Joe’s dead, who’s going to make the gravy? Paul Kelly takes out funeral notice in The Age

Legendary singer-songwriter Paul Kelly has published a death notice in the Monday edition of The Age newspaper, announcing the passing of “Joe”, the incarcerated hero of his 1996 song How To Make Gravy.

According to the public notice, which ran on Page 33 of The Age, Joe’s death was the result of “sudden misadventure”. He is described as the much-loved father, husband, brother, brother-in-law, and uncle to Dan, Rita, Stella, Roger, Mary, Angus, Frank and Dolly (all names that feature in the track).

The death notice includes plenty of references to the song, including Joe’s love of reggae music and Jamaican artist Junior Murvin (You’ll put on Junior Murvin and push the tables back).

The notice ends by teasing that a funeral service will be held on Thursday, followed by a “wake to end all wakes”. Kelly posted the notice on his Instagram page, accompanied by the caption, “RIP, Joe.”

On first read, the notice appears to be a marketing stunt foreshadowing some kind of announcement from Kelly on Thursday. The singer is also about to embark on his biggest ever national tour, which begins in Perth on August 26.

This masthead contacted Kelly’s label, EMI Music Australia, which refused to comment on the public notice.

“Paul’s label has no comment to make in regards to the funeral notice that has run in today’s Age,” an EMI spokesperson said.

However, this masthead’s classifieds team confirmed that the notice was placed by EMI Music Australia.

Released in 1996, How To Make Gravy has become a part of the modern Australian songbook, with December 21, a date mentioned in the lyrics, widely known as “Gravy Day” and celebrated on social media.

The song has become one of Kelly’s most loved hits, and in 2024, it was adapted into a Binge Original film of the same name starring Hugo Weaving, Brenton Thwaites and Daniel Henshall as Joe, the prisoner with a penchant for homemade gravy.

Kelly had a cameo in the film and Monday’s notice led to speculation on social media that a sequel was in the works.

Binge confirmed through a spokesperson that no sequel was being planned at this stage.

The death notice comes a week after Kelly also posted a short clip on Instagram featuring Australian actress Justine Clarke writing a letter. The clip was accompanied by a previously unreleased song, featuring the lyrics, “Rita wrote a letter, this is what she had to say”.

Kelly has previously hinted at the idea of releasing a sequel to How To Make Gravy called Rita Wrote A Letter.

Rita is one of the main characters in the story of How To Make Gravy (the song and 2024 film). She’s married to Joe, who’s incarcerated and writes to his brother, Dan, ahead of the family’s Christmas meal. Joe traditionally makes the gravy for Christmas, but in the song, he makes it in prison.

“There’s a song; there’s a sequel to How To Make Gravy called Rita Wrote A Letter,” Kelly told ABC presenter Henry Wagons on the Double J radio show Tower of Song earlier this year.

“Dan Kelly, my nephew, had a piece of music that he’d written on piano, sort of New Orleans-style piano, and he said, ‘Put some words to that.’ And … that’s the name of the song, Rita Wrote A Letter.”

The passing of Joe will no doubt be sad news for those who have followed his journey closely, and brings with it more questions than answers. Are the brothers driving from Queensland for the funeral? Will Stella fly in from the coast?

But most importantly, who is going to make the gravy now? I bet it won’t taste the same.

Fever Longing Still by Paul Kelly is out now through EMI. Tickets to the 2025 tour are available here.

Find more of the author’s work here. Email him at thomas.mitchell@smh.com.au or follow him on Instagram at @thomasalexandermitchell and on Twitter @_thmitchell.