History
 
 

The history of the Kelly Family began when their great-grandfather emigrated form Ireland to the USA.
His name was Sean O'Kelley, but he changed it for Kelly. He lived a successful life in America as a violin
player.

Dan Kelly was born in the USA in 1930. He became a teacher and an antique dealer. He married to Joanne
in 1957. They got 4 children: Danny, Caroline, Kathy (1963), Paul.

In 1967 Dan left the USA and moved to Spain - to a safer area, than America was at that time. There he
met a ballet dancer Barbara Ann. She became a mother of Johnny (1967) and Patricia (1969). They got
married in 1970. Then Jimmy (1971), Joey (1972) and Barby (1975) were born. Their life was very
different from their life in the USA. They lived there a modern life, but in Spain they hadn't got a car or a
radio or a TV. The music was the only entertainment for the children.

That was the time, when Kathy first sang for the public. It was Christmas. The children offered some gifts
for Jesus then Kathy sang a song.

Then their mother bought a record player. They got a lot of and different kinds of records from classical
to Walt Disney. They often sang the songs with the record player. These were their first performances, just
for themselves, as a hobby.

Dan Kelly wanted to entertain the people in their village. One day they learned a song and they went out of
their house and sang for the neighbours. That was their first performance as a band.

Then they moved to Madrid and bought a little flat on the Plaza Major. That was the time when they first
earned money with singing. Dan and Kathy played in cafes with a great success. They weren't profis, but
they all knew that a new side of their life would begin soon.

From there they went to North-Spain. They made huge posters with their first name: "Kelly Kids". They
belived that the people would dance during their performance, but they stood and listen to the songs.

They became very popular in that part of the country, every town wanted to see them. That time was their
first TV show, that made them famous in the whole Spain.

Then they moved to Pamplona. They earned money with singing in restaurants. One time they were
asked to sing on the street. The reaction of the people was fantastic.

The Kellys started their journey in 1976. One time when they were having a holiday in Rome they were
robed. The thief left over only their instrumentes. They tried to earn money with singing on the streets.
The reaction was the same. So they stayed there. They met Christian Thomas, Kathy's future
teacher, who invited them to Wien, where Kathy could learn free. There they were playing in a circus.
After they had earned some money, they travelled to Ireland, where Paddy was born (1977). They sang in
pubs and had few performances in a Dublin Childrenhospital.

In 1977 they moved to England, where Dan bought a double decker bus. A few months later they went to
South-Germany, to Stuttgart. They made some records in the bus and they sold them on the street
themselves. That was the time of making their first official single: Danny Boy. Then they had a TV show
in Germany. Then Maite was born (1979). Then came their second single: Who'll Come With Me. After their
third album they moved to Holland then to Switzerland.

When Barbara Ann became ill they moved back to Spain, where their last child, Angelo (1981), was born.
Barbara's last wishes were that they had to stay together and keep on singing.

After Barbara Ann had died, they moved to Paris. That was when they first used microphones, which
doubled their earnings. They made a single in 1985 (Une famille c'est une chanson) but that wasn't very
successful.

Then they went to America for 8 months and went back to Germany. They first made little
concerts for 200-400 people, but then they wanted playing again in the streets.

In 1988 they had a bigger concert. It was a risky idea, but they could fill the whole hall up with 6000
people.

Then they bought a ship and moved to Amsterdam for 2 years. There they learned how to use their ship
and the smaller children learned music from profi teachers. They made an album: Keep On Singing and a
video clip: Sean O'Kelley.

In 1990 they moved back to Germany. They bought a stage and they played there until 1994.

Then they made an album Over The Hump, and a song on it: An Angel made them famous in the whole
Europe.

1995 was the year of the concerts for them. In Wien they played for 200,000 people.

In 1996 they made an album Almost Heaven, in 1997 Growin' up, 1998 - the From their hearts.
 
 

And that's the story of amazing people: