Jonathan Kelly (born Jonathan Ledingham, 8 July 1947 – 2 May 2020) was an Irish

folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers suc ...

singer-songwriter, who enjoyed a varied career in music, playing with many musicians and groups, including

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list of ...

and

Tim Staffell Timothy John Staffell (born 24 February 1948) is an English rock musician, visual artist, model maker and designer. He was a member of Smile, a band which included guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor. Upon Staffell's departure, Smile we ...

. He formed Jonathan Kelly's Outside in 1973.

Biography

Born in

Drogheda Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...

, County Louth, he attended Drogheda Grammar School. He played bass guitar for

Humpy Bong Humpy Bong was an English folk rock band formed in London in 1970, by former Bee Gees drummer Colin Petersen and Irish folk rock singer Jonathan Kelly. Beginnings Colin Petersen was a child actor in Australia and drummer with the Bee Gees. J ...

which featured former

Bee Gees The Bee Gees were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio were especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in the disco music era in ...

drummer Colin Petersen. The band did not progress but released one single, "Don't You Be Too Long". Kelly would then retain Petersen as his manager and release two albums through RCA, ''Twice Around the Houses'' and ''Wait til They Change the Backdrop''. Outside was made up of Kelly, Snowy White and

Chas Jankel Charles Jeremy "Chaz" Jankel (born 16 April 1952) is an English musician. In a music career spanning more than 40 years, he came to prominence in the late 1970s as the guitarist and keyboardist of the rock band Ian Dury and the Blockheads. With ...

on guitars, Dave Sheen on drums and Trevor Williams (ex-

Audience An audience is a group of people who participate in a show or encounter a work of art, literature (in which they are called "readers"), theatre, music (in which they are called "listeners"), video games (in which they are called "players"), or ...

) on bass guitar. White went on to play with

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...

and Thin Lizzy before a successful solo career, and Jankel later played with Ian Dury and the Blockheads. One album was recorded, '' ...Waiting On You'', in 1974, with an accompanying single "...Waiting On You"/"Outside", before the band members went their separate ways. Kelly stopped performing in 1976. However, between 2004 and 2007, he returned to performing a few solo acoustic concerts at small venues. Kelly died on 2 May 2020, after a long illness.

Discography

Albums

*Jonathan Kelly: LP ''Jonathan Kelly'' (Parlophone PCS 7114) – (1970) *Jonathan Kelly: LP ''Twice Around The Houses'' ( RCA SF 8262) – (1972) *Jonathan Kelly: LP ''Wait Till They Change The Backdrop'' (RCA SF 8353) – (1973) *''as Jonathan Kelly's Outside:'' LP '' ...Waiting On You'' (RCA LPL 15022) – (1974) *Jonathan Kelly: LP ''Two Days In Winter'' (RCA SF 8415) – (1975)

Singles

*''as The Boomerangs:'' 7" single "Dream World" / "Upgraded" ( Pye 7N 17049) – (1966) *''as Jon Ledingham:'' 7" single "Without An E" / "She's Got Me" (Pye 7N 17422) – (1967) *''as Jon Ledingham:'' 7" single "Love Is A Toy" / "Thank You Mrs. Gilbert" (Pye 7N 17488) – (1968) *Jonathan Kelly: 7" single "Denver" / "Son John" ( Parlophone R 5805) – (1969) *Jonathan Kelly: 7" single "Make A Stranger Your Friend" / "Daddy Don't Take Me Down Fishing No More" (Parlophone R 5830) – (1970) *Jonathan Kelly: 7" single "Don't You Believe It" / "Billy" (Parlophone R 5851) – (1970) *''as

:'' 7" single "Don't You Be Too Long" / "We're Alright 'Til Then" (Parlophone R 5859) – (1970) *Jonathan Kelly: 7" single "Madeleine" / "Sligo Fair" (RCA 2223) – (1972) *Jonathan Kelly: 7" single "Let The People Stay" / "Mother Moon" (RCA 2370) – (1973) *''as Jonathan Kelly's Outside:'' 7" single "...Waiting On You" / "Outside" (RCA LPBO 5030) – (1974)

References

External links

* as Jonathan Kelly * as Jon Ledingham {{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Jonathan 1947 births 2020 deaths People from Drogheda Irish songwriters Irish record producers Irish male singers Musicians from County Louth