Paul Kelly is an English film director, musician, photographer and designer.

Music

The son of an RAF fighter pilot - he took up flying aged fourteen, making his first solo flight on his seventeenth birthday. However, a passion for music and electric guitars eventually led him to follow a musical path. In the early 1980s he formed the band Episode Four with his brother Martin

Martin Kelly (Heavenly)

Martin Kelly has been a musician, music manager, record label boss, music publisher and author. Best known as Jeff Barrett's partner at Heavenly Recordings, a British independent record label run by the pair between 1993-2009.-Early years:Kelly was born in Cyprus, the son of an RAF Squadron...

. Changing their name to East Village

East Village (band)

Formed in the mid '80s by two brothers, Martin and Paul Kelly, East Village were an indie pop band from Princes Risborough, England. The band's music, which drew heavily on the influence of 1960s guitar bands such as The Byrds, The Beatles,and Buffalo Springfield was in stark contrast to the acid...

 the band went on to join Heavenly Records

Heavenly Records

Heavenly Records, aka Heavenly Recordings, is a London-based record label, distributed by EMI. Founded by Jeff Barrett, a former press officer for Creation Records and many successful indie bands of the time including Happy Mondays, Heavenly Recordings' first releases were 7" and 12" singles for...

 with whom they recorded an album ‘Drop Out’ in 1990. The band split in 1991 after releasing three singles. The album was eventually released in 1993.

Following a brief spell as guitarist with the Saint Etienne

Saint Etienne (band)

Saint Etienne are an English Pop group comprising Sarah Cracknell, Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs. They are named after the French football team AS Saint-Étienne.-History:Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs were childhood friends and former music journalists...

 live band, he began to concentrate more on film and design work, although he continued to produce music, forming the band Birdie with his partner and former Dolly Mixture

Dolly Mixture

Dolly Mixture were a British post-punk/new wave band formed in 1978 by bassist and vocalist Debsey Wykes , guitarist and vocalist Rachel Bor , and drummer Hester Smith...

 member Debsey Wykes. They signed with Tris Penna’s It Records, releasing several singles and two studio albums, Some Dusty (1999) and Triple Echo (2001).

Film Work

A keen photographer since childhood, Kelly began to photograph some of the other bands he came into contact with as a musician. He took up film making as an extension to this photography work initially directing music promo videos for bands including Saint Etienne

Saint Etienne

Saint Étienne is French for Saint Stephen."Saint Etienne" may further refer to:- France :*Saint-Étienne-du-Mont, a church in Paris, FranceCommunes*Saint-Étienne, in the Loire department*Saint-Étienne-à-Arnes, in the Ardennes department...

, Hal, Cherry Ghost and The Magic Numbers

The Magic Numbers

The Magic Numbers are an English pop rock band comprising two pairs of brothers and sisters from Greenford. The group was formed in 2002, releasing their critically acclaimed debut album titled The Magic Numbers on 13 June 2005...

. In 2002 he was asked by Saint Etienne to collaborate on a film project they were planning to accompany their album Finisterre

Finisterre

Finisterre, Finisterra, Fisterra, or Finistère may refer to:Places* Cape Finisterre , headland in Galicia, north-west Spain, the Southern landfall of the Bay of Biscay...

. Described in The Observer as a “cinematic hymn to London”, it premiered at the ICA in London and was screened around the world by onedotzero.

In 2005 he and Saint Etienne were invited by the Barbican

Barbican

A barbican, from medieval Latin barbecana, signifying the "outer fortification of a city or castle," with cognates in the Romance languages A barbican, from medieval Latin barbecana, signifying the "outer fortification of a city or castle," with cognates in the Romance languages A barbican, from...

 to create a film and music event to be premiered in the main auditorium. The result was What Have You Done Today, Mervyn Day?, a drama-documentary set in the Lower Lea Valley

Lower Lea Valley

The Lower Lea Valley is the southern end of the Lea Valley, surrounding the River Lea , which runs along the boundary of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets on its western bank and the London Boroughs of Waltham Forest and Newham on its eastern bank, into the River Thames. The river forms the...

, the proposed site for the 2012 Olympic Games.

Following the premiere, Kelly, along with producer Andrew Hinton and Saint Etienne were invited by Jude Kelly

Jude Kelly

Judith Pamela Kelly OBE is a theatre director and producer from Liverpool, England.Kelly founded Solent People's Theatre, a touring company in 1976, and was artistic director of the Battersea Arts Centre from 1980 to 1985. In 1986, she joined the Royal Shakespeare Company...

 to become artists-in-residence at London’s South Bank Centre. This one year appointment culminated with the premiere of their 2007 film This Is Tomorrow

This is Tomorrow

This Is Tomorrow was a seminal art exhibition in August 1956 at the Whitechapel Art Gallery, facilitated by curator Bryan Robertson. The core of the exhibition was the ICA Independent Group.-History:...

 which included a live performance of the soundtrack by the band, accompanied by a 60-piece orchestra in front of a sell out crowd in the newly refurbished Royal Festival Hall.
Kelly has, most recently, completed a six year documentary about Felt

Felt (band)

Felt were a 1980s British alternative rock band led by Lawrence, whose surname was never listed in any credits or press; the band's name was inspired by Tom Verlaine's emphasis of the word "felt" in the Television song "Venus"...

, Denim

Denim (UK band)

Denim was the brainchild of Lawrence, formerly of Felt, and was based in Birmingham, England.-History:Following the end of his former group, 1980s post-punk outfit Felt, Lawrence moved into different territory with Denim, a band whose brash teaming of glam rock with cutting and highly satirical...

 and Go-Kart Mozart front man Lawrence

Lawrence Hayward

Lawrence Hayward , known simply as Lawrence, his surname never used in credits or press, is best known as the singer, songwriter and guitarist of British indie band Felt.-Felt:...

entitled ‘Lawrence Of Belgravia’ which premiered at the 2011 London Film Festival.

Selected Discography

• Birdie - Reverb Deluxe 2002 LP
• Birdie - Triple Echo 2001 LP
• Birdie - Some Dusty 1999 LP
• East Village - Hot Rod Hotel 1994 LP
• East Village - Drop Out 1993 LP

Selected Filmography

• Finisterre 2002 (co-directed with Kieran Evans)
• What Have You Done Today, Mervyn Day? 2005
• This Is Tomorrow 2007
• Take Three Girls (The Dolly Mixture Story) 2008
• Lawrence Of Belgravia 2011
• Hungry Beat (In production)
• This Is London (In production)

Selected Design Work

• Orange Juice - Coals To Newcastle (2010 box set)
• Fender, The Golden Age 1946-1970 (2010 book)
• Dolly Mixture - Everything And More (2010 box set)
• Pete Molinari - A Train Bound For Glory (2010 LP)
• Caught By The River (2009 book)
• Saint Etienne - Foxbase Beta (2009 LP)
• The Magic Numbers- The Magic Numbers (2005 LP)
• Saint Etienne - Travel Edition (2005 LP)
• 22-20s - 22-20s (2004 LP)
• Saint Etienne - Finisterre (2002 LP)
• Saint Etienne - Good Humor (1997 LP)