Brian Kennedy (singer)
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Script error: No such module "Infobox".Template:Template otherTemplate:Main otherScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Template:Main other
Brian Edward Patrick Kennedy (born 12 October 1966[1]) is an Irish singer. He scored a number of hit singles and albums in the UK and Ireland during the 1990s and 2000s. He represented Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 and finished in 10th place. Brian is the younger brother of musician Bap Kennedy.
Career
Kennedy made his debut in 1988 as a chorus on the recordings of fellow Northern Ireland singer-songwriter Van Morrison. Kennedy came to prominence as one of Van Morrison's backing singers, appearing on a number of his albums, including A Night in San Francisco, Days Like This, The Healing Game and Back on Top and live in concert.[2]
Around this time, he also scored a minor UK hit album of his own with The Great War of Words (1990). This album featured the lead single "Captured" which was a minor hit in both the UK and Irish charts.[3][4]
In 1991, Kennedy was joined by Mark E. Nevin, formerly of Fairground Attraction, to form the duo Sweetmouth. Their album, Goodbye to Songtown, was released in August 1991 and featured the songs written by Nevin for a second Fairground Attraction album which was never realised.[5]
In the mid-1990s, pop manager Simon Fuller took on Kennedy, signing him to RCA Records for his second solo album which saw greater success. Released in 1996, the album, A Better Man, reached No.19 in the UK and spawned the hit singles "A Better Man" (No.28), "Life Love and Happiness" (No.27) and "Put the Message in a Box" (No.37), which also all became top 20 hits in Ireland.[6][3][4] This was followed in 1999 by the album Now That I Know What I Want, which met with less success.
In 2001, he released his fourth album Get on with Your Short Life, which rendered only a No.81 placing for its title track in the UK.[3] Later that year, he performed on the original Secret Garden version of the song "You Raise Me Up", which went on to be recorded by many other artists, such as Josh Groban and Westlife. This was the song he sang at the funeral of the footballer George Best in late 2005.[7] His version was released again in December 2005 and early the following year became his biggest hit, released as the EP "George Best – a Tribute" with Peter Corry. The single reached No.4 in the UK charts and No.3 in Ireland.[3][4]
Kennedy was chosen as the Irish competitor for the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest in Athens, where he sang the self-penned "Every Song is a Cry for Love". His performance in the contest's semi-finals marked the 1000th song[8] to feature in the history of the Eurovision competition. Following qualification, Kennedy finished tenth in the finals on 20 May, with 93 points.[9] The song also performed well in the Irish charts, becoming a No.4 hit.[4]
Kennedy performed at the opening of new studios for his local station Belfast CityBeat in 2006. In July 2008, he joined the judging panel of the Citybeat Young Star Search, Northern Ireland's biggest kids talent search.[10]
On 23 August 2010, Kennedy played a version of 'Christopher Street' on a small Balcony overlooking Dame Street, Dublin for the music viral show BalconyTV.[11]
Between 2011 and 2012, Kennedy was a coach on the first series of The Voice of Ireland.[12] The series screened on RTÉ during the early months of 2012 and Kennedy mentored the eventual runner-up in the final, Richie Hayes.
In October 2018, he started presenting a weekly programme on radio station Tipp FM.[13]
Personal life
Kennedy was born and grew up in Beechmount on the Falls Road in Belfast. As a child he suffered from Osgood–Schlatter disease in each leg.[14] He has described in public the violence of The Troubles, during his childhood and teen years,[15] including seeing a young man being chased and then shot dead by a soldier a few feet away from him. He also would harmonise with police, ambulance and fire engine sirens. Kennedy revealed in 2016 that he was battling rectal cancer.[2]
Kennedy came out as gay before 2009.[16][17]
Discography
- Albums
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| UK [18][19] | ||
| 1990 | The Great War of Words | 64 |
| 1996 | A Better Man
|
19 |
| 1999 | Now That I Know What I Want
|
— |
| 2001 | Get on With Your Short Life
|
— |
| 2003 | On Song
|
— |
| 2004 | Live in Belfast
|
— |
| 2005 | On Song 2 (Red Sails in the Sunset)
|
— |
| 2006 | Homebird
|
— |
| 2008 | Interpretations
|
— |
| 2010 | The Very Best of Brian Kennedy
|
— |
| 2012 | Voice
|
— |
| 2013 | A Love Letter to Joni
|
— |
| 2016 | Essential
|
— |
| 2017 | Live at Vicar Street
|
— |
| 2017 | Christmassy
|
— |
- Singles
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IRE [20] |
UK [19] | |||
| 1990 | "Captured" | 26 | 77 | The Great War of Words |
| "Hollow" | — | — | ||
| "Believe It" | — | — | ||
| 1991 | "Fear Is the Enemy of Love" (Sweetmouth with Brian Kennedy)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | — | — | Goodbye to Songtown |
| 1995 | "Intuition" | 16 | — | non-album single |
| 1996 | "A Better Man" | 6 | 28 | A Better Man |
| "Life Love and Happiness" | 16 | 27 | ||
| 1997 | "Put the Message in the Box" | 18 | 37 | |
| 1999 | "These Days" (with Ronan Keating)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | 4 | — | Now That I Know What I Want |
| "Playin' With My Heart" | — | — | ||
| 2000 | "Back in Your Arms" / "I Hope That I Don't Fall in Love With You" | — | — | |
| 2001 | "Get on With Your Short Life" | — | 81 | Get on With Your Short Life |
| "So What if It Rains" | — | — | ||
| 2002 | "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" | — | — | |
| 2003 | "You Raise Me Up" | — | 91 | On Song |
| 2005 | "The Island" (featuring Juliet Turner)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | — | — | non-album single |
| "George Best – A Tribute" (with Peter Corry)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | 3 | 4 | non-album single | |
| 2006 | "Every Song Is a Cry for Love" | 4 | — | Homebird |
| "If You Don't Believe in Me" | — | — | ||
| "Destination" | — | — | ||
| 2011 | "Ireland's Call" (with Paul Byrom)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | — | — | The Official Rugby World Cup 2011 |
| 2012 | "Best Days" | — | — | Voice |
| "Christmas Morning" | — | — | ||
| 2013 | "Try" | 15 | — | The Hit |
| "River" | — | — | ||
| "Life, Love & Happiness" (Stereolove with Brian Kennedy)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | — | — | non-album single | |
- Other Songs
- A cover of "Dry Your Eyes" by The Streets on Even Better than the Real Thing Vol. 2 (2004)
- A cover of "Angel (Floating Round this House)" by Kirsty MacColl on The Concert for Kirsty MacColl (2013)
Writing career
- The Arrival of Fergal Flynn (Hodder, 2004), a novel
- Roman Song (Hodder, 2005), a novel
References
External links
- The Brighter Life of Brian The Age
- Template:Twitter
- Brian Kennedy Youtube Channel
- Brian Kennedy on Itunes
- Brian Kennedy Live in the Ardhowen Theatre, Enniskillen.
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b Biography Template:Webarchive Brian Kennedy
- ↑ a b c d Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b c d Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ "Eurovision 2011: 18 bizarre facts about the contest" Template:Webarchive, The Telegraph, 13 May 2011.
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ RTE Radio Template:Webarchive On Playback, 19 April 2008.
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- Pages with script errors
- 1966 births
- 20th-century novelists from Northern Ireland
- 20th-century songwriters from Northern Ireland
- 21st-century novelists from Northern Ireland
- 21st-century songwriters from Northern Ireland
- Eurovision Song Contest entrants
- Gay musicians from Northern Ireland
- Gay novelists
- Gay singers
- Gay songwriters
- Gay writers from Northern Ireland
- LGBTQ novelists from Northern Ireland
- LGBTQ singers from Northern Ireland
- LGBTQ songwriters from Northern Ireland
- Living people
- Male novelists from Northern Ireland
- Musicians from Belfast
- Sony Music Publishing artists
- Tenors from Northern Ireland
- Van Morrison
- The Voice of Ireland
- 1980s in Irish music
- 1990s in Irish music
- 2000s in Irish music
- 2010s in Irish music
- 2020s in Irish music