Paul Kelly is an Australian rock/folk musician, singer-songwriter who started his professional career in 1974 and released his first recording in 1979. Kelly, in various guises, has released eighteen studio albums, Talk (1981), Manila (1982), Post (1985), Gossip (1986), Under The Sun (1987), So Much Water So Close To Home (1989), Comedy (1991), Hidden Things (1992), Wanted Man (1994), Deeper Water (1995), Words and Music (1998), Smoke (1999), Professor Ratbaggy (1999), Nothing But A Dream (2001), Ways & Means (2004), Foggy Highway (2005), Stardust Five (2006), and Stolen Apples (2007).

Kelly has won and been nominated for numerous music awards. They include nine Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Awards and three Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) Awards/Australian Guild of Screen Composers (AGSC) Awards. APRA also named "To Her Door", solely written by Kelly, and "Treaty", written by Kelly and members of Indigenous Australian band Yothu Yindi, in the Top 30 best Australian songs of all time in 2001. Kelly was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 1997 alongside the Bee Gees and Graeme Bell. This induction recognised his achievement of a "significant body of recorded work" and that he "has had a cultural impact within Australia". Kelly has also won awards in the country music field with six from the Country Music Association of Australia (CMAA) and three more from the Victorian Country Music Awards. As a live performer, Kelly won four Australian entertainment industry awards or Mo Awards.

In 2019, at the Screen Music Awards, Paul Kelly won Best Original Song Composed for the Screen for "Every Day My Mother's Voice" with Dan Sultan.

History

Paul Kelly has performed in many guises including: as a solo act; as the leader of various bands – the Paul Kelly Band, Paul Kelly and the Dots, Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls, Paul Kelly and the Messengers, Paul Kelly and the Boon Companions, and Paul Kelly and the Stormwater Boys; and as a member of the related projects Professor Ratbaggy and Stardust Five. He has also performed or composed award-winning or nominated songs with other artists including Christine Anu, Uncle Bill, Kev Carmody and Archie Roach. The category for which he has received most nominations is Best Male Artist, or its equivalent as Male Vocalist of the Year (Country Music) or Male Rock Performer, with a total of 14 nominations resulting in four wins.

Australian of the Year Awards

The Australian of the Year Awards were established in 1960, in celebration Australia Day (26 January), to give proper recognition to a leading citizen, whose contribution to the nation's culture, economy, sciences or arts was particularly outstanding. The recipient is determined by the National Australia Day Council from the State winners. Kelly was a Victorian State Finalist for the 2012 Australian of the Year Award.

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result
2012	Paul Kelly	Australian of the Year (Victorian winner)	State Finalist

Australian Record Industry Association (ARIA) Awards

These awards have been presented by the ARIA since 1987. Paul Kelly has won 17 ARIA Awards from at least 61 nominations, including his first win in 1988 for the 'Best Video' award for "To Her Door", which was written by Kelly and performed by Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls. His success has been across categories, being successful five times in 'Best Adult Contemporary Album', three times in the 'Best Male Artist' and three times in the 'Best Original Soundtrack' categories. Kelly has been nominated for 'Best Male Artist' eighteen times including a run of eight years in a row 1995 to 2002 winning in 1997, 1998 and 2017. Kelly was also inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 1997 alongside Bee Gees and Graeme Bell. In 2019 he became the first artist to be nominated in three genre categories for three different releases – he won two of those awards. Further genre-hopping occurred in 2020 with a win for Best Jazz Album.

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result
1987	Gossip	Best Male Artist	Nominated
		Album of the Year	Nominated
	"Before Too Long"	Single of the Year	Nominated
		Song of the Year	Nominated
	Gossip – Alan Thorne	Producer of the Year	Nominated
1988	"To Her Door"	Best Video	Won
1989	"Forty Miles to Saturday Night"	Best Male Artist	Nominated
1990	So Much Water So Close To Home	Album of the Year	Nominated
		Best Male Artist	Nominated
		Best Adult Contemporary Album	Nominated
	"Careless"	Song of the Year	Nominated
1993	"Paul Kelly Live"	Best Male Artist	Nominated
1994	"Last Train"	Best Video	Nominated
	"Last Train" – Angelique Cooper	Producer of the Year	Nominated
1995	Wanted Man	Best Male Artist	Nominated
1996	Deeper Water	Best Male Artist	Nominated
1997	How to Make Gravy	Best Male Artist	Won
	Songs from the South	Best Cover Art	Nominated
	"Tease Me – Tease Me"	Engineer of the Year	Nominated
	"How to Make Gravy"	Song of the Year	Nominated
	Paul Kelly	ARIA Hall of Fame	Inducted
1998	Words and Music	Best Male Artist	Won
1999	"I'll Be Your Lover"	Best Male Artist	Nominated
2000	Smoke	Best Male Artist	Nominated
2001	Roll on Summer	Best Male Artist	Nominated
2002	Nothing but a Dream	Best Male Artist	Nominated
	Lantana	Best Original Soundtrack Album	Won
	Sensual Being	Producer of the Year	Nominated
	Nothing but a Dream	Best Adult Contemporary Album	Won
2004	Ways & Means	Best Adult Contemporary Album	Won
2005	Foggy Highway	Best Male Artist	Nominated
		Best Country Album	Nominated
2006	Jindabyne	Best Original Soundtrack / Cast / Show Album	Won
2007	Stolen Apples	Best Male Artist	Nominated
		Best Adult Contemporary Album	Nominated
2008	"To Her Door (Live)"	Best Male Artist	Nominated
	Live Apples	Best Music DVD	Nominated
2013	Spring and Fall	Best Male Artist	Nominated
	Conversations with Ghosts	Best Original Soundtrack / Cast / Show Album	Won
	Paul Kelly and Neil Finn – Australian Tour: February – March 2013	Best Australian Live Act	Nominated
2014	Paul Kelly and Neil Finn – Goin' Your Way	Best Adult Contemporary Album	Won
2015	The Merri Soul Sessions	Best Independent Release	Nominated
		Best Adult Contemporary Album	Nominated
	The Merri Soul Sessions Tour	Best Australian Live Act	Nominated
2016	Seven Sonnets & a Song	Best Adult Contemporary Album	Nominated
2017	Life Is Fine	Album of the Year	Nominated
		Best Male Artist	Won
		Best Adult Contemporary Album	Won
	Death's Dateless Night – Paul Kelly and Charlie Owen	Best Blues & Roots Album	Nominated
	Life Is Fine – Steven Schram & Paul Kelly	Producer of the Year	Nominated
	Life Is Fine – Steven Schram	Engineer of the Year	Won
	Life Is Fine – Peter Salmon-Lomas	Best Cover Art	Won
2018	Life Is Fine Tour 2017	Best Australian Live Act	Nominated
2019	Thirteen Ways to Look at Birds – Paul Kelly and James Ledger	Best Classical Album	Won
	Nature – Paul Kelly and Steven Schram	Producer of the Year	Nominated
	Nature – Lucy Dyson	Best Cover Art	Nominated
	Nature	Best Male Artist	Nominated
		Best Adult Contemporary Album	Won
	Live at Sydney Opera House	Best Blues & Roots Album	Nominated
2020	Please Leave Your Light On – Paul Kelly and Paul Grabowsky	Best Jazz Album	Won
	Paul Kelly – Making Gravy 2019	Best Australian Live Act	Nominated

Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) Awards

These awards were established by APRA in 1982 to honour the achievements of songwriters and music composers, and to recognise their songwriting skills, sales and airplay performance, by its members annually. Paul Kelly has won two APRA Awards out of four nominations. The songs "To Her Door" and "Treaty", written or co-written by Kelly, were also voted in the Top 30 Best Australian songs of all time in 2001 by a panel of 100 music industry personalities.

At the 2011 APRA Music Awards Kelly was honoured with the Ted Albert Award for Outstanding Services to Australian Music.

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result
1991	"Treaty"	Song of the Year	Won
1998	"How to Make Gravy"	Song of the Year	Nominated
1999	Paul Kelly	Songwriter of the Year	Won
2001	"To Her Door"	Best Australian songs	Top 30
	"Treaty"	Best Australian songs	Top 30
2004	"I Wish I was a Train"	Most Performed Country Work	Nominated
2011	Paul Kelly	Ted Albert Award for Outstanding Services to Australian Music	awarded
2013	Conversations with Ghosts	Work of the Year – Vocal or Choral	Nominated
2016	"Freedom Ride" (with Troy Cassar Daley)	Song of the Year	Shortlisted
2018	"Firewood and Candles"	Song of the Year	Won
2019	"With the One I Love"	Song of the Year	Nominated
	"Every Day My Mother's Voice" for The Final Quarter	Best Original Song Composed for the Screen	Won
2020	"Every Day My Mother's Voice" (with Dan Sultan)	Song of the Year	Shortlisted
2021	"When We're Both Old and Mad" (Paul Kelly & Kasey Chambers)	Song of the Year	Shortlisted
2024	"If Not Now"	Song of the Year	Nominated

APRA-AGSC Screen Music Awards

These awards are presented annually by APRA in conjunction with Australian Guild of Screen Composers (AGSC) for television and films scores and soundtracks. Paul Kelly has won one award from four nominations.

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result
2002	Lantana	Best Feature Film Score	Nominated
		Best Soundtrack Album	Nominated
	One Night the Moon	Best Soundtrack Album	Won
2007	Jindabyne	Best Soundtrack Album	Nominated

Countdown Australian Music Awards

Countdown was an Australian pop music TV series on national broadcaster ABC-TV from 1974 to 1987, it presented music awards from 1979 to 1987, initially in conjunction with magazine TV Week. The TV Week / Countdown Awards were a combination of popular-voted and peer-voted awards.

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result
1986	Gossip	Best Album	Nominated
	"Before Too Long"	Best Male Performance in a Video	Nominated
		Best Single	Nominated
	himself	Best Songwriter	Nominated

Country Music Association of Australia (CMAA) Awards

These annual awards have been presented by CMAA since 1973, to "encourage, promote and recognise excellence in Australian country music recording." Paul Kelly has won six Country Music Awards from twelve nominations.

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result
1994	"From Little Things Big Things Grow"	Heritage Award	Won
1999	"Until Death Do Them Part"	Song of the Year	Nominated
2003	"Wish I Was a Train"	Vocal Collaboration of the Year	Won
2006	"You're Learning"	Vocal Collaboration of the Year	Nominated
	"Lonesome but Free"	APRA Song of the Year	Won
	"Song of the Old Rake"	APRA Song of the Year	Nominated
		Male Vocalist of the Year	Nominated
		Video Clip of the Year	Won
	Foggy Highway	Album of the Year	Nominated
		Top Selling Album of the Year	Nominated
	"Rally Around the Drum"	Heritage Song of the Year	Won
2009	"Still Here"	Vocal Collaboration of the Year	Won
2018	"Hey" (with Kasey Chambers)	Vocal Collaboration of the Year	Nominated

Environmental Music Prize

The Environmental Music Prize is a quest to find a theme song to inspire action on climate and conservation. It commenced in 2022.

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result	Ref.
2022	"Sleep Australia Sleep"	Environmental Music Prize	Nominated

Australian Entertainment Awards (Mo Awards)

The Mo Awards are the annual Australian entertainment industry awards, and recognise achievements by performers in live entertainment in Australia since 1975. The award categories are reviewed and in 2008 were: Musical Theatre, Opera, Classical, Comedy, Country and Variety. In 1989 and 1990, they included a Rock category, Paul Kelly won four Mo Awards, twice as Male Rock Performer and twice as leader of Paul Kelly and the Messengers to win the Rock Group award.

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result
1989	Paul Kelly	Male Rock Performer	Won
	Paul Kelly and the Messengers	Rock Group	Won
1990	Paul Kelly	Male Rock Performer	Won
	Paul Kelly and the Messengers	Rock Group	Won

Helpmann Awards

The Helpmann Awards recognise achievements in live performance in Australia. In 2015, Kelly received the JC Williamson Award, the LPA's highest honour, for their life's work in live performance

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result
2009	More Songs from the South	Best Australian Contemporary Concert	Nominated
2013	Neil Finn & Paul Kelly	Best Australian Contemporary Concert	Won
2015	Himself	JC Williamson Award	awarded
2017	Ancient Rain (with Camille O'Sullivan and Feargal Murray)	Best Original Score	Nominated
2019	Making Gravy 2018	Best Australian Contemporary Concert	Nominated

J Awards

The J Awards are an annual series of Australian music awards that were established by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's youth-focused radio station Triple J. They commenced in 2005.

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result	Ref.
2021	"Little Things" (with Ziggy Ramo) (directed by Ziggy Ramo)	Australian Video of the Year	Nominated

Music Victoria Awards

The Music Victoria Awards, are an annual awards night celebrating Victorian music. The commenced in 2005. (awards 2005-2012 are unknown).

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result
2010	himself	Hall of Fame	inductee
2013	Spring and Fall	Best Album	Won
	himself	Best Male Act	Won
2015	The Merri Soul Sessions	Best Soul, Funk, R'n'B and Gospel Album	Nominated
2017	himself	Best Male Act	Won
2019	himself	Best Male Musician	Won

Order of Australia

The Order of Australia was established on 14 February 1975 to honour Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or meritorious service.

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result
2017	Paul Maurice Kelly	Officer of the Order of Australia	Honoured

South Australian Music Awards

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result
2023	Paul Kelly	Hall of Fame	inducted

Victorian Country Music Awards

These annual awards are presented by the Victorian Country Music Association. Paul Kelly won three awards for the 2000 album Smoke or one of its tracks "Until Death Do Them Part", all recorded by Paul Kelly with Uncle Bill.

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result
2000	"Until Death Do Them Part"	Victorian Group	Won
		Open Group	Won
	Smoke	Victorian Album of the Year	Won

Other recognition

In August 2022, the City of Adelaide renamed a laneway in the city centre off Flinders Street Paul Kelly Lane. Previously named Pilgrim Lane after the adjacent Pilgrim Uniting Church, the lane is now called Paul Kelly Lane. It is the fourth such renaming after musicians associated with the city, the others being Sia Furler, No Fixed Address, and Cold Chisel.

See also

• Paul Kelly discography – includes sales certifications