Paul Kelly Scores ARIA #1 With Second Edition of ‘Christmas Train’

Paul Kelly has hit the number one spot on the ARIA Albums Chart with the second version of his Christmas Train album.

Paul Kelly’s Christmas Train reached number two last year, becoming the highest-charting festive album of 2021 in the process. It was also the only Australian album in the top 10 of the ARIA Christmas chart.

And on the day his beloved ‘Making Gravy’ show takes over Melbourne’s Sidney Myer Music Bowl, the re-released version of Christmas Train has hit the ARIA top spot.

“When I made my Christmas album last year, my aim was to make something that represented all the different layers and traditions of the season, including our Southern Hemisphere traditions,” Kelly says.

“Not your standard Christmas record. I was originally going to call it No Reindeer, No Mistletoe, No Holly, but decided that that had too many ‘No’s’ in the title! So we called it Paul Kelly’s Christmas Train.”

The 2022 digital edition of the album contains a new recording of “Maybe This Christmas” by Ron Sexsmith, recorded with Kelly’s live band at Soundpark Studios and featuring Alice Keath on harmony vocals.

The accompanying music video was shot by Sian Darling (Courtney Barnett Alice Skye) in Melbourne, with Kelly and Keath positioned on a split screen throughout the clip (watch below).

In just over a week, Kelly will bring his ‘A Very Kelly Christmas’ to Sydney onMonday, December 19th for an evening of music, conversation and festive cheer.

The event – brought to fans by The Bob Hawke Beer & Leisure Centre and The Betts Advocate – will see Kelly perform an intimate set, followed by ‘Undo The Dumb Things’, a special climate focused panel presented by Groundswell.

DJ Dan Kelly will be playing tunes throughout the night, and unique prizes will be raffled off in aid of Landcare Australia.

Entry is exclusively via ballot, which closes on Sunday, December 11th at 11:59pm AEDT. Head to the exclusive Christmas collection at the official Paul Kelly store and then use your order number to be in with a chance of winning a double pass.

Paul Kelly’s Christmas Train (2022 Edition) is out now.