Kev Carmody
Encyclopedia
Kevin Daniel "Kev" Carmody (born 1946, Cairns, Queensland
) is an Indigenous Australian singer-songwriter. His song "From Little Things Big Things Grow
" was recorded with co-writer Paul Kelly
for their 1993 single; it was covered
by the Get Up Mob (including guest vocals by both Carmody and Kelly) in 2008 and peaked at #4 on the Australian Recording Industry Association
(ARIA) singles charts.
On 27 August 2009, Carmody was inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association
(ARIA) Hall of Fame
alongside The Dingoes
, Little Pattie
, Mental As Anything
and John Paul Young
.
. His father was a second-generation Irish descendant, his mother an Indigenous Australian of the Murri people. His younger brother, Laurie, was born three and a half years later. His family moved to southern Queensland in early 1950, and he grew up on a cattle station near Goranba, 70 km west of Dalby
in the Darling Downs area of south eastern Queensland. His parents worked as drovers
, moving cattle along stock routes. At ten years of age, Carmody and his brother were taken from their parents under the assimilation policy as part of the Stolen Generations and sent to a Christian school in Toowoomba. After schooling, he returned to his rural roots and worked for seventeen years as a country labourer, including droving, shearing
, bag lumping, wool pressing and welding
.
In 1967 he married Helen, with whom he has three sons; they later divorced but remain "good mates". In 1978, at the age of 33, Carmody enrolled in university, Darling Downs Institute of Advanced Education
.
Due to his limited schooling, Carmody’s reading and writing skills were not up to required university standard. Undeterred, he suggested to the history tutor that until his writing was suitable he would present his research in a musical format accompanied by guitar. Whilst this was a novel approach at university, it was in line with the far older indigenous tradition of oral history. Although Carmody had extensive historical knowledge, learnt by oral traditions, much of it could not be found in library history books and was attributed to 'unpublished works'. Carmody completed his Bachelor of Arts
degree, then postgraduate studies and a Diploma of Education
at the University of Queensland
, followed by commencing a PhD in History, on the Darling Downs 1830–1860.
Whilst at university, Carmody had used music as a means of implementing oral history in tutorials, which led to his later career.
/EMI
) in December 1988. It drew heavily upon country
and folk
styles with tracks such as "Black Deaths in Custody" and "Thou Shalt Not Steal" describing ignorance and oppression experienced by indigenous Australians. In the song "Thou Shalt Not Steal", Carmody draws attention to the hypocrisy of British settlers who brought Christianity
to indigenous Australians, including the commandment
prohibiting theft
, and yet took the land that the Aboriginal people
had inhabited for more than 60,000 years. He emphasises the importance of land to the indigenous people, "The land’s our heritage and spirit", and turns the Christian lesson given to indigenous people around: "We say to you yes, whiteman, thou shalt not steal". A Rolling Stone (Australia)
journalist
, Bruce Elder, described it as "the best album ever released by an Aboriginal musician and arguably the best protest album ever made in Australia". In subsequent recordings Carmody adopted a broad range of musical styles, from reggae
to rock and roll
.
Carmody's second album, Eulogy (For a Black Person), released in November 1990, was produced by Connolly, with musical support from the rest of the Messengers and members of pioneering Aboriginal rock band Mixed Relations. A review of the album noted that "Using a combination of folk and country music his hard-hitting lyrics deal with such potent material as the David Gundy slaying, black deaths in custody, land rights and Aboriginal pride and dignity. Carmody is deeply committed, powerfully intelligent and persuasively provocative. He uses images of revolutionaries... and challenges white Australia to stare unrelentingly at the despair which under pins Aboriginal society". The first single from the album, "Blood Red Rose", released in April 1992, was described by Carmody as "a comment on personal isolation. Late night, big city alienation", whilst the B-side, "Elly", is the moving story of a young woman attempting to escape the poverty
and racism
of western Queensland, who finds herself trapped in Surfers Paradise working in the sex industry
.
Early in 1991 Carmody co-wrote a song, "From Little Things Big Things Grow
", with Paul Kelly
; it was an historical account of the Gurindji tribe drovers' walkout
led by Vincent Lingiari
at Wave Hill
station in the Northern Territory during the 1960s, the incident which sparked off the indigenous land rights movement. It was first recorded by Paul Kelly & the Messengers on Comedy in May and included Steve Connolly as guitar
ist of the Messengers. Carmody's third album, Bloodlines, was released in July 1993 and included his own version of "From Little Things Big Things Grow", with Kelly guesting on vocals, which was issued as a single. Also in 1993 Carmody was the subject of a musical documentary, Blood Brothers - From Little Things Big Things Grow, by Rachel Perkins
and directed by Trevor Graham
, which explored Carmody's life, using music clips and historical footage.
After the release of his fourth album, Images And Illusions, in September 1995, produced by Steve Kilbey
of The Church
, Carmody re-evaluated his life and career, reducing the demands placed on him by the mainstream recording industry. He continued performing, as a musician and public speaker, to audiences as diverse as the National Press Club
and Aboriginal Australians in prison.
2000 saw the release of Messages a compilation
of songs from Carmody's first four albums. In 2001, together with Kelly, Mairead Hannan, John Romeril
, Deirdre Hannan and Alice Garner
, Carmody assisted in writing the musical score for the Australian film One Night the Moon
. The soundtrack won a Screen Music Award at the 2002 Australasian Performing Right Association
(APRA)/Australian Guild of Screen Composers (AGSC) Awards.
After a break of nearly ten years Carmody finally released a new album in 2004. The album, Mirrors, was completely self-financed and distributed. It was recorded at a friend's property "down the road" and was his first album recorded with computer technology. The songs on Mirrors cover a range of contemporary issues including refugee treatment and his thoughts on United States President George W. Bush
, accompanied by the captured real life sounds of the Australian bush.
In 2007, Kelly organised the double CD
, Cannot Buy My Soul - The Songs of Kev Carmody, with tribute songs
by various artists on one disc and a second disc of songs by Carmody himself.
On 31 October, Carmody was a special guest at the TV music channel MAX's "The Max Sessions: Powderfinger
, Concert For The Cure" singing alongside front man Bernard Fanning
to the controversial "Black Tears
" and also joined in with the encore of "These Days
". The concert was a fundraiser and thank you to the "unsung heroes" of breast cancer with an invitation-only audience made up of a special group of people – those who have suffered and survived breast cancer and their support networks. The concert closed Breast Cancer Awareness Month and was the brainchild of 20-year-old Nick Vindin, who had lost his mother Kate to the disease a few years earlier.
In the aftermath of the Australian Labor Government's
2008 apology to indigenous Australians, Carmody and Kelly reprised their song "From Little Things Big Things Grow" by incorporating samples from speeches by Prime Ministers
Paul Keating
in 1992 and Kevin Rudd
in 2008. Released under the name The GetUp Mob, part of the GetUp! advocacy group, the song peaked at #4 on the Australian Recording Industry Association
(ARIA) singles charts. This version featured vocals by Carmody and Kelly, as well as other prominent Australian artists (including Urthboy, Missy Higgins
, Mia Dyson
, Radical Son, Jane Tyrrell
, Dan Sultan, Joel Wenitong and Ozi Batla). Carmody has reduced his musical activities due to the effects of arthritis
.
He lives with his partner Beryl on a 27-hectare (60-acres) bush block in south-east Queensland. On 22 October 2008, a live album
from two Sydney performances by Carmody and various artists was released on DVD
as Cannot Buy My Soul: Kev Carmody.
On 18 April 2009, SBS TV show, RocKwiz
, Episode 36 featured country singers, Archie Roach
and Sara Storer
, who sang a duet with "From Little Things Big Things Grow".
On 27 August 2009, Carmody was inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association
(ARIA) Hall of Fame
alongside The Dingoes
, Little Pattie
, Mental As Anything
and John Paul Young
, Carmody's first reaction was to laugh and reply "I must be getting into the Hall of Fame with the lowest record sales in history". At the ceremony, Missy Higgins inducted Carmody, who accepted the induction,
Carmody was joined onstage by Paul Kelly, Dan Kelly
, Missy Higgins and John Butler
to perform "From Little Things Big Things Grow".
Cairns, Queensland
Cairns is a regional city in Far North Queensland, Australia, founded 1876. The city was named after William Wellington Cairns, then-current Governor of Queensland. It was formed to serve miners heading for the Hodgkinson River goldfield, but experienced a decline when an easier route was...
) is an Indigenous Australian singer-songwriter. His song "From Little Things Big Things Grow
From Little Things Big Things Grow
"From Little Things Big Things Grow" is a rock protest song recorded by Australian artists Paul Kelly & The Messengers on their 1991 album Comedy, and by Kev Carmody on his 1993 album Bloodlines. It was released as a CD single by Carmody and Kelly in 1993 but failed to chart...
" was recorded with co-writer Paul Kelly
Paul Kelly (musician)
Paul Maurice Kelly is an Australian rock music singer-songwriter, guitarist, and harmonica player. 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...
for their 1993 single; it was covered
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
by the Get Up Mob (including guest vocals by both Carmody and Kelly) in 2008 and peaked at #4 on the Australian Recording Industry Association
Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956...
(ARIA) singles charts.
On 27 August 2009, Carmody was inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association
Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956...
(ARIA) Hall of Fame
ARIA Hall of Fame
Since 1988 the Australian Recording Industry Association has inducted artists into its ARIA Hall of Fame. While most have been recognised at the annual ARIA Music Awards, in 2005 ARIA sought to create a separate standalone "ARIA Icons: Hall of Fame" event as only one or two acts could be inducted...
alongside The Dingoes
The Dingoes
The Dingoes are an Australian country rock band initially active from 1973 to 1979, formed in Melbourne they relocated to the United States from 1976. Most stable line-up was John Bois on bass guitar, John Lee on drums, Broderick Smith on vocals and harmonica, Chris Stockley on guitar and Kerryn...
, Little Pattie
Little Pattie
Little Pattie is the stage name of Australian singer, Patricia Thelma Amphlett OAM later Patricia Thompson, who performed as a 1960s surf pop singer and then in adult contemporary music...
, Mental As Anything
Mental As Anything
Mental As Anything are an Australian New Wave–rock music band formed at an art school in Sydney in 1976. Their most popular line-up was Martin Plaza on vocals and guitar; Reg Mombassa on lead guitar and vocals; his brother Peter "Yoga Dog" O'Doherty on bass guitar and vocals; Wayne "Bird"...
and John Paul Young
John Paul Young
John Paul Young is an Australian pop singer who had a 1978 worldwide hit with "Love Is in the Air"...
.
Early years
Kev Carmody was born in 1946 in Cairns, QueenslandCairns, Queensland
Cairns is a regional city in Far North Queensland, Australia, founded 1876. The city was named after William Wellington Cairns, then-current Governor of Queensland. It was formed to serve miners heading for the Hodgkinson River goldfield, but experienced a decline when an easier route was...
. His father was a second-generation Irish descendant, his mother an Indigenous Australian of the Murri people. His younger brother, Laurie, was born three and a half years later. His family moved to southern Queensland in early 1950, and he grew up on a cattle station near Goranba, 70 km west of Dalby
Dalby, Queensland
Dalby is a town in the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia, and is located approximately west of the state capital, Brisbane, at the junction of the Warrego, Moonie and Bunya Highways. Dalby is the administrative centre of the Western Downs Region and the centre of Australia's richest...
in the Darling Downs area of south eastern Queensland. His parents worked as drovers
Drover (Australian)
A drover in Australia is a person, typically an experienced stockman, who moves livestock, usually sheep or cattle, "on the hoof" over long distances. Reasons for droving may include: delivering animals to a new owner's property, taking animals to market, or moving animals during a drought in...
, moving cattle along stock routes. At ten years of age, Carmody and his brother were taken from their parents under the assimilation policy as part of the Stolen Generations and sent to a Christian school in Toowoomba. After schooling, he returned to his rural roots and worked for seventeen years as a country labourer, including droving, shearing
Shearer
A shearer is someone who shears, such as a cloth shearer, or a sheep shearer.Additionally, Shearer is the surname of people:-In sports:*Alan Shearer , English footballer*Bobby Shearer , Scottish footballer...
, bag lumping, wool pressing and welding
Welder
A welder is a tradesman who specializes in welding materials together. The materials to be joined can be metals or varieties of plastic or polymer...
.
In 1967 he married Helen, with whom he has three sons; they later divorced but remain "good mates". In 1978, at the age of 33, Carmody enrolled in university, Darling Downs Institute of Advanced Education
Darling Downs Institute of Advanced Education
The Darling Downs Institute of Advanced Education was a tertiary education facility offering undergraduate degrees and certificates in Toowoomba, Queensland Australia, from the 1967 until it was elevated to University College status and later University status as the University of Southern...
.
Due to his limited schooling, Carmody’s reading and writing skills were not up to required university standard. Undeterred, he suggested to the history tutor that until his writing was suitable he would present his research in a musical format accompanied by guitar. Whilst this was a novel approach at university, it was in line with the far older indigenous tradition of oral history. Although Carmody had extensive historical knowledge, learnt by oral traditions, much of it could not be found in library history books and was attributed to 'unpublished works'. Carmody completed his Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree, then postgraduate studies and a Diploma of Education
Diploma of Education
The Diploma of Education, often abbreviated to DipEd or GradDipEd, is a postgraduate qualification offered in many Commonwealth countries including Australia, Sri Lanka and the United Kingdom...
at the University of Queensland
University of Queensland
The University of Queensland, also known as UQ, is a public university located in state of Queensland, Australia. Founded in 1909, it is the oldest and largest university in Queensland and the fifth oldest in the nation...
, followed by commencing a PhD in History, on the Darling Downs 1830–1860.
Whilst at university, Carmody had used music as a means of implementing oral history in tutorials, which led to his later career.
Music career
In the early 1980s, Carmody began his musical career. He signed a recording contract in 1987 and his first album, Pillars of Society, was released on the Rutabagas label (a label founded by artist Frances Mahony and technologist Joe Hayes); the rights were later transferred to Larrikin RecordsLarrikin Records
Larrikin Records is a record company founded in 1974 by Warren Fahey. Larrikin started as an independent label and was sold in 1995 to Festival Records....
/EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
) in December 1988. It drew heavily upon country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
and folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
styles with tracks such as "Black Deaths in Custody" and "Thou Shalt Not Steal" describing ignorance and oppression experienced by indigenous Australians. In the song "Thou Shalt Not Steal", Carmody draws attention to the hypocrisy of British settlers who brought Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
to indigenous Australians, including the commandment
Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments, also known as the Decalogue , are a set of biblical principles relating to ethics and worship, which play a fundamental role in Judaism and most forms of Christianity. They include instructions to worship only God and to keep the Sabbath, and prohibitions against idolatry,...
prohibiting theft
Theft
In common usage, theft is the illegal taking of another person's property without that person's permission or consent. The word is also used as an informal shorthand term for some crimes against property, such as burglary, embezzlement, larceny, looting, robbery, shoplifting and fraud...
, and yet took the land that the Aboriginal people
Australian Aborigines
Australian Aborigines , also called Aboriginal Australians, from the latin ab originem , are people who are indigenous to most of the Australian continentthat is, to mainland Australia and the island of Tasmania...
had inhabited for more than 60,000 years. He emphasises the importance of land to the indigenous people, "The land’s our heritage and spirit", and turns the Christian lesson given to indigenous people around: "We say to you yes, whiteman, thou shalt not steal". A Rolling Stone (Australia)
Rolling Stone Australia
Rolling Stone Australia is an Australian-based magazine devoted to music, politics, and popular culture that is published monthly, it is the Australian edition of the United States' Rolling Stone. Rolling Stone was initially released in Melbourne in May 1970 as a supplement in Revolution, an...
journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, Bruce Elder, described it as "the best album ever released by an Aboriginal musician and arguably the best protest album ever made in Australia". In subsequent recordings Carmody adopted a broad range of musical styles, from reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
to rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
.
Carmody's second album, Eulogy (For a Black Person), released in November 1990, was produced by Connolly, with musical support from the rest of the Messengers and members of pioneering Aboriginal rock band Mixed Relations. A review of the album noted that "Using a combination of folk and country music his hard-hitting lyrics deal with such potent material as the David Gundy slaying, black deaths in custody, land rights and Aboriginal pride and dignity. Carmody is deeply committed, powerfully intelligent and persuasively provocative. He uses images of revolutionaries... and challenges white Australia to stare unrelentingly at the despair which under pins Aboriginal society". The first single from the album, "Blood Red Rose", released in April 1992, was described by Carmody as "a comment on personal isolation. Late night, big city alienation", whilst the B-side, "Elly", is the moving story of a young woman attempting to escape the poverty
Poverty
Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...
and racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
of western Queensland, who finds herself trapped in Surfers Paradise working in the sex industry
Sex industry
The sex industry consists of businesses which either directly or indirectly provide sex-related products and services or adult entertainment...
.
Early in 1991 Carmody co-wrote a song, "From Little Things Big Things Grow
From Little Things Big Things Grow
"From Little Things Big Things Grow" is a rock protest song recorded by Australian artists Paul Kelly & The Messengers on their 1991 album Comedy, and by Kev Carmody on his 1993 album Bloodlines. It was released as a CD single by Carmody and Kelly in 1993 but failed to chart...
", with Paul Kelly
Paul Kelly (musician)
Paul Maurice Kelly is an Australian rock music singer-songwriter, guitarist, and harmonica player. 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...
; it was an historical account of the Gurindji tribe drovers' walkout
The Gurindji Strike
The Gurindji Strike refers to the walk-off and strike by 200 Gurindji stockmen, house servants and their families in August 1966 at Wave Hill cattle station in Australia's Northern Territory....
led by Vincent Lingiari
Vincent Lingiari
Vincent Lingiarri, AM , was an Aboriginal rights activist who was appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia for his services to the Aboriginal people. Lingiarri was a member of the Gurindji people. In Vincent's earlier life he worked as a stockman at Wave Hill Cattle Station. He also played...
at Wave Hill
Wave Hill (Australia)
Kalkarindji is a small township in Northern Territory of Australia. It is situated about south-west of Katherine and has a population of around 350....
station in the Northern Territory during the 1960s, the incident which sparked off the indigenous land rights movement. It was first recorded by Paul Kelly & the Messengers on Comedy in May and included Steve Connolly as guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
ist of the Messengers. Carmody's third album, Bloodlines, was released in July 1993 and included his own version of "From Little Things Big Things Grow", with Kelly guesting on vocals, which was issued as a single. Also in 1993 Carmody was the subject of a musical documentary, Blood Brothers - From Little Things Big Things Grow, by Rachel Perkins
Rachel Perkins
Rachel Perkins is a film and television director, film and television producer and a writer. She is known for her films Bran Nue Dae, Radiance and One Night the Moon. Perkins is an Arrernte woman from Central Australia, who was raised in Canberra by parents Eileen and Charles Perkins...
and directed by Trevor Graham
Trevor Graham
Trevor Graham is a Jamaican-born former athletics coach, based in the United States. Following the BALCO scandal, the US Olympic Committee barred him indefinitely from all its training sites as a number of the athletes he was training had tested positive for drug abuse.-Athletics career:Graham was...
, which explored Carmody's life, using music clips and historical footage.
After the release of his fourth album, Images And Illusions, in September 1995, produced by Steve Kilbey
Steve Kilbey
Steven John Kilbey is the lead singer-songwriter and bass guitarist for The Church, an Australian rock band. He is also a music producer, poet, and painter....
of The Church
The Church (band)
The Church is an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1980. Initially associated with new wave and the neo-psychedelic sound of the mid 1980s, their music later became more reminiscent of progressive rock, featuring long instrumental jams and complex guitar interplay...
, Carmody re-evaluated his life and career, reducing the demands placed on him by the mainstream recording industry. He continued performing, as a musician and public speaker, to audiences as diverse as the National Press Club
National Press Club
The National Press Club is a professional organization and private social club for journalists. It is located in Washington, D.C. Its membership consists of journalists, former journalists, government information officers, and those considered to be regular news sources. It is well-known for its...
and Aboriginal Australians in prison.
2000 saw the release of Messages a compilation
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
of songs from Carmody's first four albums. In 2001, together with Kelly, Mairead Hannan, John Romeril
John Romeril
John Henry Romeril is a contemporary Australian playwright.John Romeril was born and grew up in Melbourne where he attended Monash University. His first plays, I Don't Know Who To Feel Sorry For and Chicago, Chicago were written while he was still a student...
, Deirdre Hannan and Alice Garner
Alice Garner
Alice Garner is an Australian actress, musician and historian.She is the daughter of Australian writer Helen Garner and writer and actor Bill Garner.-Acting life and career:...
, Carmody assisted in writing the musical score for the Australian film One Night the Moon
One Night the Moon
One Night the Moon is a 2001 Australian musical non-feature film starring husband and wife team Paul Kelly, a singer-songwriter, and Kaarin Fairfax, a film and television actress, and their daughter Memphis Kelly. Directed by Rachel Perkins and written by Perkins with John Romeril, it was filmed on...
. The soundtrack won a Screen Music Award at the 2002 Australasian Performing Right Association
APRA Awards
The APRA Music Awards are several award ceremonies run in Australia and New Zealand by Australasian Performing Right Association to recognise songwriting skills, sales and airplay performance by its members annually....
(APRA)/Australian Guild of Screen Composers (AGSC) Awards.
After a break of nearly ten years Carmody finally released a new album in 2004. The album, Mirrors, was completely self-financed and distributed. It was recorded at a friend's property "down the road" and was his first album recorded with computer technology. The songs on Mirrors cover a range of contemporary issues including refugee treatment and his thoughts on United States President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
, accompanied by the captured real life sounds of the Australian bush.
In 2007, Kelly organised the double CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
, Cannot Buy My Soul - The Songs of Kev Carmody, with tribute songs
Tribute album
A tribute album is a recorded collection of cover versions of songs or instrumental compositions. Its concept may be either various artists making a tribute to a single artist, a single artist making a tribute to various artists, or a single artist making a tribute to another single artist.There...
by various artists on one disc and a second disc of songs by Carmody himself.
On 31 October, Carmody was a special guest at the TV music channel MAX's "The Max Sessions: Powderfinger
Powderfinger
Powderfinger was an Australian rock band that formed in Brisbane in 1989. From 1992 until their breakup the band lineup consisted of vocalist Bernard Fanning, guitarists Darren Middleton and Ian Haug, bassist John Collins, and drummer Jon Coghill....
, Concert For The Cure" singing alongside front man Bernard Fanning
Bernard Fanning
Bernard Joseph Fanning is a musician and singer-songwriter. He is best known as the lead singer and frontman of Australian alternative rock band Powderfinger from its formation in 1989 to its dissolution in 2010....
to the controversial "Black Tears
Black Tears
"Black Tears" is a song by Australian alternative rock band Powderfinger, from their sixth studio album Dream Days at the Hotel Existence. The song is an acoustic ballad in a folk music style, beginning with one guitar and a lead vocal, later introducing a guitar with a synthesised effect from the...
" and also joined in with the encore of "These Days
These Days (Powderfinger song)
"These Days" is an alternative rock song from Powderfinger's fourth studio album, Odyssey Number Five, which was released in 2000. The song was also released on Powderfinger's 2004 compilation album Fingerprints: The Best of Powderfinger, 1994-2000....
". The concert was a fundraiser and thank you to the "unsung heroes" of breast cancer with an invitation-only audience made up of a special group of people – those who have suffered and survived breast cancer and their support networks. The concert closed Breast Cancer Awareness Month and was the brainchild of 20-year-old Nick Vindin, who had lost his mother Kate to the disease a few years earlier.
In the aftermath of the Australian Labor Government's
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
2008 apology to indigenous Australians, Carmody and Kelly reprised their song "From Little Things Big Things Grow" by incorporating samples from speeches by Prime Ministers
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
Paul Keating
Paul Keating
Paul John Keating was the 24th Prime Minister of Australia, serving from 1991 to 1996. Keating was elected as the federal Labor member for Blaxland in 1969 and came to prominence as the reformist treasurer of the Hawke Labor government, which came to power at the 1983 election...
in 1992 and Kevin Rudd
Kevin Rudd
Kevin Michael Rudd is an Australian politician who was the 26th Prime Minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010. He has been Minister for Foreign Affairs since 2010...
in 2008. Released under the name The GetUp Mob, part of the GetUp! advocacy group, the song peaked at #4 on the Australian Recording Industry Association
Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956...
(ARIA) singles charts. This version featured vocals by Carmody and Kelly, as well as other prominent Australian artists (including Urthboy, Missy Higgins
Missy Higgins
Melissa "Missy" Morrison Higgins is an Australian pop singer-songwriter, musician and actor. Her No. 1 albums in Australia are The Sound of White and On a Clear Night , and her Top Ten singles are "Scar", "The Special Two", "Steer" and "Where I Stood". From a musical family in...
, Mia Dyson
Mia Dyson
Mia Dyson is an Australian singer, songwriter, and guitarist. She shot to fame with her 2003 album Cold Water and her subsequent follow-up album, Parking Lots, which won "Best Blues & Roots album" at the 2005 ARIA Awards....
, Radical Son, Jane Tyrrell
The Herd
The Herd may be:* The Herd , the 1960s UK band that launched Peter Frampton's career* The Herd , a hip-hop outfit from the suburbs of Sydney, Australia* The Herd , a 1978 Turkish film...
, Dan Sultan, Joel Wenitong and Ozi Batla). Carmody has reduced his musical activities due to the effects of arthritis
Arthritis
Arthritis is a form of joint disorder that involves inflammation of one or more joints....
.
He lives with his partner Beryl on a 27-hectare (60-acres) bush block in south-east Queensland. On 22 October 2008, a live album
Live album
A live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...
from two Sydney performances by Carmody and various artists was released on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
as Cannot Buy My Soul: Kev Carmody.
On 18 April 2009, SBS TV show, RocKwiz
RocKwiz
RocKwiz is an Australian television quiz show series, focused on rock music, and broadcast on SBS One. It premiered in 2005.-Summary:The forty minute program airs on Saturday at 9:20 pm, and is hosted by Julia Zemiro. It is shot in The Gershwin Room at St Kilda's Esplanade Hotel, commonly...
, Episode 36 featured country singers, Archie Roach
Archie Roach
Archie Roach is an Australian musician. A singer, songwriter and guitarist, he survived a turbulent upbringing to develop into a powerful voice for Indigenous Australians, a storyteller in the tradition of his ancestors, and a nationally popular and respected artist.- Biography :In his own words,...
and Sara Storer
Sara Storer
Sara Storer is an Australian country music singer. She won seven Golden Guitars in the Tamworth Country Music Festival 2004 awards in Tamworth, the most awards ever won in one year in the 32-year history of the awards. As of the 2010 Golden Guitar awards, Storer has won a total of eleven...
, who sang a duet with "From Little Things Big Things Grow".
On 27 August 2009, Carmody was inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association
Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956...
(ARIA) Hall of Fame
ARIA Hall of Fame
Since 1988 the Australian Recording Industry Association has inducted artists into its ARIA Hall of Fame. While most have been recognised at the annual ARIA Music Awards, in 2005 ARIA sought to create a separate standalone "ARIA Icons: Hall of Fame" event as only one or two acts could be inducted...
alongside The Dingoes
The Dingoes
The Dingoes are an Australian country rock band initially active from 1973 to 1979, formed in Melbourne they relocated to the United States from 1976. Most stable line-up was John Bois on bass guitar, John Lee on drums, Broderick Smith on vocals and harmonica, Chris Stockley on guitar and Kerryn...
, Little Pattie
Little Pattie
Little Pattie is the stage name of Australian singer, Patricia Thelma Amphlett OAM later Patricia Thompson, who performed as a 1960s surf pop singer and then in adult contemporary music...
, Mental As Anything
Mental As Anything
Mental As Anything are an Australian New Wave–rock music band formed at an art school in Sydney in 1976. Their most popular line-up was Martin Plaza on vocals and guitar; Reg Mombassa on lead guitar and vocals; his brother Peter "Yoga Dog" O'Doherty on bass guitar and vocals; Wayne "Bird"...
and John Paul Young
John Paul Young
John Paul Young is an Australian pop singer who had a 1978 worldwide hit with "Love Is in the Air"...
, Carmody's first reaction was to laugh and reply "I must be getting into the Hall of Fame with the lowest record sales in history". At the ceremony, Missy Higgins inducted Carmody, who accepted the induction,
Carmody was joined onstage by Paul Kelly, Dan Kelly
Dan Kelly (musician)
Daniel "Dan" Kelly is an Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is the second oldest of six children and the nephew of Paul Kelly. He grew up in Queensland and learnt the guitar at thirteen, studying Environmental Science at University, in Brisbane, in 1990...
, Missy Higgins and John Butler
John Butler (musician)
John Charles Wiltshire-Butler or John Charles Butler is an Australian musician, songwriter, record label owner and producer...
to perform "From Little Things Big Things Grow".
Awards
- 1993 Country Music Association of Australia Heritage AwardCountry Music Awards of AustraliaThe CMAA Country Music Awards of Australia is an annual awards night held in January during the Tamworth Country Music Festival, in Tamworth, New South Wales, Australia celebrating recording excellence in the Australian country music industry. They are wholly owned and staged by the Country Music...
for "From Little Things, Big Things Grow" - 2001 Australian Film Industry’s Open Craft AwardAustralian Film Institute AwardsThe Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Award, known as the AACTA Award , is an accolade presented annually by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts . The awards recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry and television industry, including directors,...
in a Non-Feature Film for an Original Score - 2005 recipientThe Deadlys Award winners 2005-Music:*Most Promising New Talent: Lez Beckett*Single Release of the Year: Casey Donovan — Listen with Your Heart*Album Release of the Year: Fitzroy Xpress — Home Sweet Home*Band of the Year: Local Knowledge*Artist of the Year: Casey Donovan...
of the Jimmy LittleJimmy LittleJimmy Little AO , is an Australian Aboriginal musician, singer, songwriter and guitarist, whose career has spanned six decades. For many years he was the only Aboriginal star on the Australian music scene...
Award for Lifetime Achievement in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Music (The DeadlysThe DeadlysThe Deadlys are an annual celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander achievement in music, sport, entertainment and community. Vibe Australia hosts the awards, which for have been held at the Sydney Opera House since 2001. The first Deadly awards were held in 1995...
) - 2008 Honorary Doctorate - University of Southern QueenslandUniversity of Southern QueenslandThe University of Southern Queensland is based in Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia. The institution was established in 1967 as the Queensland Institute of Technology...
- 2009 Great Queenslander, ARIA Hall of FameARIA Hall of FameSince 1988 the Australian Recording Industry Association has inducted artists into its ARIA Hall of Fame. While most have been recognised at the annual ARIA Music Awards, in 2005 ARIA sought to create a separate standalone "ARIA Icons: Hall of Fame" event as only one or two acts could be inducted...
inductee.
Studio albums
- Pillars of Society - Rutabagas/Larrikin RecordsLarrikin RecordsLarrikin Records is a record company founded in 1974 by Warren Fahey. Larrikin started as an independent label and was sold in 1995 to Festival Records....
/Festival Records/Song Cycles (December 1988) - Eulogy (For A Black Person) - Festival (November 1990)
- Bloodlines - Festival/Song Cycles (July 1993)
- Images and Illusions - Festival/Song Cycles (September 1995)
- Mirrors - Song Cycles (May 2003)
Compilation albums
- Messages (compilationCompilation albumA compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
) - Song Cycles (2000) - Cannot Buy My Soul - The Songs of Kev Carmody - EMI (2-CDCompact DiscThe Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
, February 2007)
Singles
- "Jack Deelin" (1988)
- "Thou Shalt Not Steal" (February 1990)
- "Eulogy" (November 1990)
- "From Little Things Big Things GrowFrom Little Things Big Things Grow"From Little Things Big Things Grow" is a rock protest song recorded by Australian artists Paul Kelly & The Messengers on their 1991 album Comedy, and by Kev Carmody on his 1993 album Bloodlines. It was released as a CD single by Carmody and Kelly in 1993 but failed to chart...
" (1991) - "Cannot Buy My Soul" (December 1991)
- "Blood Red Rose" (April 1992)
- "Living South of the Freeway" (October 1992)
- "Freedom" (July 1993)
- "On the Wire" (May 1994)
- "The Young Dancer Is Dead" (1995)
External links
- Official website
- [ Kev Carmody] @ Allmusic
- Kev Carmody @ MusicbrainzMusicBrainzMusicBrainz is a project that aims to create an open content music database. Similar to the freedb project, it was founded in response to the restrictions placed on the CDDB...
- Kev Carmody @ DiscogsDiscogsDiscogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...
- Listen to a clip from 'From Little Things Big Things Grow' and read more about it on australianscreen online
- 'From Little Things Big Things Grow' was added to the National Film and Sound Archive's Sounds of Australia Registry in 2010