Paul Kelly has officially announced his 30th studio album, entitled Seventy. The album is set for release on Friday, November 7th – exactly one year and six days after the release of his previous album, Fever Longing Still. The album’s title alludes to the fact that Kelly himself turned 70 back in January, making this album the first of his 70s. To coincide with the album announcement, Kelly has shared its lead single: ‘Rita Wrote A Letter’, which serves as a sequel to Kelly’s 1996 classic ‘How To Make Gravy’. The song, as well as Kelly’s upcoming national tour dates, can be found below.
Kelly teased the release of ‘Rita Wrote A Letter’ in an unconventional fashion earlier in the week, when it was revealed he had taken out an obituary in The Age newspaper on Monday (August 11th) announcing the “death” of Joe, the protagonist from ‘How To Make Gravy’ whose letter to his brother Dan made up the lyrics to the song. “We’ll miss you badly, Joe,” the obituary read. “You loved life and you went hard at it. You loved music, food, football, celebration, tall tales and strong argument.
“We can still see you cooking up a storm in the kitchen at our big family gatherings, pots and pans on the go, BBQ smoking outside, glass of wine in hand, your beloved reggae music on the stereo; Junior Murvin, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Gregory Isaac and the like. You filling up everybody’s drinks and teasing the little ones. Christmas just won’t be the same this year without you.”
In a press statement, Kelly revealed that he had been planning a follow-up to to ‘Gravy’ “for quite some time”. Its origins began in 2020, with Kelly writing during Melbourne’s extensive COVID-19 lockdowns. “I scratched away intermittently and fruitlessly for several years, but never got very far until [nephew] Dan Kelly sent me a recording of something he’d written on piano with a rough melody over the top. The words started rolling after that. As often happens, they took me by surprise. You could say the song took a dark turn, but to my mind it’s a black comedy. A ghost story. You hear Rita’s voice loud and clear, but Joe talks even more. I couldn’t shut him up.”
An accompanying music video for ‘Rita Wrote A Letter’ has also been shared. Kelly co-stars in the clip alongside Australian actor Justine Clarke, who plays Joe and Rita’s daughter Dolly. She is best known for her extensive career as a children’s entertainer and Play School presenter who has recently been performing in the one-woman show Julia, in which she plays the eponymous former Prime Minister Julia Gilliard. The video, directed by Imogen McClusky, can be viewed below.
Paul Kelly – ‘Rita Wrote A Letter’
“I was inspired to tap into my own family’s ghost stories when approaching the creative,” said McClusky in her own statement. “Often funny and tender, they speak to the thin membrane between this world and the next, and the messages that reach us from beyond the grave. I hope the iconic lore of Rita and Joe continues to touch Paul Kelly fans new and old.”
Kelly had first alluded to a new studio album back in June, when he shared a long-lost track entitled ‘Cool Hand Lukin’ that was originally written and recorded back in 1984. Kelly’s newsletter at the time confirmed that he had already finished work on Seventy, although its title was not known at the time. “After much cogitating and listening and talking with the band and team, I have settled on the songs and order,” he wrote at the time. “It has just been sent off to be mastered.
“There is always a sense of relief getting to this point. No more tinkering, no more adjusting, no more wondering, ‘What about this?’ or ‘How about that?’ The music part of it is out of my hands at last, and now it’s time to start working on the cover.” The album will feature duets with former Rebecca’s Empire frontwoman Rebecca Barnard, as well as Meg Washington – the latter of whom co-wrote and musically directed the film adaptation of ‘How To Make Gravy’, released last December.
Ahead of the release of Seventy, Kelly and his band – the aforementioned Dan Kelly on rhythm guitar, Ash Naylor on lead guitar, Cameron Bruce on keyboards, Bill McDonald on bass and Peter Luscombe on drums – will tour nationally with Lucinda Williams and Fanny Lumsden on what will be Kelly’s first-ever headlining arena tour of the country. Dates and ticketing info can be found below.
Seventy, meanwhile, can be pre-saved digitally and pre-ordered physically by clicking here.
Paul Kelly, Lucinda Williams & Fanny Lumsden 2025 Tour Dates
- Tuesday, August 26th – RAC Arena, Perth WA
- Friday, August 29th – Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane QLD
- Saturday, August 30th – Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney NSW
- Tuesday, September 2nd – MyState Bank Arena, Hobart TAS
- Thursday, September 4th – AEC Arena, Adelaide SA
- Saturday, September 6th – Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne VIC
All remaining tickets are on sale now via Frontier Touring.
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