The discography of Paul Kelly, an Australian rock artist, includes solo releases, those from various bands that Paul Kelly has led, and material from the related projects. Paul Kelly, under various guises, has released twenty-eight studio albums, sixty four singles, forty-two music videos, and contributed to ten film / television soundtracks and scores.
In August 1978, Paul Kelly and the Dots was formed from the remains of Melbourne band High Rise Bombers. In 1979, they released their debut single, "Recognition", on Mushroom Records and followed with other singles in 1980 including "Billy Baxter" in October, which peaked at No. 38 on the National singles charts. NOTE: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1970 until ARIA created their own charts in mid-1988. Their debut album Talk followed in March 1981, which peaked at No. 44 on the National albums charts. Their single "Alive and Well", from the second album, Manila, had a video clip directed by Jack Egan in July 1982. After the Dots folded in late 1982, Kelly was without a recording contract. The Paul Kelly Band was formed in 1983, however by late 1984, Kelly had disbanded this group. His next solo release was the single "From St Kilda to Kings Cross" in April 1985, with the associated album Post.
By mid-1985, Kelly had formed Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls and their first single was "Before Too Long" in June 1986, which peaked at No. 15 and was followed by a double LP Gossip in September, which peaked at No. 15. Gossip was trimmed back to a single LP for its 1987 international release on A&M Records under the name Paul Kelly and the Messengers. Australian releases still used Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls. "To Her Door" was released in September 1987 and peaked at No. 14 on the Australian singles charts. "Dumb Things", another single from the album Under the Sun, was released in 1988 in Australia, and the US. By 1989's So Much Water So Close to Home album the band were known as Paul Kelly and the Messengers in all markets, the album peaked at No. 10 with the next album Comedy from 1991 peaking at No. 12, but despite this success Paul Kelly and the Messengers disbanded in August 1991 with Hidden Things released in May 1992. Kelly was already touring as a solo artist and recorded Live, May 1992, he subsequently recorded further material under his own name, as the Paul Kelly Band, Paul Kelly and the Boon Companions, and Paul Kelly and the Stormwater Boys.
In 1999, Kelly left Mushroom Records and signed with EMI Music to release Smoke by Paul Kelly with Uncle Bill, which is a bluegrass band; released at the same time was Professor Ratbaggy by Professor Ratbaggy, a dub reggae group formed by Kelly with members of the Paul Kelly Band. Kelly toured with both Uncle Bill and Professor Ratbaggy. In a similar way Paul Kelly and the Boon Companions released Ways & Means in 2004 and became Stardust Five to release Stardust Five in 2006. In 2004, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation television series Fireflies featured a score by Kelly and Stephen Rae, the associated soundtrack CD Fireflies: Songs of Paul Kelly included tracks by Kelly, Paul Kelly and the Boon Companions, Professor Ratbaggy, Paul Kelly with Uncle Bill, and "Los Cucumbros" by the Boon Companions featuring Sian Prior, which was later a track on Stardust Five. Stolen Apples from 2007 was credited to Paul Kelly and followed by the live DVD Live Apples in April 2008 credited to Paul Kelly and the Boon Companions.
Albums Studio albums + List of studio albums, with selected chart positions and certifications Title Album details Peak chart positions Certifications(sales thresholds)AUSAustralian chart peaks: Top 100 (Kent Music Report) peaks to 12 June 1988: N.B. The Kent Report chart was licensed by ARIA between mid-1983 and 12 June 1988. Top 50 (ARIA) peaks from 13 June 1988: "Sweet Guy" (ARIA) peak: "Careless" (ARIA) peak: "Pouring Petrol on a Burning Man" (ARIA) peak: Top 100 (ARIA) peaks from January 1990 to December 2010: How to Make Gravy (EP) charting 2017/2018: "How to Make Gravy" charting 2018/2019: Live at the Sydney Opera House: Time: NZ TalkReleased: 30 March 1981 Label: Mushroom Formats: LP Producer: Martin Armiger, Paul Kelly, Joe Camilleri, Trevor Lucas44 — ManilaReleased: August 1982 Label: Mushroom Formats: LP Producer: Kelly, Chris Thompson — — PostReleased: May 1985 Label: Mushroom Formats: LP Producer: Clive Shakespeare, Kelly — — GossipReleased: 22 September 1986 Label: Mushroom / A&M Records Formats: 2× LP, MC Producer: Alan Thorne, Kelly1534 ARIA: Gold Under the SunReleased: 7 December 1987 Label: Mushroom / A&M Formats: LP, CD Producer: Thorne, Kelly1925 ARIA: Platinum So Much Water So Close to HomeReleased: 20 August 1989 Label: Mushroom / A&M Formats: LP, CD Producer: Scott Litt, Paul Kelly1026 ARIA: Gold ComedyReleased: 26 May 1991 Label: Mushroom / A&M / Dr Dream Formats: 2× LP, CD Producer: Thorne, Kelly1224 Hidden ThingsReleased: 5 April 1992 Label: Mushroom Formats: CD Producer: Thorne, Kelly, Gavin MacKillop2939 Wanted ManReleased: 19 June 1994 Label: Mushroom / Vanguard Formats: CD, MC Producer: Kelly, Randy Jacobs, David Bridie1119 Deeper WaterReleased: 12 September 1995 Label: Mushroom / Vanguard Formats: CD, MC Producer: Kelly, Jacobs, Kerryn Tolhurst, Simon Polinski4030 Words and MusicReleased: 10 May 1998 Label: Mushroom / Vanguard Formats: CD Producer: Mark Opitz, Polinski, Kelly, Laurence Maddy1744 ARIA: Gold Smoke (with Uncle Bill)Released: 18 October 1999 Label: EMI Music Formats: CD Producer: Kelly, Gerry Hale36 — ARIA: Gold ...Nothing but a DreamReleased: 26 August 2001 Label: EMI / Cooking Vinyl Formats: CD Producer: Kelly, Wallis, Mick Harvey 746 ARIA: Gold Ways & MeansReleased: 17 February 2004 Label: EMI / Capitol Records / Cooking Vinyl / True North Formats: CD Producer: Tchad Blake, Kelly13 — ARIA: Gold Foggy HighwayReleased: 30 May 2005 Label: Gawd Aggie / EMI / Capitol Formats: CD, digital download Producer: Kelly, Rod McCormack22 — ARIA: Gold Stolen ApplesReleased: 7 July 2007 Label: EMI Formats: CD, digital download Producer: Paul Kelly and the Boon Companions8 — ARIA: Gold Spring and FallReleased: 19 October 2012 Label: Gawd Aggie Formats: CD, digital download Producer: Paul Kelly, Dan Kelly, J Walker 8 — ARIA: Gold The Merri Soul SessionsReleased: 12 December 2014 Label: Gawd Aggie, Universal Music Australia Formats: CD, digital download Producer: Steve Schram 17 — Seven Sonnets and a SongReleased: 22 April 2016 Label: Gawd Aggie, Universal Music Australia Formats: CD, digital download 9 — Death's Dateless Night Released: 7 October 2016 Label: Gawd Aggie Formats: CD, digital download 16 — Life Is FineReleased: 11 August 2017 Label: EMI Music/Cooking Vinyl Formats: CD, vinyl, digital download 1 — ARIA: Gold NatureReleased: 12 October 2018 Label: EMI Music/Cooking Vinyl Formats: CD, vinyl, digital download 1 40 Thirteen Ways to Look at Birds (with James Ledger featuring Alice Keath and Seraphim Trio)Released: 30 August 2019 Label: Paul Kelly Formats: CD, digital download 43 — Forty Days Released: 12 June 2020 Label: Paul Kelly Formats: digital download, streaming — — Please Leave Your Light On(with Paul Grabowsky)Released: 31 July 2020 Label: Paul Kelly, EMI Music Formats: CD, digital download, streaming, LP 3 — Paul Kelly's Christmas TrainReleased: 19 November 2021 Label: Paul Kelly, EMI Music Formats: CD, digital download, streaming, LP 1 — Fever Longing StillReleased: 1 November 2024 Label: Paul Kelly, EMI Music Formats: CD, digital download, streaming, LP 3 — SeventyReleased: 7 November 2025 Label: Paul Kelly, EMI Music 2 — "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that country.
Live albums + List of live albums, with selected chart positions, certifications and notes Title Album details Peak chart positions Certifications(sales thresholds) NotesAUS Live, May 1992Label: Mushroom Records Format: 2× CD72Solo live performances on 10 May 1992 at the Regal Theatre in Perth and 17 May at the Athenaeum Theatre in Melbourne.Album liner notes – Paul Kelly : Live, May 1992 Live at the Continental and the EsplanadeLabel: White, Mushroom / Vanguard Format: CD —Live performances by Paul Kelly Band from The Continental in Prahran on 19 September 1994 and the Esplanade Hotel in St. Kilda on 29 May 1995. The A – Z RecordingsLabel: Gawd Aggie, Universal Music Format: 8× CD box set 118 N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart.Live performances by Paul Kelly for his A – Z Tours from 2004 to 2010. 105 tracks are listed alphabetically, they were typically performed over four nights. Kelly's memoir, How to Make Gravy, is the written companion to this box set. Conversations with Ghosts (with James Ledger, Genevieve Lacey & ANAM Musicians)Label: ABC Format: CD 65For a theatre production of the same name. First performed at Elisabeth Murdoch Hall, Melbourne in October 2012. Goin' Your Way (by Neil Finn and Paul Kelly)Label: EMI Music Format: 2× CD, DVD, BD 5 ARIA: GoldLive performance by Kelly and Neil Finn at the Sydney Opera House in early 2013. They were backed by Dan Kelly on guitar, Elroy Finn on drums, Zoe Hauptmann on guitar and bass guitar. Live at the Sydney Opera HouseLabel: ABC / UMA Format: 2× CD 61 "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that country.
Compilation albums + List of compilation albums, with selected chart positions, certifications and notes Title Album details Peak chart positions Certifications(sales thresholds) Notes AUS NZ Songs from the SouthLabel: White / Mushroom Format: CD 2 17 ARIA: 7× PlatinumCompilation subtitled Paul Kelly's Greatest Hits, also released with a bonus disc featuring "Tease Me" / "It Started with a Kiss". Songs from the South Volume 2Label: EMI / Capitol Format: CD 22 — ARIA: 2× PlatinumCompilation of Kelly related material over the ten years since the earlier compilation. Also released as a 2× CD with Songs from the South, and released with a DVD Paul Kelly – The Video Collection 1985–2008, a collection of Kelly's videos made over the past 23 years together with several live performances. Songs from the South: 1985–2019Label: Paul Kelly, Gawd Aggie Records, EMI (GAWD029) Format: CD, streaming, digital download, vinyl 1 — TimeLabel: Paul Kelly, Gawdaggie (GAWD036) Format: CD, streaming, digital download 95 — Rivers and RainLabel: Paul Kelly, Gawdaggie (GAWD037) Format: CD, streaming, digital download — — DrinkingLabel: Paul Kelly, Gawdaggie (GAWD038) Format: CD, streaming, digital download — — PeopleLabel: Paul Kelly, Gawdaggie (GAWD039) Format: CD, streaming, digital download — — PoetryLabel: Paul Kelly, Gawdaggie (GAWD040) Format: CD, streaming, digital download — — "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that country.
Video albums + List of video albums, with selected chart positions, certifications and notes Title Album details Peak chart positions Certifications(sales thresholds) NotesAUS Ways and MeansReleased: 8 November 2004 Label: EMI Music Format: DVD —Live performances by Paul Kelly and the Boon Companions in support of the album of the same name. Live ApplesReleased: 26 April 2008 Label: EMI Music Format: DVD10 ARIA: GoldSubtitled Stolen Apples Performed Live in its Entirety Plus 16 More Songs from show on 20 September 2007 in Toowoomba, Queensland by Paul Kelly and the Boon Companions. The Video Collection 1985–2008Released: November 2008 Label: EMI Music Format: DVD 24 A compilation of music videos spanning Kelly's career from 1985 to 2008. Stories of MeReleased: 2012 Label: EMI Music Format: DVD Goin' Your Way (by Neil Finn and Paul Kelly)Released: November 2013 Label: EMI Australia Format: DVD, BD 1 ARIA: Platinum The DVD or BD version of the live album of the same name. "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that country.
Extended plays