Read Paul Kelly's Incredible Acceptance Speech From This Year's Helpmann Awards

31 July 2015 | 3:19 pm | Staff Writer

The almost mythical veteran reveals a very human, idealistic, vulnerable side

Last weekend's annual Helpmann Awards recognised the best and brightest creative minds Australia has to offer, and among those artists honoured with awards was certified living legend Paul Kelly, who walked away the recipient of the prestigious JC Williamson Award for his "outstanding contribution" to the Australian performing arts industry.

As it turns out, he probably could have also made off with the prize for "best acceptance speech", if such an honour existed, as Kelly delivered a heartfelt, vividly worded, humble acceptance that pays more homage to those who shaped and supported him on his musical journey than it does his own voluminous talents - not that Kelly's ever truly been one for self-inflation to begin with.

Working with the recurring theme of having people by his side "every step of the way", Kelly provides a slightly wistful, though undeniably learned, perspective of his decades-long career, and ended on an optimistic note primed to leave his fans ready to stay by his side going forward - every step of the way.

Read our exclusive transcript of his acceptance speech in full below, courtesy of the Helpmann Awards.

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Every step of the way there’s someone with you. Maybe it starts way back as a kid when your parents make you have piano lessons and don’t ask whether you feel like it or not. A little later on your older brothers and sisters start bringing records into the house. Your second eldest sister teaches you your first chords on guitar – I’m In Love with a Big Blue Frog by Peter, Paul and Mary.

Every step of the way. Your mates back in Adelaide singing Neil Young, Gram Parsons, Bob Dylan and you, 18 years old, watching their hands, soaking it up, going to their houses with blank cassettes and taping Robert Johnson and Howling Wolf off their record players. Later on when you pluck up the courage to sing in front of your family your grandmother, a little horrified, shows you how to breathe.

Every step of the way. You’re in a loud band now and every time you go to Sydney you play at the Manzill room in The Cross. You start at one in the morning and don’t finish til five. Your only sibling in the city is your eldest sister, a Loreto nun, who always comes and endures the whole three sets. Sometimes that same morning after a few hours sleep you and your band and crew get in a van and drive non-stop to Melbourne.

Every step of the way. They’re still with you, the bands and crews, your boon companions over the years. Faces change and people come and go but the little traveling commando unit has always got your back and you’ve got theirs. Airports, highways. Getting to the venue on time, battling the squeals and dodgy PA s at sound check aiming for that sweet spot, the 2 hour pay off of show time. And all the while your crew – lights, sound, stage - hovering like hawks, making sure everything flies. They start work before you and finish later and get up earlier in the morning.

Every step of the way. The promoters and the pub and club owners who take a chance on live music. The people who leave their warm houses and easy screens to join with others and witness the metamorphosis of sweat, flesh and blood. The music fans and critics who write about that mystery, its misfires and miracles. Your booking agents, your publicists – who don’t mind the red pen on their first draft press releases!- your graphic artists, clip makers, publishers. Those whom you keep returning to who do good work. Even when you’re performing solo you’re part of a team. Your managers managing the unmanageable, your record companies. “You what? You want to put a Bluegrass record and an electronic dub record out on the same day? You want to put poems to music with a student orchestra and a modern classical composer? You want to make a record with 11 songs on it but you’re only gonna sing 3? Alright then. Go ahead. We’ve got your back.”

Your children, wives, girlfriends, friends who put up with you, who miss you, who support you, who’ve got your back too. Every step of the way.

There are quite a few people here tonight who’ve taken many of those steps with me. I hope we can take a whole lot more together.


Keep your eyes peeled in the near future for full video footage of Kelly accepting his award. If you need to catch up on what happened at this year's Helpmanns, see the event's website.