Bap Kennedy

Bap Kennedy is the performing name of Martin Christopher Kennedy, a singer-songwriter from Belfast, Northern Ireland. Born in 1962, he is associated with rock, country and folk music, and is also known for work as a rhythm guitarist, lead singer and primary songwriter. He dies in 2016.

Early life and first bands

Kennedy grows up on the Falls Road in Belfast during the 1970s, in the context of the Troubles. He gets the nickname “Bap” as a childhood reference to the bread rolls sold by Kennedy’s Bakery. He leaves Northern Ireland in 1985 and works as a labourer on building sites in London before becoming a professional musician. While living in England, he qualifies as a diamond gemmologist through the Gemmological Association of Great Britain.

His first band is the punk group Sellout, formed in 1978 to support Uncle Waldo at a local Belfast club. In 1980 he forms 10 Past 7 after playing in several other local bands. The group gains national attention with an appearance on Channel 4’s The Tube in 1983, is managed by Mark Kelly, and is signed to Good Vibrations by Terri Hooley. It releases two singles before Kennedy leaves Belfast for London.

Energy Orchard

In 1987 Kennedy forms Energy Orchard in London with other musicians originally from Belfast. He serves as rhythm guitarist, lead singer and principal songwriter. The band signs to MCA Records in 1988 and releases two albums on that label, then moves to Transatlantic for two further studio albums and the live album Orchardville. Energy Orchard becomes regulars on the London live circuit, plays the first London Fleadh in 1990, and tours extensively in the UK, Europe and the United States. Support slots include shows with Van Morrison, Steve Earle and Jimmy Barnes. The band ends in 1996 with a farewell St Patrick’s Day show in London, recorded for Orchardville.

Solo career

After Energy Orchard ends, Steve Earle offers to produce Kennedy’s first solo record. Kennedy goes to Nashville, Tennessee and records Domestic Blues, released in 1998 and produced by the Twang Trust of Earle and Ray Kennedy. Earle plays guitar and sings backing vocals on the album, which also includes Jerry Douglas, Peter Rowan and Nanci Griffith. Most of the songs are written by Kennedy, except for “Angel is the Devil”. Released on Earle’s E-Squared label, the album charts at number eight on the Billboard 200 and is used in several film soundtracks. “Vampire” appears in You Can Count On Me, and three other tracks are used in Southie. The title track later becomes the theme for BBC Radio 4 comedy Happy Tuesdays.

Kennedy then records Hillbilly Shakespeare, an album of Hank Williams covers featuring B.J. Cole on pedal steel guitar. It receives a very limited release as the first record on Kennedy’s own label, Lonely Street Discs. He also manages an Elvis impersonator called The King and produces Gravelands, an album of songs by deceased artists performed in the style of Elvis Presley. The record becomes a favourite of John Peel and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

He follows this with Lonely Street, a concept album based on the lives of Hank Williams and Elvis Presley. Released in 2000 on Lonely Street Discs, it includes bass playing from Herbie Flowers. The song “Moonlight Kiss” is later used in the soundtrack to Serendipity.

Collaborations and later albums

Following Lonely Street, Kennedy tours with Shane MacGowan and Pete Doherty, and plays at the Half Moon, Putney. The Big Picture includes guest vocals from MacGowan, who sings the final verse of “On the Mighty Ocean Alcohol”, and from Carolyn Cassady, who gives a reading from her book Off the Road at the end of “Moriarty’s Blues”. The song “Moriarty’s Blues” refers to Dean Moriarty, the On the Road character based on Neal Cassady. The album also marks a return to working with Van Morrison, who records it at his studio and co-writes “Milky Way” with Kennedy. Other musicians include B.J. Cole and James Walbourne of The Pretenders.

Mark Knopfler later asks Kennedy to support his tours, leading to Kennedy working as support artist and special guest on tours of the USA and Europe, including a five-night run at London’s Royal Albert Hall. Knopfler also produces The Sailor’s Revenge at British Grove Studios in London. The album is a close collaboration between the two, with Knopfler involved in song selection, guitar parts and backing vocals on “Celtic Sea”. Musicians on the record include Glenn Worf, Guy Fletcher, John McCusker, Michael McGoldrick, Richard Bennett, Jerry Douglas and James Walbourne. Released in 2012 on Proper Records, it receives wide critical acclaim and is named No Depression’s best album of 2012, while Mojo places it in its Top 10 Americana albums of the year.

Let’s Start Again follows in 2014 and shifts to a more upbeat Americana style. Kennedy records it in Northern Ireland with producer Mudd Wallace, who also works with the Northern Irish band Therapy? and had produced 10 Past 7. The album uses local Northern Irish session musicians and members of Kennedy’s live band, including his wife Brenda Kennedy, who plays bass and sings backing vocals. Brenda also appears on Howl On and The Sailor’s Revenge. Let’s Start Again is released by Proper Records and receives strong reviews, including five stars from No Depression.

Other work, family and interests

Kennedy’s solo work also includes Howl On, a 2009 concept album about the Space Race and the Apollo programme, with attention to the lives of astronauts and scientists. The album includes the cover “Hey Joe” as a reference to the period, and features guest guitar from Henry McCullough. It is followed by touring in the UK, Europe and America, including South by South West and Glastonbury in 2009.

He marries author and former lawyer Brenda Boyd in 2008 after meeting her at a songwriting workshop. Through that marriage he becomes stepfather to Christine White and Kenneth Hall. With Brenda, he becomes co-patron of Autism NI in 2010. He also develops a strong interest in the Apollo space programme, which informs Howl On.

Death

Kennedy starts a health blog in 2016 after a cancer diagnosis and dies in hospice care on 1 November 2016 from pancreatic and bowel cancer.