Brian Edward Patrick Kennedy (born 12 October 1966) is a singer, songwriter, and author from Northern Ireland. He had 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 with his song "Every Song is a Cry for Love" and finished in 10th place, with his performance notably marking the 1,000th song to be performed in Eurovision history.
Early life Brian Edward Patrick Kennedy was born in Belfast on 12 October 1966, the son of Lily and Jim Kennedy. His older brother, Martin Christopher "Bap" Kennedy (1962–2016), was also a musician. The brothers grew up on Falls Road. As a child, Kennedy suffered from Osgood–Schlatter disease in both legs. He has described witnessing the violence of the Troubles while growing up, such as seeing a young man being chased and shot dead by a British soldier a few feet away from him.RTE Radio On Playback, 19 April 2008. He would often harmonise with the sirens of police cars, ambulances, and fire trucks.
Career Kennedy made his debut in 1988 as a chorus on the recordings of fellow Northern Ireland singer-songwriter Van Morrison, going on to appear as a backing singer 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.Biography Brian Kennedy Around this time, Kennedy also scored a minor UK hit album of his own with The Great War of Words (1990). This album features the lead single "Captured" which was a minor hit in both the UK and Irish charts.
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 features the songs written by Nevin for a second Fairground Attraction album which was never realised.
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, 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. This was followed in 1999 by the album Now That I Know What I Want, which met with less success.
In 2001, Kennedy released his fourth album Get on with Your Short Life, which rendered only a No. 81 placing for its title track in the UK. 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. Kennedy's 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.
Kennedy was chosen as the Irish competitor for the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 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 1,000th song"Eurovision 2011: 18 bizarre facts about the contest" , The Telegraph, 13 May 2011. performed in Eurovision history. Following qualification, he finished tenth in the finals on 20 May, with 93 points. The song also performed well in the Irish charts, becoming a No. 4 hit.
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.
On 23 August 2010, Kennedy played a version of his song "Christopher Street" on a small balcony overlooking Dame Street, Dublin for the music viral show BalconyTV.
Between 2011 and 2012, Kennedy was a coach on the first series of The Voice of Ireland. 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, Kennedy started presenting a weekly programme on radio station Tipp FM.
Personal life Kennedy is gay.
He revealed in 2016 that he had been diagnosed with rectal cancer.
Discography Albums
Year Album details Peak chart positionsUK1990 The Great War of Words Released: March 1999 Label: RCA (PD 74475) Formats: CD, cassette, LP 641996 A Better Man Released: October 1996 Label: RCA, BMG (74321409134) Formats: CD, cassette 191999 Now That I Know What I Want Released: 1999 Label: Sony (496196.2) Formats: CD, cassette —2001 Get on With Your Short Life Released: 2001 Label: Sony/Columbia (504784.2) Formats: CD, cassette —2003 On Song Released: 2003 Label: Curb Records (CURCD 128) Formats: CD —2004 Live in Belfast Released: 2004 Label: Curb Records (CURCD 148) Formats: 2xCD —2005 On Song 2 (Red Sails in the Sunset) Released: 2005 Label: Curb Records (CURCD 160) Formats: CD —2006 Homebird Released: May 2006 Label: Curb Records (CURCD 217) Formats: 2x CD —2008 Interpretations Released: March 2008 Label: Curb Records (CURCD 237) Formats: CD —2010 The Very Best of Brian Kennedy Released: 2010 Label: Proper Music Distribution (PMDCD001) Formats: CD —2012 Voice Released: June 2012 Label: Collective Management (BKCD001) Formats: CD, DD —2013 A Love Letter to Joni Released: 2013 Label: BK Records (BKCD002) Formats: CD, DD —2016 Essential Released: September 2016 Label: BK Records (BKCD003) Formats: 2xCD, DD note: re-recordings of previous material —2017 Live at Vicar Street Released: June 2017 Label: BK Records Formats: 2xCD+DVD, DD —2017 Christmassy Released: November 2017 Label: BK Records (BKCD006) Formats: CD, DD —
Singles Year Title Peak chart positions Album IREUK1990 "Captured" 26 77 The Great War of Words "Hollow" — — "Believe It" — —1991 "Fear Is the Enemy of Love" — — Goodbye to Songtown1995 "Intuition" 16 — 1996 "A Better Man" 6 28 A Better Man "Life Love and Happiness" 16 271997 "Put the Message in the Box" 18 371999 "These Days" 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 Song2005 "The Island" — — "George Best – A Tribute" 3 4 2006 "Every Song Is a Cry for Love" 4 — Homebird "If You Don't Believe in Me" — — "Destination" — —2011 "Ireland's Call" — —The Official Rugby World Cup 20112012 "Best Days" — —Voice "Christmas Morning" — —2013 "Try" 15 —The Hit "River" — — "Life, Love & Happiness" — —
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
Brian Kennedy Youtube Channel Brian Kennedy on Itunes Brian Kennedy Live in the Ardhowen Theatre, Enniskillen.