Nick Cave

Nicholas Edward "Nick" Cave (born 22 September 1957) is an Australian musician, songwriter, author, screenwriter, composer and movie actor.

Nick Cave
Birth nameNicholas Edward Cave
Born (1957-09-22) 22 September 1957 (age 66)
Warracknabeal, Victoria, Australia
GenresPost-punk, gothic rock,[1][2] alternative rock, experimental rock, garage rock
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, writer, actor, composer
InstrumentsVocals, piano, organ, harmonica, guitar, percussion, saxophone, drums
Years active1973–present
LabelsMute
Associated actsNick Cave and the Bad Seeds, The Birthday Party, Shilpa Ray, PJ Harvey, Grinderman, The Boys Next Door, The Immaculate Consumptive

Cave was born in Warracknabeal, Victoria and grew up in Wangaratta, Victoria.

He is best known as lead singer of the rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. The Bad Seeds began in 1983 and are known for their interesting and different musical styles. Cave had previously been the lead singer of the gothic band, The Birthday Party.[3][4] This group was well known for its challenging songs and violent sound. Their music was influenced by free jazz, blues, and punk. In 2006, Cave started a garage rock band Grinderman, and recorded their first album, Grinderman (album) in 2007. Cave's music is very emotional with many different musical influences. His songs are about religion, death, love and violence.[5] In the early 2010s, the NME called him "the grand lord of gothic lushness".[6]

Cave was added to the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2007. The ARIA Awards chairman Ed St John said, "Nick Cave has enjoyed—and continues to enjoy—one of the most extraordinary careers in the annals of popular music. He is an Australian artist like Sidney Nolan is an Australian artist—beyond comparison, beyond genre, beyond dispute."[7]

Discography

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

  • From Her to Eternity (1984)
  • The Firstborn Is Dead (1985)
  • Kicking Against the Pricks (1986)
  • Your Funeral… My Trial (1986)
  • Tender Prey (1988)
  • The Good Son (1990)
  • Henry’s Dream (1992)
  • Let Love In (1994)
  • Murder Ballads (1996)
  • The Boatman’s Call (1997)
  • No More Shall We Part (2001)
  • Nocturama (2003)
  • Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus (2CD) (2004)
  • Dig, Lazarus, Dig! (2008)
  • Push the Sky Away (2013)
  • Skeleton Tree (2016)
  • Ghosteen (2019)

Grinderman

  • Grinderman (2007)
  • Grinderman 2 (2010)

Nick Cave Media

References

  1. Reynolds, Simon (2005). Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978–1984. London: Faber and Faber, 2005. pp. 429–431. ISBN 978-0-571-21569-0.
  2. Lewis, Luke (5 March 2009). "Release The Bats - It's The 20 Greatest Goth Tracks". 7. The Birthday Party – Release The Bats. Knuckle-dragging drums. Sickening, scything distortion. Barely comprehensible vocals in the Vic Reeves 'club style': here was a compelling sonic template for goth's lunatic fringe. Most gothic moment: Nick Cave's blood-curdling shriek: "Whooaaargh! BITE!" It was a story about vampire sex was promoted by an advert with the words "Dirtiness is next to antigodliness".
  3. Reynolds, Simon (2005). Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978–1984. London: Faber and Faber, 2005. pp. 429–431. ISBN 978-0-571-21569-0.
  4. Lewis, Luke (5 March 2009). "Release The Bats - It's The 20 Greatest Goth Tracks".
  5. Stephen Thomas Erlewine and Steve Huey, Allmusic, Nick Cave > Biography. Retrieved 30 September 2009.
  6. Stevens, Jenny (15 February 2013). "Push The Sky Away". NME. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  7. "History of the ARIA Awards". theaustralian.com.au. 2014. Retrieved 2 November 2014.