22 Facts About Paul Brady

Paul Joseph Brady was born on 19 May 1947 and is an Irish singer-songwriter and musician from Strabane, Northern Ireland.

Paul Brady was interested in a wide variety of music from an early age.

Paul Joseph Brady was born in Belfast and raised in the small town of Strabane in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, on the border with County Donegal, Republic of Ireland.

Paul Brady is featured in the documentary film The Boys of St Columb's.

Paul Brady began learning piano around age six and by the age of eleven he had begun to play guitar, spending hours of his school holidays learning every song that the Shadows had recorded.

In 1963, Paul Brady began performing as a piano player in a hotel in Bundoran, Donegal.

Paul Brady can be seen in the documentary film Charlie Is My Darling waiting outside Dublin's Adelphi Theatre for the Rolling Stones' concert of 3 September 1965.

Paul Brady joined the popular Irish band The Johnstons when Michael Johnston left in May 1967.

Paul Brady recorded a 1976 album, The High Part of the Road, for the same label with Irish fiddler Tommy Peoples.

In 1978, Paul Brady released his first solo album, Welcome Here Kind Stranger, which won him critical acclaim and was awarded the Melody Maker Folk Album of the Year.

Paul Brady decided to delve into pop and rock music, and released his first album of this genre in 1981, Hard Station.

Paul Brady released a number of successful solo albums throughout the 1980s: True for You, Back to the Centre, and Primitive Dance.

Paul Brady's songs were being covered by a number of other artists, including Santana and Dave Edmunds.

In 1991, Paul Brady reached number 5 in the Irish Singles Chart with Nobody Knows.

Paul Brady went on to record several other albums and collaborated with a number of other established musicians including Bonnie Raitt and Richard Thompson.

Paul Brady performed Irish language songs as a character in the 2002 Matthew Barney film Cremaster 3.

Paul Brady played tin whistle on the single "One" by Greg Pearle in 2008, from the album Beautiful You, a collaboration between Greg Pearle and John Illsley; this song featured in the 2008 film Anton, directed by Graham Cantwell.

Paul Brady had continued to tour, record and collaborate with other artists.

In 2019, Jimmy Buffett began performing a cover of Paul Brady's hit, "The World is What you Make It".

In September 2019, Paul Brady joined Jimmy Buffett on his tour stops in both Dublin and London.

Paul Brady released the album "Unfinished Business" on his own label PeeBee Music, licensed to Proper Music UK, in 2017.

In 2009, Paul Brady received an honorary degree of Doctor of Letters from the University of Ulster, in recognition of his services to traditional Irish music and songwriting.