John Kelly

After a degree in law at Queen's University Belfast, John joined the BBC and went on to win two EMA awards and a Sony Award for his various music/arts/documentary radio and television programmes with the BBC, UTV and Channel 4.

After twelve long years of all that, he moved to Dublin in 1997 to present the groundbreaking Eclectic Ballroom on what was then called Radio Ireland. He was then lured across town to RTÉ to present Mystery Train where he won both the PPI Award for Music Broadcaster of the Year and a serious cult following. With the train now in a siding, he now presents the JK Ensemble on RTÉ lyric fm and Radio Clash on RTÉ 2XM. He also presents The View on RTÉ Television.

John has contributed to numerous publications including a 5 year stint with the Irish Times, and over the years he has interviewed many leading figures in the music and arts world - Van Morrison, Lou Reed, David Bowie, Seamus Heaney, Nina Simone, Brian Eno, Peter O' Toole, Steve Reich, John McGahern, Ray Davies, George Martin, U2, Brian Wilson, BB King, Philip Glass and many more.

He has also written several works of fiction including The Little Hammer and Sophisticated Boom Boom, both published by Jonathan Cape, and he also co-wrote half a dozen songs on the Paul Brady CD Say What You Feel. That Culture Book will be published by Harper Collins in 2010.

Hear John on:
The John Kelly Ensemble: Monday to Friday, 2-4pm
Click here for programme website.