Paul Kelly has laid his most famous character to rest.
In Monday’s edition of The Age, the legendary singer-songwriter published a death notice for “Joe”, the incarcerated narrator of his 1996 classic “How to Make Gravy”.
Nestled on page 33, the obituary says Joe died of “sudden misadventure” and describes him as a beloved father, husband, brother, brother-in-law, and uncle to Dan, Rita, Stella, Roger, Mary, Angus, Frank, and Dolly — all names lifted straight from the song. It also nods to his love of reggae and Junior Murvin (“You’ll put on Junior Murvin and push the tables back”), before announcing a Thursday, August 14th funeral followed by “a wake to end all wakes.”
View this post on Instagram
Love Music?
Get your daily dose of everything happening in Australian/New Zealand music and globally.
Kelly shared the notice on Instagram with the caption “RIP, Joe.” On paper it reads like a tongue-in-cheek tribute; in practice, it feels like a teaser that the beloved singer-songwriter is set to make an announcement on August 14th, just ahead of his biggest-ever national tour, which kicks off August 26th in Perth.
EMI Music Australia has remained mum on the stunt, although The Age classifieds team confirmed the label placed the ad.
First released in 1996, “How to Make Gravy” has cemented itself in the Australian songbook, its December 21st lyric spawning the annual “Gravy Day” tradition. The song’s story found new life in 2024 as a Binge Original film of the same time, starring Hugo Weaving, Brenton Thwaites, and Daniel Henshall as Joe, with Kelly making a cameo.
Monday’s obituary quickly sparked speculation about a sequel, but Binge told The Age there’s “no sequel planned at this stage.”
The notice also lands a week after Kelly posted a short clip of actress Justine Clarke writing a letter, soundtracked by a previously unreleased song. “Rita wrote a letter, this is what she had to say.” Rita, Joe’s wife in the original song, is also the focus of a track Kelly has previously floated as a sequel: one written to a New Orleans-style piano piece from his nephew, Dan Kelly.
View this post on Instagram
Whether Joe’s death is a curtain call or just the next act in Kelly’s long-running Christmas saga is anyone’s guess. The bigger question? With Joe gone, who’s gonna make the gravy?
