From St Kilda to Kings Cross

Last updated

"From St Kilda to Kings Cross"
Single by Paul Kelly
from the album Post
A-side "From St Kilda to Kings Cross"
B-side "Blues for Skip"
ReleasedApril 1985
RecordedJanuary–February 1985
Silverwood Studios, Sydney
Genre Folk rock
Length2:53
Label White
Songwriter(s) Paul Kelly
Producer(s) Paul Kelly, Clive Shakespeare
Paul Kelly singles chronology
"Rocking Institution""From St Kilda to Kings Cross"
(1985)
"Before Too Long"
(1986)
Audio sample
"From St Kilda to Kings Cross"

"From St Kilda to Kings Cross" is a song performed and written by Australian musician Paul Kelly. The title refers to inner city suburbs St Kilda in Melbourne and Kings Cross in Sydney. It was released in April 1985 as the only single from Kelly's first solo album Post . The single did not chart on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart. The song has found later acclaim with it appearing on lists for 'Top 20 Sydney Songs' and 'Top 25 Melbourne Songs'. The track has been recorded by other artists including Bob Evans' version on Before Too Long (November 2009) – a Paul Kelly tribute album.

Contents

Composition and background

In late 1984 Paul Kelly wrote "From St Kilda to Kings Cross" on Don Walker's piano while living at Walker's Kings Cross flat. [1] Kelly had met Walker (Cold Chisel keyboardist and songwriter) through his ex-wife's sister. [1] Kelly started composing the song as a blues variation on "From Memphis to Norfolk Is a 36-hour Ride" by Robert Johnson. [1] [2] By using Walker's piano the composition shifted to include the influence of "Never Going Back" by The Lovin' Spoonful. [1] The song was released as a single in April 1985 but did not appear on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart. [2] [3] The single's cover depicts a "black and pink image of Paul's face" on the White Records imprint by Mushroom Records. [4] The song was written in a bleak period in Kelly's life: after the break-up of his band and his marriage, he had moved from Melbourne to Sydney in late 1984. [1] [5] In the biographical notes distributed to the media when Post was released, Kelly advised that in 1984 he packed all his worldly goods in a trailer, borrowed his father-in-law's Holden and drove from St Kilda to Kings Cross. [6] During the second week of recording Post with Clive Shakespeare (ex-Sherbet guitarist) co-producing, Kelly recorded the track and he had a heavy cold which affected his voice but "seemed to suit the track". [1] In 2000, he recalled working on it:

The Go-Betweens, the Triffids were really big influences ... the Saints. "From St. Kilda to Kings Cross" was a fairly early song for me. I felt that I was on to something and it was ... I was very aware that it was more like a Chuck Berry song where you named names and places – you named sounds and cities. I thought that was interesting to get words into songs that people hadn't got in before. [7]

Allmusic's Mike De Gagne was not impressed by the track, he felt "this Aussie loves his homeland. With regional reference titles like 'From St. Kilda to King's Cross' and 'Adelaide,' his inclusion of cities and towns seem to gather too much detail, familiar to only those who reside down under". [8] "From St Kilda to Kings Cross" was used as the B-side of Paul Kelly & the Messengers' 1991 single, "Don't Start Me Talking". This version was released on their 1992 album Hidden Things . It later appeared on Kelly's first compilation album, Songs from the South in June 1997.

Later appreciation

Palm trees, St Kilda Esplanade O'Donnell Gardens - St. Kilda.jpg
Palm trees, St Kilda Esplanade

ABC Radio's Richard Fidler has described "From St Kilda to Kings Cross" as "embedded in our [Australian] cultural psyche". [9] In 2004 the song was listed by The Sydney Morning Herald 's Bernard Zuel in his "top 20 Sydney songs", [10] and of "immortalising" Kings Cross in particular. [11]

Conversely, it has also been described as an "iconic anthem" about St Kilda. [12] In August 2004, according to a panel of writers for The Age , it is one of "The Top 25 Melbourne Songs". [13] The song's lyrics "I want to see the sun go down from St Kilda Esplanade / Where the beach needs reconstruction, where the palm trees have it hard", have been mentioned in relation to proposed re-developments of the foreshore of St Kilda, [14] especially in reference to the palm trees on St Kilda Esplanade. [15]

In April 2006, the Melbourne Scottish Fiddle Club released a cover version on their album, A Long Way from Home, which was broadcast on The Coodabeens programme on ABC Local Radio with Billy Baxter compering – Kelly had written a 1980 hit about him, "Billy Baxter". [16] In October 2009, Gomez members Tom Gray and Paul Blackburn performed the song on the "Like a Version" segment of Triple J's Breakfast Show. [17] In November that year, Bob Evans (aka Kevin Mitchell of Jebediah) performed "From St Kilda to Kings Cross" at two Triple J concerts, Before Too Long, in tribute of Kelly, which was released as a triple-CD of the same name. [18]

Track listing

From St Kilda to Kings Cross
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."From St Kilda to Kings Cross"Paul Kelly [19] 2:53
2."Blues for Skip"Paul Kelly [20] 3:07
Total length:6:00

Personnel

Credits: [21]

Musicians
Production work

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA) [22] Gold35,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

FormatCountryLabelCatalogue No.Year
7" singleAUSWhite LabelK-9666April 1985

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Kelly (Australian musician)</span> Australian musician

Paul Maurice Kelly is an Australian rock music singer-songwriter and guitarist. He has performed solo, and has led numerous groups, including the Dots, the Coloured Girls, and the Messengers. He has worked with other artists and groups, including associated projects Professor Ratbaggy and Stardust Five. Kelly's music style has ranged from bluegrass to studio-oriented dub reggae, but his core output straddles folk, rock and country. His lyrics capture the vastness of the culture and landscape of Australia by chronicling life about him for over 30 years. David Fricke from Rolling Stone calls Kelly "one of the finest songwriters I have ever heard, Australian or otherwise". Kelly has said, "Song writing is mysterious to me. I still feel like a total beginner. I don't feel like I have got it nailed yet."

Hunters & Collectors are an Australian rock band formed in 1981. Fronted by founding mainstay, singer-songwriter and guitarist Mark Seymour, they developed a blend of pub rock and art-funk. Other mainstays are John Archer on bass guitar, Doug Falconer on drums and percussion. Soon after forming they were joined by Jack Howard on trumpet and keyboards, Jeremy Smith on French horn, guitars and keyboards, and Michael Waters on trombone and keyboards. Also acknowledged as a founder was engineer and art designer Robert Miles. Joining in 1988, Barry Palmer, on lead guitar, remained until they disbanded in 1998. The group reformed in 2013 with the 1998 line-up.

<i>Post</i> (Paul Kelly album) 1985 studio album by Paul Kelly

Post is the first solo album by Australian singer-songwriter rock musician, Paul Kelly. Kelly had moved to Sydney by January 1985, after leaving his Melbourne-based Paul Kelly Band and the breakup of his marriage to Hilary Brown.

<i>Gossip</i> (Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls album) 1986 studio album by Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls

Gossip is the double LP debut album by Australian rock group Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls. Produced by Alan Thorne and Paul Kelly, it was released on Mushroom Records in September 1986, which peaked at No. 15 on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart, and achieved gold record status. There was commercial success for "Before Too Long" which peaked at No. 15 and "Darling It Hurts" reached No. 25 on the related Singles Chart. Gossip was released in different forms, initially as a double album with 24 tracks, it was edited down to a single 15-track LP for North American and European release on A&M Records, when released on CD in North America, it featured 17 tracks.

<i>Live at the Continental and the Esplanade</i> 1995 live album by Paul Kelly

Live at the Continental and the Esplanade is a live album by Australian rock musician, Paul Kelly, which was originally available, from late 1995, by mail order only from Mushroom Records' White Records Label in Australia. It had been recorded from two performances at the Continental Hotel in Prahran and one performance at the Esplanade Hotel in St Kilda, both in Melbourne. By June 1996 the album was available in Australian stores on Mushroom Records and, on 23 July, it was issued by Vanguard Records in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Augie March</span> Australian indie/pop rock band

Augie March are an Australian pop and indie rock band, which formed in 1996 in Shepparton, Victoria. Since 2001 the group consists of vocalist and rhythm guitarist Glenn Richards, lead guitarist Adam Donovan, bass guitarist Edmondo Ammendola, drummer David Williams, and keyboardist Kiernan Box. Box had replaced Robert Dawson, the band's piano player since March 2000, who died in January 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tim Rogers (musician)</span> Australian musician and actor

Timothy Adrian Rogers is an Australian musician and actor, best known as the frontman of the rock band You Am I. He has also recorded solo albums with backing bands. As of July 2013, Rogers has released 12 albums with You Am I and five solo albums.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Before Too Long</span> 1986 single by Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls

"Before Too Long" is a song by Australian rock group Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls, released as the first single from their debut double album, Gossip. It was released in June 1986 on the original White Label Records, a subsidiary of Mushroom Records. It reached No. 15 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart, remaining for 19 weeks. The track was a surprise hit for Kelly at a time when chart success had eluded him and provided increased interest for the release of Gossip, which would become his biggest mainstream success to that date.

<i>How to Make Gravy</i> 1996 EP by Paul Kelly

How to Make Gravy is a four-track EP by Australian singer-songwriter Paul Kelly and was originally released on 4 November 1996 on White Label Records in Australia. The title track was written by Kelly and earned him a 'Song of the Year' nomination at the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) Music Awards of 1998. It tells the story of a newly imprisoned man writing a letter to his brother, in which the prisoner laments that he will be missing the family's Christmas celebrations. The same character appears in Kelly's earlier songs, "To Her Door" (1987) and "Love Never Runs on Time" (1994). The gravy recipe is genuine – Kelly learnt it from his first father-in-law. It was covered by James Reyne on the 2003 tribute album, Stories of Me: A Songwriter's Tribute to Paul Kelly and on Reyne's 2005 acoustic album And the Horse You Rode in On.

Maurice Gerard Frawley was an Australian rock and country blues singer-songwriter and guitarist.

<i>Out of Mind, Out of Sight</i> (album) 1985 studio album by Models

Out of Mind, Out of Sight is the fourth studio album by Australian new wave rock band Models, it was their most successful album and peaked at No. 3 on the Australian albums chart. It was released in September 1985 by Mushroom Records with Nick Launay, Reggie Lucas and Mark Opitz producing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cattle and Cane</span> 1983 single by The Go-Betweens

"Cattle and Cane" is a song by the Australian alternative rock band The Go-Betweens, released as the first single from their second album Before Hollywood. It was released as a single in the United Kingdom by Rough Trade Records in February 1983 and reached No. 4 on the UK Independent Chart. The single and album were both released in Australia on Stunn, a small label allied with EMI. The Stunn pressings were of poor quality and their distribution limited.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darling It Hurts</span> 1986 single by Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls

"Darling It Hurts" is a song by Australian rock group Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls released in September 1986 as the second single from their first double album, Gossip. The song, written by Kelly with lead guitarist Steve Connolly, reached No. 25 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart in October. It was issued in 1987 on A&M Records in the United States, where it reached No. 19 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart. Due to possible racist connotations the band changed its name, for international releases, to Paul Kelly and the Messengers. According to Allmusic's Mike Gagne, "Kelly's pain can be felt as he describes an ex-girlfriend of his who has turned to prostitution."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Out of Mind, Out of Sight (song)</span> 1985 single by Models

"Out of Mind, Out of Sight" is the title single by Australian new wave rock band Models from their album of the same name. It was released in June 1985 and was their most successful single, which peaked at No. 1 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart. The album followed in August on Mushroom Records with Nick Launay, Reggie Lucas and Mark Opitz producing and reached No. 3 on the related albums chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy Baxter (song)</span> 1980 single by Paul Kelly and the Dots

"Billy Baxter" is a song by Australian rock group Paul Kelly and the Dots, released on 20 October 1980 as the lead single from the album Talk (1981). It was written by band members Paul Kelly and Chris Langman. It peaked at No. 38 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart. The song was produced by Joe Camilleri for Mushroom Records. In early November the group performed the track on national pop music TV show, Countdown – it was Kelly's first TV appearance. The song's subject, Billy Baxter, is an Australian musician and was a long term member of Coodabeens Footy Show on ABC Radio National.

Billy Baxter OAM is an Australian radio presenter and musician from Geelong. He is a co-presenter of the Australian rules football program Coodabeen Champions on 774 ABC Melbourne, alongside Jeff Richardson, Ian Cover, Jeff "Torch" McGee, Simon Whelan, Andy Bellairs and Greg Champion. As a musician, Baxter was the lead vocalist of Ghetto Blasters, Big Fans of Jesus, the Hollow Men and has also worked as a solo artist. The Hollow Men issued two albums on Au Go Go Records, Broken Stuff (1988) and So Long (1990). Baxter's solo albums are Holler (1991) and Speedhump, Thump (1994).

"Leaps and Bounds" / "Bradman" is a double A-sided single by Australian rock group Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls released in January 1987. "Leaps and Bounds" is from their debut double album, Gossip (1986). "Bradman" did not appear on a studio album until the international version of Under the Sun (1988). The single reached top 100 in the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart. Due to possible racist connotations the band changed its name, for international releases, to Paul Kelly and the Messengers. In 1997, Kelly was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame, at the ceremony Crowded House paid tribute to Kelly and performed "Leaps and Bounds". In October 2003, Xanthe Littlemore covered "Leaps and Bounds" for the tribute album, Stories of Me – A Songwriter's Tribute to Paul Kelly. In 2005, rock music writer, Toby Creswell described two of Kelly's songs: "Leaps and Bounds" and "From Little Things Big Things Grow" in his book, 1001 Songs. For the former, Creswell observed "The grand themes of [his] work are all there – Melbourne, football, transcendence and memory... [he] is a detail man – the temperature, the location, foliage". On 26 March 2006 Kelly performed at the Commonwealth Games closing ceremony in Melbourne, singing "Leaps and Bounds" and "Rally Around the Drum". In February 2009 Patience Hodgson, Glenn Richards and Kelly performed "Leaps and Bounds" at the Myer Music Bowl for SBS-TV's concert RocKwiz Salutes the Bowl. On 29 September 2012 Kelly performed "How to Make Gravy" and "Leaps and Bounds" at the 2012 AFL Grand Final although most of the performance was not broadcast on Seven Network's pre-game segment.

<i>The A to Z Recordings</i> 2010 live album by Paul Kelly

The A to Z Recordings is an eight-volume live album by Australian rock musician, Paul Kelly, which was released on 24 September 2010 on Gawd Aggie Records in Australia and Universal Import in North America. It had been recorded from a series of performances from 2004 to 2010 on Kelly's A to Z Tours in various locations. The tours led to Kelly writing his memoir, How to Make Gravy, also in September 2010. Kelly's A to Z Tours continued until March 2012. Rolling Stone's Jason Cohen described the release as "a 106-track, eight-CD boxed set culled from Kelly's now-trademark A to Z live performances" and, with the associated memoir, Kelly "might be creating the world's longest CD liner notes" at 568 pages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Say Goodbye (Hunters & Collectors song)</span> 1986 single by Hunters & Collectors

"Say Goodbye" was the lead single from Australian pub rockers, Hunters & Collectors' fourth studio album, Human Frailty. It was released ahead of the album on 17 February 1986 in both 7" and 12" formats. It peaked at No. 24 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart and No. 20 on the New Zealand Singles Chart. "Say Goodbye" was co-written by band members John Archer, Doug Falconer, Jack Howard, Robert Miles, Mark Seymour, Jeremy Smith, and Michael Waters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gretta Ray</span> Australian indie-pop singer-songwriter

Gretta Louise Ray is an Australian singer-songwriter from Melbourne, Victoria. In 2016, she was the winner of the national Triple J Unearthed radio competition for bands and songwriters, and the 2016 Vanda & Young Global Songwriting Competition, with her song "Drive". To date, Ray has released two studio albums – Begin to Look Around (2021) and Positive Spin (2023) – as well as the EPs Elsewhere (2016) and Here and Now (2018).

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Kelly, Paul (21 September 2010). How to Make Gravy. Camberwell, Vic: Penguin Books (Australia). pp. 182–184. ISBN   978-1-926428-22-2.
  2. 1 2 "Before Too Long – Triple J's Tribute to Paul Kelly". Triple J. Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). 11 November 2009. Archived from the original on 6 April 2011. Retrieved 5 February 2012.
  3. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 . St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book Ltd. ISBN   0-646-11917-6. Note: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1974 until Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) created their own charts in mid-1988. In 1992, Kent back calculated chart positions for 1970–1974.
  4. Blanda, Eva (2007). "Paul Kelly – Discography – Part IIa – The Recordings of Paul Kelly as a Solo Artist". Other People's Houses (Eva Blanda). Archived from the original on 16 February 2012. Retrieved 16 February 2012.
  5. Kelly, Paul; Judith, Kate; National Educational Advancement Programs (2005). Don't Start Me Talking: Lyrics 1984–2004. Carlton, Vic: National Educational Advancement Programs. ISBN   978-1-86478-099-4.
  6. "Sound of Sydney Volume 3". Method Records. Retrieved 7 February 2012.
  7. "Episode 6: Gathering of the Tribes 1984–2000". Long Way to the Top . ABC Television. Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). Archived from the original on 22 October 2011. Retrieved 7 February 2012.
  8. DeGagne, Mike. "Post – Paul Kelly & the Messengers – Review". Allmusic (Rovi Corporation). Retrieved 9 February 2012.
  9. Fidler, Richard (23 November 2011). "Paul Kelly". Conversations with Richard Fidler. ABC Local Radio. Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). Retrieved 5 February 2012.
  10. Zuel, Bernard (18 September 2004). "A Tale of Two Cities' Ditties". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 5 February 2012.
  11. "The Concrete Jungle Leaves Its Mark". The Sydney Morning Herald. 1 November 2005. Retrieved 5 February 2012.
  12. Smith, Bridie; Evans, Chris (8 June 2004). "Streets Ahead in Pop Stakes". The Age. Australia. Retrieved 5 February 2012.
  13. Carney, Shaun; Jenkins, Jeff; Dwyer, Michael; Beck, Chris; Flanagan, Martin; Attwood, Alan (28 August 2004). "Songs of Melbourne". The Age. Australia. Retrieved 8 February 2012.
  14. Cameron Houston; Royce Millar (26 May 2007). "New Playground for Patron Saints". The Age. Australia. Retrieved 5 February 2012.
  15. "Palm Trees Do It Hard on St Kilda Esplanade". The Age. Australia. 18 June 2003. Retrieved 5 February 2012.
  16. "The Coodabeens Music". The Coodabeens . ABC Local Radio. Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). 2 April 2006. Retrieved 8 February 2012.
  17. "'Like a Version' – Gomez". Breakfast Show. Triple J. Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). 23 October 2009. Retrieved 8 February 2012.
  18. "Before Too Long – ABC Shop". ABC Shop. Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). Archived from the original on 24 February 2012. Retrieved 8 February 2012.
  19. "'From St Kilda to Kings Cross' at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 8 February 2012.
  20. "'Blues for Skip' at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 8 February 2012.
  21. Holmgren, Magnus. "Paul Kelly". Australian Rock Database. Passagen.se (Magnus Holmgren). Archived from the original on 22 October 2013. Retrieved 21 March 2014.
  22. "Feb Single Accreds 2024" (PDF). ARIA. March 2024. Retrieved 18 March 2024.