Paul Brady

Born in Belfast in 1947 and raised in Strabane, County Tyrone, Paul Brady was initially shaped by rhythm and blues, folk and Irish traditional music before broadening his songwriting toward pop and rock. Active since the mid-1960s, he first played in several bands in Dublin and then joined The Johnstons in 1967, travelling with them to London and New York. Back in Ireland, he joined Planxty in 1974 and subsequently formed a notable folk duo with Andy Irvine, documented on the album Andy Irvine/Paul Brady (1976). His first solo album, Welcome Here Kind Stranger (1978), remained rooted in the traditional repertoire, while Hard Station (1981) marked a shift toward more contemporary songwriting, between folk-rock, melodic pop and singer-songwriter material. This direction continued with True for You (1983), Back to the Centre (1986), Primitive Dance (1987) and Trick or Treat (1991). Paul Brady has also worked with musicians such as Tommy Peoples, Matt Molloy, Bonnie Raitt, Richard Thompson and Cara Dillon, and several of his songs have been covered by other artists. More recently he released Unfinished Business (2017) and Maybe So (2022), continuing a trajectory between Irish tradition, acoustic songwriting and more electric formats.