Bap Kennedy 1962-2016

Martin Christopher Kennedy (17 June 1962 – 1 November 2016), known as Bap Kennedy, was a singer-songwriter from Belfast, Northern Ireland. He was noted for his collaborations with Steve Earle, Van Morrison, Shane MacGowan and Mark Knopfler, as well as for writing the song "Moonlight Kiss" which was on the soundtrack for the film Serendipity. Born Martin Christopher Kennedy, he got his nickname of Bap, as a childhood reference to the rolls (or "baps") of bread sold by local firm Kennedy's Bakery in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Kennedy grew up in West Belfast at the height of the Troubles, and his close friend Mark Kelly lost both legs in a no warning bomb in Belfast in 1976. Kennedy left Northern Ireland in 1985 and worked as a labourer on building sites in London prior to becoming a professional musician. Kennedy's first band was the punk band Sellout formed in 1978 when he was sixteen years old. In 1980 after having played in several other local bands, Kennedy formed the band 10 past 7. The band was managed by Mark Kelly and signed to the record label Good Vibrations by Terri Hooley. The band disbanded when Kennedy left for London to pursue a recording contract. Kennedy formed the band Energy Orchard, for whom he was the rhythm guitarist, lead singer and primary songwriter and MCA Records signed them in 1989.Energy Orchard disbanded in 1996 with a farewell London gig on St Patrick’s Day. After Energy Orchard split up, Kennedy received a phone call from Steve Earle, who offered to produce Kennedy's first solo record and Domestic Blues was released in 1998. After the release of Domestic Blues, Kennedy toured with Steve Earle. After returning to the UK, Kennedy briefly managed an Elvis impersonator named The King, and was the producer for The King’s album Gravelands. Kennedy’s ballad Moonlight Kiss was used for the in the soundtrack for hit Hollywood movie Serendipity. From 2005-2014 Kennedy continued to release albums and toured to promote them. While living in England, Kennedy became a qualified diamond gemmologist, accredited by the Gemmological Association of Great Britain. In 2007, Kennedy moved back to his native Northern Ireland. In May 2016, Kennedy started a Health Blog on his personal website, detailing his progress after a sudden cancer diagnosis. Kennedy passed away on 1 November 2016 in hospice care from pancreatic and bowel cancer at the age of 54. Music for this video: Feather Waltz by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100658 Artist: http://incompetech.com/