James Victor Kelly

Jimmy is the rebel of the family. "I can be a real sulk," Jimmy has said. "I am the only one of my sisters and brothers of that kind." Jimmy came to the world on February 18th, 1971 in Camonal, Spain. At 5 years old, he sang with his family in the streetlife concerts. After the concerts he walked around with the hat and collected money. At home his job was to feed the animals and together with Joey, do the dishes. "We always laid the table as thrifty as possible, that way it was less dishes for us to clean. So Joey and I drank from the same glass and used the same knife." Jimmy and his brother Joey, who is almost 2 years younger than him, were always together. "We used to put grass in potato sacks and tried to sell them to get money to buy candy," he recalls. As teenagers they did everything together, but it changed when girls came to be an interest. "When I fell in love, then I said I wanted to be by myself, but it was only an excuse to meet the girls," Jimmy said. On one of his "walks" he met a girl and they fell in love. "She was a simple farm girl and was the first girl I kissed." Jimmy said. "We were together for over 1 year, until we moved from Amsterdam to Germany. We came back after 3 years, and she had another boy."

At the age of 15 he learned to play the guitar. "Joey and I were the last to learn to play instruments." Paddy and Kathy showed them the ground and the rest they learned themselves. Jimmy plays the bass and he says it is a instrument he doesn't like to play that much, "but not everyone can play the guitar!", he says laughing. His favorite instrument is the accordion. Jimmy is a very good storyteller. At the age of 8 he entertained his sisters and brothers with fantastic stories. "I used to read a lot and I like poems. They often have that special atmosphere I need to write songs."

One of his biggest interests is movies. He loves films that put a spell on him, like "Doctor Zhivago". "That's a movie that is always going to be one my favorites," said Jimmy. When he was younger he made movies together with Paddy, Maite and Angelo. He liked it very much! His dream is to make his own movie in the future. Jimmy isn't just a happy boy that loves to make crazy shows for the audience. He made a month long trip to Ireland when he was 19 years old, because he got sick of the streetlife concerts and the family. He said, "I felt too close to my family sometimes and wanted to get some air, without my family." After a fight at home, he packed his bags and his accordion, and flew to Dublin. "I love Ireland, but after two days I longed for my family and wanted to get back home. I wanted to show I could stand on my own legs. So with my accordion I earned money to buy a ticket, so I could fly back home." After 6 weeks he finally got back home. "In Ireland I learned I could make it on my own, but I also learned that my place is with - MY FAMILY!"