| ¤ They started in 1975 by singing at weddings, for friends and for themselves as a hobby. For 18 years (1976 -1994) they sang on the streets of Europe. Then they moved over to filling great concert halls and football stadiums as the crowd grew bigger and bigger. ¤ When their mother, Barbara Ann, died of cancer in 1982 her last words were "Keep on singing". When their father, Daniel Jerome, passed away 20 years later he said the same words. In the year of 2005 they celebrated their 30 years anniversary as professional performers. |
| ¤ During their street life the Kelly's didn't sell records in the shops or were on the hit lists, they were an "underground-band". But still they had a great success selling over 40 thousand records a year and hundreds of people saw their shows. In May 1994 they filled a concert hall with 15000 people without even being at the hit lists. ¤ Today the Kellys have their own crew, but the siblings take care of the business, promotion and organization themselves. Joey is the manager. ¤ The Kelly Family has become one of the most successful bands in Europe. They have sold millions of copies of their CDs, which have put them with the likes of Michael Jackson, Phil Collins, REM and Celine Dion in the European music industry. The family is also one of the best and busiest live performance acts. In the five past years they have played live for more than 10 million people in Europe. |
| Written by Vibeke Bergersen & Karianne Brannstorph 2000 Updates written by Karianne Brannstorph 2007 Copyright by Bergersen & Brannstorph |
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| The band anno 2002 |
| Kathy, Patricia and John on the streets in the 70's |
| ¤ The Kelly Family has sung with many other well-known music celebrities during their career. Some examples are The Chieftains, Pavarotti, José Carreras, Michael Jackson and their good friend Johnny Logan. ¤ The Kelly Family became the super band of 1999 in Germany and won the Goldener Bravo Otto. They also won gold in 1995. In 1996, 1997 and 1998 they won silver. The family played at the show in 1994 when they reached the top with their single "An Angel". ¤ The Kelly Family is well known for their long hair and rather special and hippie style on stage. But during the recent years, they have completely changed their image to a more modern style. The long hair has also become shorter… ¤ The Kelly Family has released 20 albums, 21 videos, 2 DVDs and 35 Singles under Kel-life (and also under Kelbros). There are somewhere around 20 different albums from the early days when they were under record companies like Polydor and Karusell. |
| ¤ The band currently consists of Maite, Joey, Jimmy, Patricia and Paul. From 1985 to 2000 the band consisted of nine of the 12 siblings; Angelo, Maite, Paddy, Barby, Joey, Jimmy, Patricia,John and Kathy. ¤ Kathy, the oldest, decided to go solo in the year 2000. She has released two solo albums. She joins her siblings on stage from time to time. John went on an indefinite break from the band in 2000, but never came back. 2004 he officially said he wouldn't be coming back, but would rather pursue a career together with his wife. Paddy released a solo album in 2003 and left the band the year after. He's currently studying in France. |