Irish singer Brian Kennedy kicks off his 18-date Aussie tour next week.

Brian Kennedy’s voice is as evocatively Irish as those of Sinéad O’Connor or Máire Ní Bhraonáin or Luke Kelly. On the eve of his Australian tour, the Belfast troubadour tells ISABEL HAYES about his enduring affection for Australia, his forthcoming autobiography and the challenges of being a high-profile gay Irishman.

During this year’s Mardi Gras, Brian Kennedy received a phone call from Sydney and heard his own voice coming right back at him.

They were playing his song, You Raise Me Up, in the middle of the parade and a friend had called to let him know.

“I couldn’t believe it,” he told the Irish Echo. “To have my music played at such an event was something else.”

Brian Kennedy would perform at Mardi Gras in a heartbeat – “If you know anyone, you just tell them that” – but this summer, the 43-year-old Belfast singer will be touring around Australia while the Mardi Gras takes place.

“It’s a pity, but it is definitely something I will go to some day,” he said. “Sydney is such a vibrant city and such a fantastic city to be a gay man. Australian men, as far as I can see, are all gorgeous. And the weather puts everyone in great form. It’s lovely to see two men freely walking down the street holding hands.”

This is something that rarely happens in Dublin, where Kennedy, who is currently single, lives.

“I could count on one hand the number of couples I have seen holding hands in the last year,” he said.
“I mean, last week I saw two girls walking down the street holding hands and I thought, ‘good on you girls’. I gave them a little nod and a thumbs up, but then I thought, ‘oh God, was that patronising?’ I hope they didn’t think so. I mean, that’s the way it still is in Dublin. You see foreign men holding hands in the street every now and then, and couples discreetly holding hands, but it’s not that often.”

Despite this, Kennedy, who came out 10 years ago, believes things are getting better in Ireland.
“Ireland is changing before our eyes. It has never been more acceptable to be gay than it is now. I’ve sung at Gay Pride twice and attended it three times and every year it gets bigger and better.

“There is still a long way to go, especially in terms of the whole gay marriage and civil partnership issue, but I think people’s attitudes are getting better.”

Kennedy kicks off a month-long tour of Australia in February in what will be his eighth time to visit the continent. It is a gruelling tour by anyone’s standards, involving 19 performances over 28 days across six states and the ACT.

“There’s not much time to breathe on this tour, but I’m there to work, not on a holiday,” he said.

“I think it will be great craic all the same. Australian audiences are very like the Irish, and of course there are so many Irish living in Australia right now.”

Don’t expect to see Kennedy on a surf board during his time here however. Before the tour, he will be hanging out in Sydney with friends for a few days – “chilling out, having a few dinners” – but while on tour he will most likely be spotted hunting for a gym rather than donning a wetsuit.

“I recently signed up to do the Autism Ireland June marathon after Keith Duffy mentioned it to me,” he said. “It’s going to be quite a challenge and I’ll need to train hard for it.”

Kennedy was training in his gym in Dublin when he bumped into Stephen Gately just a couple of weeks before the Boyzone star’s untimely death in October. Stephen had “never been in better physical shape,” he said.

“Stephen was also that bit cheeky, always with the raised eyebrow, looking for a wee bit of gossip from you, who you were seeing, that kind of thing.

“He was such a lovely guy. When these things happen it really makes you think about your own life and what you’ve got.”

For Kennedy, life is always about the next challenge. He is currently 60,000 words into his autobiography, Harmonising With Ambulances, which due to be published late next year.

The title is a reference to his years growing up in Belfast during the Troubles. Now in his 20th year of performing, he is also working on new music and hopes to release a new album next year. His most recent album, Interpretations, was made up of covers of popular music – music he specifically asked his producers to pick in order to heighten the challenge.

“I never want to make it too easy on myself or too boring,” he said.

“This is my life work I’m leaving behind. If I’m going to promote an album for a year, then I have to be proud of each and every record. I can say that about every album I have signed off on.”

Kennedy’s Australian tour will kick off in Canberra on February 25.

Check out his full list of tour dates here.