Paul Kelly is returning to Kings Cross for the first time in decades, announcing a one-night-only show at the Potts Point Hotel on August 30. The venue sits beside the laneway that once housed the Manzil Room, a late-night haunt where Kelly played repeatedly in the mid-to-late 1980s as he cut his teeth as a songwriter.
“A wee hours sticky-carpet venue, attracting all the denizens of the night — street workers, bohemians, drug dealers, desperadoes, off work musicians,” Kelly recalled in a statement. “We’d play three sets, starting around 1am. The painter Brett Whiteley sometimes dropped in to hear us.” The Manzil Room is now a block of apartments. A recently completed mural of Kelly by artist Scottie Marsh adorns the exterior wall of the Potts Point Hotel.
Access to the intimate show is tied to the release of a deluxe edition of Kelly’s 2025 album Seventy, which will arrive two days before the gig. Fans can secure a spot by pre-ordering the deluxe edition from Kelly’s official store or entering a ballot for tickets.
Kelly released Seventy in November 2025 to mark both his 70th birthday and his 50th year in music. The album debuted at No. 2 on the ARIA Albums Chart and followed a sold-out Australian arena tour. It was his 30th studio album. Kelly is also marking the 40th anniversary of his landmark 1986 double album Gossip with a 2LP anniversary reissue.
A 17-time ARIA Award winner and ARIA Hall of Fame inductee, Kelly has topped the ARIA Albums Chart with Life Is Fine (2017) and Nature (2018). He was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2017 for his contribution to the performing arts.
Source: Billboard
