The Loves Of My Life
DJ, artist and mum, Mo Kelly
The person
My husband, Mark. We have been together since we were kids. He’s a musician and composer, so we’re a good fit. He’s also hilarious.
The memory
It would have to be a memory of my darling mother. One that really sticks with me is just before she died. She was sitting in her car in her driveway, listening to lyric fm at full volume. Maria Callas came on and she closed her eyes and beckoned me to do so, too. We listened with our eyes closed, and she said, ‘There’s so much beauty in the world, just listen to it!’
The moment of the day
I love cooking and so does Mark — he also trained as a chef — so it would revolve around eating and, depending on the day, maybe a nice glass of red.
The song
Being a DJ, this is kind of impossible for me. Our first-dance song at our wedding was Bill Withers singing Lovely Day, but we also all danced as a group to Hot 8 Brass Band’s cover of Sexual Healing. It’s a great party feel-good tune.
The movie
Alien and the subsequent Alien films.
The hero
John F Kennedy. It all started when I was six or seven. I watched a documentary about young JFK on TV. I was instantly hooked. Then his assassination was documented. I was so shocked, I burst into tears and ran into my mom, inconsolable. She gave me a book of his speeches there and then. And that was it
— a hero was born.
The book
A novel that inspired a series of my paintings is Wolf Winter by Cecilia Ekback. It’s like a novel version of Scandi-noir.
The outfit
My wedding dress. My sisters and bridesmaids suggested we take a trip to Milan for a day to go to the designer’s atelier; a magical day ensued, being fussed over by wonderfully kind Italians, and I even got a hat to match! The accessory Wit and good shoes.
The gadget
My MacBook Pro and my Pioneer DDJ-SR DJ controller. I reluctantly changed from all-vinyl sets a while back, and I haven’t looked back — my back is happier, and it’s so much easier.
The pet hate
People who walk too slowly! I’m generally stuck behind them, in heels, in a hurry and carrying something heavy. And woodlice, there’s about 40 in my garden and one at the Dart station in particular — they know who they are.
The friend
I actually can’t choose just one — I have a brilliant gang of mates. I’m very close to my sisters and brother and in-laws and nieces and nephews. We’re a big family, but very close. A lot of love there.
The beauty product
Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream, for lips, eyes, eyebrows, nails, everything.
The hobby
Scuba diving. I’ve been diving for years. I’m an advanced diver with notions.
The holiday
Seeing Robert Plant in an open-air amphitheatre on the top of a mountain in Taormina, Sicily, was pretty awesome.
The piece of advice
Never put your tongue on a glacier — Gary Larson.
The drink
Red wine; Aperol spritz; Irish gin.
The hotel
The Cape Grace, Cape Town. My family gifted myself and Mark a stay here and a trip to South Africa for my 30th birthday.
The bar
A bar in New York, I don’t think it has a name. You entered it through a phone booth in a hot dog Airstream caravan structure in the middle of a busy intersection in Soho. It was subterranean Prohibition-style, hard to find, but very worth it. Very New York. Lots of booming hip-hop — my kinda gin joint.
The part of my body
My medulla oblongata controls breathing, heart rate, etc. Never gets the props, in my opinion.
The celebrity
Sharon Horgan. She’s a brilliant writer and so funny.
The virtue
Honesty. ‘You’re nothing if you don’t have your word’ — Dolores Kelly (my mom). I think humour and ability to see the funny side is a virtue. My dad is king of that. He has a great attitude to life, in that he doesn’t really give a feck.
The vice
Probably gin, red wine and spritz.
The smell
Chanel No 5; it reminds me of Mom.
The taste
Truffle. I’m vegetarian, so I love, love mushrooms and earthy tastes like truffle, or pretty much any Italian food.
“She said, ‘There’s so much beauty in the world, just listen to it’” “She gave me a book of his speeches there and then. And that was it — a hero was born”