The Life In Brian

Brian Kennedy by Colin Davidson

e’s one tough cookie, that Brian Kennedy, having survived cancer, Covid and cardiac arrest in recent years.

Then again, the man is from the Falls Road.

And he did work with Van Morrison too. Who some wags in the music industry call The Really Big C.

So, clearly, young Kennedy’s a born survivor, and now, with a new album, Folkie, just out, Brian is finally back on the road again, refreshed-verging-on-reborn after his recent life and death experiences.

“Serious illness really does expand your empathy,” he said recently. “It’s fun too. If someone offers me another margarita, I’ll go, f**k it, why not? No one knows how long we have got.”

Having made his singing debut in 1988 as one of Van The Man’s backing singers, Kennedy broke through internationally with his second solo album, A Better Man, in 1996, later scoring a Top 5 in the UK and Ireland with 2005’s You Raise Me Up. The following year, Kennedy was representing Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest, his self-composed Every Song Is A Cry For Love, hitting no.4 in the Irish charts, despite only securing 10th place. More recently, the lad has been part of the judging panel of The Voice Of Ireland, and started his own weekly radio show on Tipp FM.

And now, Kennedy is bringing happy-to-be-alive tour to Druids Glen Hotel & Resort on Saturday, November 22nd. You can grab your tickets here.

In the meantime, we caught up with the man himself to discover the tracks of his years, and to find out just how he got lost in music…

I shouldn’t have become a singer at all really. I never chose it, I think it chose me.

I grew up in West Belfast in the late ’60s, right the way through the ’70s and the even more dangerous hunger strike ’80s. My childhood soundtrack was one of war. I am a child of war, as my song says.

I would harmonise with ambulance sirens and negotiate life-threatening routes to school every single day but somehow music began to speak to me in a language that nothing else did. I missed punk by a narrow margin because I was just too young but the Sex pistols certainly got my attention. I remember hearing Kate Bush sing The Man With The Child In His Eyes, and I was hooked by the spookiness of it all. It was as if she was singing directly to me only. Just how a good song should feel.

Then came Culture Club and Boy George and those fantastic songs. I’m sure some people really did want to hurt him but I just wanted to hug him. Little did I know we would record duets together over three decades later. My namesake uncle Brian had the most bespoke vinyl collection and that was where I first heard of this fella called Van Morrison – and it was a while later that I discovered he was also from Belfast. Again, I couldn’t have imagined that I would sing with him in New York’s Madison Square Garden and feature on five of his albums. It was like the future was waving at me.

Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell were on the same bill and I would say Joni remains my biggest influence though. I tune my guitar the way I do because of her, and my approach to songwriting too. I even made two whole albums of her songs called A Love Letter To Joni Vol 1 and Vol 2.

It’s hard to imagine that I’ve just released my 18th album, but here I am. And these are the Tracks Of My Years…

Kate Bush The Man With The Child In His Eyes
They say Kate wrote this song when she was only 16. The minute I hear those 4 piano notes of the intro, my world stands still. I never tire of this classic song.

Culture Club Do You Really Want To Hurt Me?
This really transports me back to the ’80s and my childhood living room, everyone trying to work out if the boy was a girl. Except me. I knew he was just a star and I adore this song to this day.

ABBA Dancing Queen
This was the first single I ever bought in Woolworths. Oh, the harmonies, the melodies and the lyrics. I was addicted and wore it out on my wee record player.

Michael Jackson Ben
A song about a rat, no less, but such an incredibly moving vocal. Once a song gets under your skin it’s impossible to shift it. I love it to this day.

Stevie Wonder Lately
I once sang with Stevie in Ronnie Scott’s, but that’s a story for another day. I adore so many of his songs but this one can make my eyes leak if I’m not careful.

Joni Mitchell A Case Of You
She’s the complete artist for me, and her album Blue was my introduction to her. This song is one of the greatest testaments to love I’ve ever heard.

Van Morrison Days Like This
One of the highlights of my time with Van was to sing on this. It has featured in quite a few movies, most recently Belfast, and there’s no greater thrill than going to the cinema and hearing your own voice float from the screen. Little did my childhood self ever imagine it. Especially in a movie about a place that shaped me so deeply. He’s a true original and I admire him even more as the years go by.

Tom Waits I Hope That I Don’t Fall In Love With You
This incredible little short story of a song reminds me of unrequited love in a squat in London when I was only in my early 20s. I ache when I hear it.

Massive Attack featuring Liz Fraser Teardrop
This song is pure magic and Liz’s voice remains one of my favourites. This song manages to cast some kind of spell on me any time I hear it – and rumour has it the words are about Jeff Buckley, once Liz’s boyfriend…

Clannad featuring Bono In A Lifetime
Moya was the first person I ever heard sing in Irish when I was at school – and I think this might be Bono’s finest vocal moment. It’s such an incredible song and I got to sing the Bono part with Clannad many times live and on their Live in Christchurch Cathedral album.

You can grab your ticket for Brian Kennedy’s Whale show on Saturday, November 22nd here, and find out more about the man himself over here. This interview was updated from October 2022.