, Heyne 1995 (German Book)

External links

• Official web site of Angelo Kelly
• Official web site of Maite Kelly
• Official web site of Paddy Kelly
• Official web site of Joey Kelly
• Official web site of Jimmy Kelly
• Official web site of Kathy Kelly
• German Fan page of the Kelly Family
• Detailed Kelly Family Tree