Paul Kelly performed “Rita Wrote A Letter,” the sequel to “How To Make Gravy,” live for the first time before an audience at Perth’s RAC Arena on 26 August 2025. The show opened his Fever Longing Still national tour, and the new song turned the story toward Rita’s perspective.
What happened at the Perth show
Kelly opened the Fever Longing Still tour at a sold-out RAC Arena on Tuesday, 26 August 2025, performing with his backing band, including his nephew and guitarist Dan Kelly. Fanny Lumsden and Lucinda Williams were the support acts, according to PerthNow’s report.
Introducing the song, Kelly told the crowd: “This is the first time playing it in front of people.” He also teased the sequel’s premise: “it turns out Joe was right to be worried, because Rita Wrote A Letter”. A contemporary live review independently listed “Rita Wrote a Letter (Live debut)” in the setlist.
How the sequel continues “How To Make Gravy”
“How To Make Gravy” is narrated by Joe, a prisoner writing to his family on 21 December. Among his instructions is how to make the Christmas gravy. ABC News reports that Kelly wrote the song in 1996 for a charity Christmas album. Fans later came to call 21 December “Gravy Day.”
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“Rita Wrote A Letter” changes the point of view: it considers Joe and the choice to move on from Rita’s perspective. The live review describes the shift from Joe’s voice behind prison walls to Rita’s side of the story. The review also identifies the song as a track on Kelly’s 2025 album Seventy.
Why the original became a Christmas fixture
Kelly said he did not expect the original to become a hit. In an interview with ABC News, he recalled: “It was a song that doesn’t have a chorus, it’s set in prison, so I never thought it would be a hit song or anything.”
He described how he found the premise: “I started thinking … maybe I’ll write it from the point of view of somebody who is missing Christmas, who can’t get to Christmas,” then considered whether the person might be overseas before settling on prison: “Maybe they’re overseas and they can’t get home. Then I thought, oh, he’s in prison.” The result made an intimate family message—and its practical gravy instructions—the center of a Christmas song.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the live debut establishes
The contemporary report and review both identify the Perth performance as the song’s live debut. That description reflects reporting around the show rather than a separately audited archive of every prior performance. The event is a past moment from August 2025, not a current tour or ticket announcement.
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