Epic Mural Celebrating Paul Kelly Appears In Sydney

Acclaimed street artist Scott Marsh paid tribute to Paul Kelly and his 1985 song, 'From St Kilda to Kings Cross.'

Paul Kelly(Credit: Dean Podmore)

Acclaimed Australian visual-meets-street artist Scott Marsh has unveiled a stunning mural of Paul Kelly, located in the heart of Sydney.

In 2019, Marsh painted a mural of Kelly outside the Hotel Esplanade (aka The Espy) in Melbourne, intending to paint a neighbouring mural in Sydney. Now, that goal has finally eventuated, with the Aussie artist paying tribute to Kelly’s 1985 song, From St Kilda to Kings Cross.

Like the painting at The Espy, the new one – located at the Potts Point Hotel – is massive, taking over the whole side of the building. Unlike the previous mural, however, Marsh’s latest depicts an older and wiser Kelly.

““…To Kings Cross” a portrait of legendary Australian singer-songwriter Paul Kelly,” Marsh wrote on social media, alongside images of the pair of murals.

He continued, “7 years ago I painted a portrait of Paul on the Hotel Esplanade in St Kilda Melbourne, with the title “From St Kilda…” taken from Paul’s 1985 song From St Kilda to Kings Cross.

“The intention was always to paint a second portrait in Sydney completing the song title, it took a while but we got there! Huge thanks to Potts Point Hotel for the huge canvas and hospitality.”

You can see the murals below.

In 2000, Kelly opened up about the creation of From St Kilda to Kings Cross, where he told the ABC:

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.

In the last few years, Kelly, one of Australia’s most beloved musicians, embarked on his biggest tour of the country to date, visiting arenas; released a sequel to one of Australia’s most resonant, classic songs with Rita Wrote A Letter; received even more ARIA Award nominations; and last year, commemorated his 70th birthday with the release of the album, Seventy.