I was immediately enamored with the energy, charisma and great music from these videos. This singing family is a modern day von trapp family and watching these videos reminded me of the end of the Sound of Music, even down to the traditional garb they are wearing.
I know we have many European members and I am curious if any of you can provide me with the story behind what happened to this group since this concert, sometime around 1997.
The best I can figure out is that Paddy was somehow exiled from the group and even the country and to this day is living apart from the family.
I would also be interested in how the family, which started in America, ended up in Europe, what motivated them and how they grew to the sensation they eventually became.
"These things which man purports to admire-the noble, the brilliant, the splendid-these are the very things he cannot tolerate when he finds them."-----Mark Clifton
Posts: 5565 | Location: hoffman estates il | Registered: 01 April 2003
The entry told very little but the links at the bottom had as much info as one can find on the net, if you follow them all to the end. The story is absolutely amazing. For years the family lived like gypsies out of a bus touring Europe, then lost everything when the bus was broken into, but then played in the streets for money. the eventually became so famous that anywhere they played drew the greatest crowds in Eurpoe. Now they own 2 castles, one in Ireland and one in Germany, but none of them live in them anymore and all have their own homes and respective private lives.
I still didn't get the story behind Paddy's exile, but most recently he has, apparently, made the decision to become a monk, much to the consternation of of millions of women!
"These things which man purports to admire-the noble, the brilliant, the splendid-these are the very things he cannot tolerate when he finds them."-----Mark Clifton
Posts: 5565 | Location: hoffman estates il | Registered: 01 April 2003
A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship.
Posts: 8264 | Location: Fl | Registered: 05 July 2001
I can see why. I agree they are hot, but I prefer the Kelly Family, because they are self made from extreme humble beginnings, far more talented and the music has a happy energy you don't find anymore in the US.
"These things which man purports to admire-the noble, the brilliant, the splendid-these are the very things he cannot tolerate when he finds them."-----Mark Clifton
Posts: 5565 | Location: hoffman estates il | Registered: 01 April 2003
I listen to all kinds of music. I even have an old Ravi Shankar album laying around here somewhere. Over the past few years I've developed a taste for college accapella music. I looked for a link to the University Of Virginia's Acsdemical Village People doing a cover of The Reason, by Hoobastank but couldn't find it. Here's their Myspace page. It has a good cover of Chasing Cars.
A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship.
Posts: 8264 | Location: Fl | Registered: 05 July 2001
Bill, I listened to the clip of the Kelly family, and I had some ideas about it that might interest you, might even offend you. I've spent a major part of my life thinking about music, and, after all, this is an opinion forum.
I,too, enjoyed the tune. I would suggest that what you are reacting to (me too) is a very excellant performance by a very excellant lead singer (reminded me of Paul what's-his-name; lead singer with Jefferson Airplane). As for the tune, it's a very ordinary repetitive 1-7-4 chord progression with a standard rock-and-roll beat, a decent but not outstanding "hook" and a lot of R&B noodling in lieu of any substantive melody line. I can't speak to the lyrics because I rarely pay much attention to lyrics. Usually, they're unintelligible to me.
It's not my intention to denigrate your enthusiam for this group, but rather to invite the input of others who "think" about music and its structure and what it imparts. I believe it was Aaron Copeland who said that the highest form of music appreciation comes from the purely visceral reaction to it without cerebral analysis. He was correct, but unfortunately, I am cursed with a desire for understanding the elements of the phenomenon.
Posts: 946 | Location: Newberg | Registered: 15 March 2006
Thanks for the thoughts Art. I agree Paddy steals the show on the first clip, but I think what really got me was the way the crowd interacted. As I mentioned before, it reminded me of the Von Trapp family singers in the scene where they sang at the festival in The Sound of Music and the audience joined in. I was intrigued also by the fact that so much english was spoken by the group, yet you can't find their records here, even on the online music stores. Their story, which is downright fascinating, is like the Sound of Music in reverse. The Von Trapp's went from riches to rags, yet the Kellys went from rags to riches. Also, the way they became famous is amazing, if not not a little crazy. Imagine a Mother and father with 12 kids traveling around Europe in bus...
singing their way from town to town, relying on the father's academic background to teach the kids via homeschooling and also teaching them to sing and play several instruments each, not to mention that they all learned to speak a minimum of 4 languages apiece.
When I saw this group perform before 250,000 spellbound fans, I wondered why the heck I never heard of them before.
"These things which man purports to admire-the noble, the brilliant, the splendid-these are the very things he cannot tolerate when he finds them."-----Mark Clifton
Posts: 5565 | Location: hoffman estates il | Registered: 01 April 2003
I know we have many European members and I am curious if any of you can provide me with the story behind what happened to this group since this concert, sometime around 1997.
The best I can figure out is that Paddy was somehow exiled from the group and even the country and to this day is living apart from the family.
the story goes, as best I can piece together, like this...
As you can see from the concert clips, Paddy was at the top of his game there, but for some reason shortly there-after he left the band.
Why he left is the mystery.
Was it drugs? Was he gay and outed? Was he busted for being with an underaged girl? Did he and the other members have have a disagreement over his share of the money?
What prompted my investigation that lead to these questions was the following video...
which initially made me think he died. Near the end of the video you see him being lead away by police in handcuffs. I haven't been able to put together the time frame, but half the conjectures I stated above are based on him being in trouble with the law in some country.
Anyway, it seems Paddy left the band around 1997, until sometime in the 2000's. This first departure was considered an "exile"...
most recently, however, he left again in 2004 and joined a monastery...
So the Paddy saga has many unanswered questions, but in trying to finish this post I ran across this
site and have concluded Paddy has found his calling as a monk and is very happpy.
I suppose digging up the possible dirt from his past serves no purpose, other than to satisfy my curiosity, so at this point don't feel it's important to know.
"These things which man purports to admire-the noble, the brilliant, the splendid-these are the very things he cannot tolerate when he finds them."-----Mark Clifton
Posts: 5565 | Location: hoffman estates il | Registered: 01 April 2003
Just going through some old threads here. The Kelly Family never caught on in Britain, which is probably why they're relatively unknown in the U.S. I agree that they had a great live energy, and that Paddy Kelly is a very talented young man.
I don't think there was any scandal surrounding his departure to a monastery. His arrest was at an anti-war protest in the U.S. He's still in contact with his family. I think he just had some issues connected with leading the band at such a young age and being the focus of a lot of fans' attention. (He only left the band once, by the way, in 2004. He made the album a year previously but was still with the band.)
*heads to new board*
Posts: 2 | Location: Ireland | Registered: 26 January 2008
Originally posted by Glenda: Just going through some old threads here. The Kelly Family never caught on in Britain, which is probably why they're relatively unknown in the U.S. I agree that they had a great live energy, and that Paddy Kelly is a very talented young man.
I don't think there was any scandal surrounding his departure to a monastery. His arrest was at an anti-war protest in the U.S. He's still in contact with his family. I think he just had some issues connected with leading the band at such a young age and being the focus of a lot of fans' attention. (He only left the band once, by the way, in 2004. He made the album a year previously but was still with the band.)
*heads to new board*
Thanks for the insight Glenda. Your reasoning behind why the band isn't known here and why Paddy left the band, both make sense. It's a shame that they didn't extend their fame here. I enjoyed the u-tube performances, but those were 16 years old. Their time has come and gone. Turn the page.
"These things which man purports to admire-the noble, the brilliant, the splendid-these are the very things he cannot tolerate when he finds them."-----Mark Clifton
Posts: 5565 | Location: hoffman estates il | Registered: 01 April 2003
Individuals are legally responsible for their views. Messages or parts of messages may be quoted or read on the radio, or reprinted in Thom's books and other materials.
(He only left the band once, by the way, in 2004. He made the album a year previously but was still with the band.)
