Tuesday 16 September 2008

JIM KELLY ON GUITAR

Known affectionately by his Dundee mates as "The Welly", Jim Kelly started 
gigging locally in the mid 60's.
One of the groups he was in during this time was The Honours.
He then left Dundee around 1967 to join "The Luvvers", Lulu's backing band.
After a year or so he joined "The Honeybus" who were quite a major chart band, and recorded a couple of albums with them.
In 1969 he released a solo single called "Mary, Mary".
He came back to Dundee in 1970 and had more success with rock outfit "The Sleaz Band", gigging & recording.
Around 1973 he teamed up with local band "Hunters Key" ( my cousin John Lunan on drums ), and he stayed with them for a few years.
He was also known for his great sense of humour, but his health eventually gave way and he died in the mid 90's.
Here below is a wee tribute vid showcasing the Welly on a track called "Girl Of Independent Means". The guitar riff intro sounding very similar to David Bowie's 1972 hit "Jean Genie", who coincidentally, was also on the same "Deram" label when this was recorded in 1968..!!


24 comments:

  1. great site you have going would to hear jim kelly at the angus hotel he was excellent he was brilliant at fleetwood macs albatross

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  2. fantastic to see this site!, Jim was my mothers cousin, my second cousin, great to hear and see some of his work, wouldnt mind hearing his take on albatross at the old Angus hotel either. . thats if you have it

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    1. i was related to him too

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    2. My name is Maureen Mitchell I had a band called the Doh Rae Me and Maureen in the 60s. Jim Kelly was in the band as were Stan Tindall and Brian McKelvie. They were hailed as dundee's Everley Brothers. Great Times. Jim Kjelly was a legend.

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  3. The similarity to jean genie is breathtakingly obvious- I guess nobody thought of suing Bowie...who by the way always said that he half inched a lot of ideas, though in saying that his 1974 gig at the Caird hall was unbefuckinlievable- definately changed my life.....has anyone pics from that night??? great site by the way...

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  4. Photo slideshow of the Bowie Caird Hall gig to be found in the Retro Dundee November Archives. GG

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  5. Jim Kelly done Dundee proud, he was a fantastic talent that no one has come close to. Jim was so humble and funny, he was great to be around, and when he played at whatever venue, the place was mobbed with wide open mouthed punters,... such was the talent of this great guitarist and musician. Sadly missed,...has anyone got any recordings of jim with the Sleaze Band? or tapes of him playing? If so why not get them up on here.

    Ritchie

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  6. I was proud to have played with jim, he was part of our make up band the flying circus. we played on the ballinard hotel on sunday afternoons to a capacity audience.the highlight of the day was jim playing "country boy"other guitarists in the line up were pat docherty,and john ford.three of the best guitarists in dundee at that time.an experience never to be repeated.

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  7. Can anyone help with information on 'The Honours'?

    All I have came from this site ... except for some autographs ...

    Jim Kelly - guitar
    Mike Dolan?
    Ray Cooper?
    Ken Kindlen?
    Drew Perey?

    I'd be grateful for any information for my site KinemaGigz.com

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    1. Jim Petrie, - ('Mark Dayton') -- Lead Vocals (Mark Dayton & The Honours)

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    2. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  8. Billinard hotel was the place to be when jim Kelly bob barty and a host of others gigged on a Sunday lunch time great times they were

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  9. One of my all time favourite songs from the Sleaz band https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etiJWELXZeE

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  10. I have a cd anthology of the Sleaz band which was compiled by their sound engineer and has 20+ songs from 1969-74, I got it when surveying his house and chatting about this great Dundee Rock band. There are some fantastic Beatleish songs, right through to full on heavy rock with great attitude and guitar work, email on carnegiefamily@yahoo.co.uk,if you want me to burn & post you a copy. Aye Angus

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  11. Jim Kelly played lead guitar with our band when he was sixteen years of age. The band was called the Wise Brothers and the line up was Jim Kelly, lead guitar, Willie Patullo, bass, Eck Sturrock guitar, Robin Galloway, drums and vocalists Graham and Malcolm Wise. Jim tuned his guitar completely different to the norm, he played with slack strings to produce the sound he was looking for. Jim was in the band for a matter of months and he left our band to join Honeybus. I never met up with Jim again but I still remember him fondly. R.I.P.

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  12. Jim should have not could have been one of the greats, just never got tha one big break, solo hit, which was all record companies were interested in sadly Mary Mary never charted.

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  13. Jim joined great local band SanJo to play at our wedding at the Angus Hotel in Dec'76. Great honour for us to be his hosts for the day. Great local icon. Never forgotten.

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  14. New the man few years class act shame the world never heard him davy daly

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  15. I remember the Sleaz band playing at the Burn's Howff in Glasgow in 70's...great band!

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  16. anyone have any recordings of Hunters Key Jim was in this band early 80's

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  17. I bought Jim’s Cherry Red Gibson 335 from Forbes, Dundee around 1970. Wish I still had it, traded it for a Les Paul Custom but the 335 was the better guitar! RIP.

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  18. Any pics of my dad at any time would be apretiated . My young twins want too see more. Sadly some lost. Thanks 😊

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  19. Can this be true? I once stood and intently listened to a story of how another dundee player who claimed he bought the guitar from Jim personally. He maintained he still uses it.
    I was there in London when jim first played it ( At the time, jim was still playing his own
    Harmony Sovereign) The gibson was offered to jim from Pete Dello. nobody had such funds to aford a guitar at £180 outright! Jim raved to me about the instrument, the Gibson, for weeks., Eventually he got it.
    I wouldn't like to think it went astray, provenance free, ,,,, with respect to any of the two mentioned here!

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  20. A Ittle addedum:- Pete. at the time dropped a few name of the guys who used it , , , There were a few but I remember, Slowhand, Peter Green
    I wouldn't like to think Jim's pals would have allowed this to go on the loose,,,, But sadly That's Dundee

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