Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds | |
|---|---|
 The Bad Seeds live in London, 2013 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Melbourne,Victoria, Australia |
| Genres | |
| Works | Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds discography |
| Years active | 1983–present |
| Labels |
|
| Spinoffs | Grinderman |
| Spinoff of | The Birthday Party |
| Members | |
| Past members | |
| Website | nickcaveandthebadseeds |
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds are an Australianrock band formed inMelbourne in 1983 by lead vocalistNick Cave, multi-instrumentalistMick Harvey and German guitarist-vocalistBlixa Bargeld. The band has featured international personnel throughout its career and presently consists of Cave, violinist and multi-instrumentalistWarren Ellis, bassistMartyn P. Casey (all from Australia), guitaristGeorge Vjestica (United Kingdom), touring keyboardist/percussionistLarry Mullins, also known as Toby Dammit (United States), and drummersThomas Wydler (Switzerland) andJim Sclavunos (United States). Described as "one of the most original and celebrated bands of thepost-punk andalternative rock eras in the '80s and onward",[1] they have released eighteen studio albums and completed numerous international tours.
The band was founded following the demise of Cave and Harvey's former groupthe Birthday Party, the members of which met at a boarding school inMelbourne.[6] Throughout the 1980s, beginning with their debut studio albumFrom Her to Eternity (1984), the band drew largely on post-punk,blues andgothic rock, and formed an evolving, multinational lineup, bringing in musicians such asBlixa Bargeld,Barry Adamson andKid Congo Powers. The band later softened their sound and incorporated other influences on studio albums such asThe Good Son (1990) andThe Boatman's Call (1997). Following Harvey's departure in 2009,[7] the band broadened their sound further to include electronic and ambient styles, which feature prominently on the trilogy of studio albumsPush the Sky Away (2013),Skeleton Tree (2016) andGhosteen (2019).Wild God is their most recent, released in 2024.
The project that later evolved into Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds began following the demise ofthe Birthday Party in August 1983. Both Cave and Harvey were members of the Birthday Party, along with guitaristRowland S. Howard and bassistTracy Pew. During the recording sessions of the Birthday Party's scheduled EPsMutiny/The Bad Seed, internal disputes developed in the band. The difference in Cave and Howard's approach to songwriting was a major factor, as Cave explained in an interview withOn The Street: "the main reason why The Birthday Party broke up was that the sort of songs that I was writing and the sort of songs that Rowland was writing were just totally at odds with each other." Following the departure of Harvey, they officially disbanded. Cave also said that "it probably would have gone on longer, but Mick has the ability to judge things much more clearly than the rest of us."[8]
An embryonic version of what became Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds was formed in the Birthday Party's then-home of London in September 1983, with Cave, Harvey (acting primarily as drummer),Einstürzende Neubauten frontman Blixa Bargeld,Magazine bassistBarry Adamson, andJG Thirlwell, known for his solo projectFoetus. The band was initially formed as a backing band for Cave's intended solo projectMan or Myth?, which had been approved by the record labelMute Records. During September and October 1983, they recorded material with producerFlood,[9] although the sessions were cut short due to Cave's touring withthe Immaculate Consumptive, another project formed with Thirlwell,Lydia Lunch andMarc Almond.[10] In December 1983 Cave returned toMelbourne, Australia, where he formed a temporary line-up of his backing band, due to Bargeld's absence, that included Pew and guitaristHugo Race. The band performed their first live show at theCrystal Ballroom inSt Kilda on 31 December 1983.[11]
Following a short Australian tour, and during a period when they were without management, Cave and his band returned to London. Cave, Harvey, Bargeld, Race and Adamson formed the project's first consistent line-up, while Cave's longtime girlfriendAnita Lane was credited as a lyricist on occasional songs (e.g., the title track of 1984'sFrom Her to Eternity). The group, which up to this time had been nameless, adopted the moniker Nick Cave and the Cavemen, which they used for the first six months of their career. However, they were later renamed Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds in May 1984, in reference to the final Birthday Party EPThe Bad Seed.[citation needed] They began recording sessions for their debut album in March 1984 at London'sTrident Studios and these sessions, together with the abandonedMan or Myth? sessions from September–October 1983 that were recorded at The Garden studios, formed the albumFrom Her to Eternity, released on Mute Records in 1984. Thirlwell left during the recording sessions forEternity, citing creative disagreements and desires to work on his own solo material.[12] Race, and touring guitarist Edward Clayton-Jones, left to formthe Wreckery in Melbourne.[13]
After the departure of Race and Lane, the remaining members moved to West Berlin, Germany in 1985 and released a second albumThe Firstborn Is Dead. The album was heavily influenced by the gothicAmericana of theAmerican South andblues music,[14] exemplified in songs such as "Tupelo" and "Blind Lemon Jefferson", which reference the birth ofElvis Presley andBlind Lemon Jefferson respectively. Released the following year, the albumKicking Against the Pricks explored such influences with renditions of material byJohnny Cash,John Lee Hooker andLead Belly. The 1986 album also marked the arrival of Swiss drummerThomas Wydler, a member ofDie Haut, and featured guest appearances from Race, Pew, and Birthday Party guitarist Howard, who had briefly toured with the Bad Seeds as a substitute member in 1985.[citation needed] Pew's death from an epileptic seizure also occurred in 1986.[6]
The band garnered an increased following due to a second 1986 album release,Your Funeral, My Trial, which coincided with Adamson's departure. Due to Adamson's departure and an injury which made Wydler unable to play the drums, Harvey recorded the bulk of the album's instrumentation with the only other member who contributed instruments on every track being Bargeld.[citation needed]Tender Prey, the dark, brooding[15] 1988 follow-up, saw the arrival of American guitarist andThe Gun Club stalwartKid Congo Powers—Harvey made the transition to bass—and short-tenured German keyboardistRoland Wolf. The single "The Mercy Seat" chronicled an unrepentant prisoner ondeath row[6] and further increased the group's critical acclaim and commercial attention. The track was later covered by Johnny Cash on his 2000 albumAmerican III: Solitary Man. Despite the increasing level of success, the drug-related issues of band members became problematic.[15] The documentary filmThe Road to God Knows Where, directed byUli M Schueppel, depicts a five-week period[16] of the United States leg of their 1989 tour.[17]
Cave and his bandmates also pursued other creative ambitions around this time. In 1987, the Bad Seeds appeared in theWim Wenders filmWings of Desire,[18] and Cave was featured in the 1988 filmGhosts... of the Civil Dead, which he and Race co-wrote.[19] Cave's first novelAnd the Ass Saw the Angel was published in 1989.[20]
After a period of time in New York City, Cave relocated to São Paulo, Brazil,[6] shortly after the final tour forTender Prey and, after successfully finishing drug rehabilitation,[15] began experimenting with piano-driven ballads. The result of this post-rehabilitation period was 1990'sThe Good Son. Featuring a sorrowful and longing tone, the album was well-received both critically and commercially,[15] and yielded the singles "The Weeping Song" (featuring vocals from Bargeld) and "The Ship Song".[citation needed]
Two established Australian musicians, Casey ofthe Triffids and solo artist and keyboardist Savage, replaced the departing Powers and Wolf. The addition of Casey on bass allowed Harvey to return to guitar. Their next record, 1992'sHenry's Dream, marked a change towards a harder rock sound. ProducerDavid Briggs, known for his work withNeil Young, was enlisted for the recording process. The tour for the album is documented on 1993's live albumLive Seeds and showcases the new group's aggressive sound.
In mid-1993, the group returned once more to London and recordedLet Love In, the follow-up album.Let Love In expanded upon the fuller ensemble sound that was established inHenry's Dream[21] and featured contributions from Howard, Ellis,Tex Perkins (Beasts of Bourbon) andDavid McComb (The Triffids).[citation needed] Several popular songs, such as "Red Right Hand" (which featured in theScream film series[22][23] and was used as the theme song forPeaky Blinders) and "Loverman" (later covered byMetallica),[24] were drawn from the album. During the promotional tour for the album, American percussionist and drummerJim Sclavunos joined the group.[citation needed]
In 1996 the band releasedMurder Ballads, their best-selling album to date.[25] Centered on the subject of murder, the album includes a cover of the folk song "Henry Lee"—a duet with British rock singerPJ Harvey, with whom Cave had a brief relationship—[6] and "Where the Wild Roses Grow", a duet with Australian pop idolKylie Minogue. The Minogue collaboration was a mainstream hit in the UK and Australia, and won threeAustralian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Awards, including Song of the Year. It was at this time that Ellis of theDirty Three began regularly working with the band and eventually became Cave's primary collaborator.[6]
The sound ofThe Boatman's Call, released in 1997, was a radical departure from the archetypal and violent narratives of the band's past, featuring songs about relationships, loss, and longing, often with sparse arrangements. Cave revealed his mindset during the creation of the album in a 2008 interview: "When I was making half that record I was furious because certain things had happened in my love life that seriously pissed me off. And some of those songs came straight out of that. I don't regret making it ... the songs are of a moment when you felt a certain way. When ... you just think, 'Fuck – please!'"[6] The album's corresponding tour was later documented on the 2008 live albumLive at the Royal Albert Hall. After the release of the album, Cave embarked on a brief hiatus, during which time he remarried.[citation needed]
Following Cave's hiatus the band oversaw the release ofOriginal Seeds, a compilation of material from other artists that influenced the group, as well as their own "best of" albumThe Best of Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds. In 1999 and 2000, the band reconvened to record twoimprovisations onAnita Lane'sSex O'Clock.[26] The proper follow-up toThe Boatman's Call was 2001'sNo More Shall We Part. The record featured guest appearances byKate & Anna McGarrigle and was generally well received in reviews: one critic hailed the album as an "entire album of deeply tragic and beautiful love songs without irony, sarcasm, or violent resolution", while also stating that the work is at risk of devolving "into schmaltz".[27]
The band then releasedNocturama in 2003. The album marked a return to band-oriented and collaborative arrangements, as previous releases involved a decreased level of input from Cave's bandmates.Nocturama garnered mixed reviews, with critic Eric Carr stating that "in truth, it may still be the group's best work sinceLet Love In, but it had the potential to be so much more".[28] Shortly after the album's release, Blixa Bargeld left the band after 20 years to devote more time to Einstürzende Neubauten.[29]
In 2004 the band released the acclaimed two-disc setAbattoir Blues / The Lyre of Orpheus, with Bargeld replaced by the English actor, guitarist and organistJames Johnston, a member ofGallon Drunk and former guest member of the Bad Seeds from aLollapalooza tour ten years prior (Johnston only played organs on the recordings, as Harvey contributed the guitar pieces).[30] Conceived as two separate albums packaged together, the record featured a diversity of arrangement styles, including aggressive rock and choir-driven ballads. In 2005 the band releasedB-Sides & Rarities, a three-volume, 56-song collection ofB-sides, rarities and compilation tracks that was released on Mute Records in Europe, the US and the UK.[citation needed]The Abattoir Blues Tour, a two-CD, two-DVD box set with performances from the album's promotional tour, was then released in 2007 in Europe and the US. The tour included guestbacking vocalists Ase Bergstrom, Geo Onaymake, Eleanor Palmer and Wendi Rose.[citation needed]
Also in 2005, Cave completed work on his script forThe Proposition, set in 19th-century Australia directed byJohn Hillcoat.[19][31] Cave and Ellis collaborated on the film's score,[32] a partnership that later also scored the filmsThe Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007) andThe Road (2009).[6][33]
After operating for several years as a touring backing band for Cave's solo work, Bad Seeds members Ellis, Sclavunos and Casey formed a new side-projectGrinderman with Cave in 2006. The band, featuring Cave playing guitar for the first time, playedgarage rock-influenced music that still retained much of The Bad Seeds' aura and released aself-titled debut album in 2007.[34] In October 2007 Cave was inducted into theARIA Hall of Fame and, in his acceptance speech, also inducted the members of The Bad Seeds and The Birthday Party, after explaining, "I cannot really accept this until we get a few things straight. What I can't figure out is why I am up here and The Bad Seeds aren't?"[35]
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds released their 14th studio albumDig, Lazarus, Dig!!! in 2008 and received a high level of critical acclaim.[citation needed] Inspired by the biblical story ofLazarus of Bethany,[36][37] the album continued the punk and garage rock-inspired arrangements that were explored on the debut Grinderman album, resulting in whatNME termed a "gothic psycho-sexual apocalypse".[38] The group then embarked on a North American and European tour is support of the album, with a seven-piece lineup that did not include Johnston, who had left the group after the album's completion.[39]
Cave and the band curated Australia's first edition of theAll Tomorrow's Parties music festival that was held in various Australian locations during January 2009. On 22 January, after the festival's completion, Harvey announced his departure from the band after 25 years, citing "a variety of personal and professional reasons". Harvey concluded his public statement by stating, "I shall continue working on the Bad Seeds back catalogue re-issues project over the coming year and look forward to the new opportunities I shall be able to accommodate as a result of my changed circumstances."[7] Harvey's departure was the end of a 36-year-long musical collaboration between Cave and Harvey, and Cave was left as the group's only original member.[34] The band enlisted guitaristEd Kuepper, formerly of the Australian bandsthe Saints and theLaughing Clowns, as a touring member to complete the 2009 summer festival dates that were scheduled.[40] Also in 2009, Cave published his second novelThe Death of Bunny Munro,[41] and Mute Records commenced work on a series of remastered versions of the Bad Seeds' back catalogue (some of the remastered albums included documentary footage fromIain Forsyth and Jane Pollard).[citation needed]
Following this string of activity, the Bad Seeds became dormant while Grinderman reactivated and releasedGrinderman 2 in 2010.[34] The group also attracted further attention when their song "Up Jumped the Devil" featured in the 2010 action-adventure gameAlan Wake,[42] followed later in the year by "O Children" appearing in the filmHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1. In December 2011, Grinderman disbanded immediately following an Australian tour. Their final performance was at theMeredith Music Festival in rural Victoria.[34][43]
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds' 15th studio albumPush the Sky Away was released in mid-February 2013.[44] During the album's recording, former member Barry Adamson rejoined the band as a bassist, then assumed a multi-instrumentalist (percussion, keyboards, vocals) role on subsequent tours. Kuepper briefly returned as the band's touring guitarist,[40] but was replaced by George Vjestica for the European leg of the tour; Vjestica's 12-string guitar-playing was featured on severalPush the Sky Away tracks.[45][46]
During the Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds summer US tour in 2013, a smaller incarnation of the band recordedLive from KCRW (Cave, Ellis, Casey, Sclavunos and Adamson). In 2014 Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds toured North America with Ellis, Adamson, Sclavunos, Casey plus Conway Savage and George Vjestica. Cave embarked on solo tours in Australia and New Zealand in late 2014 and Europe in 2015 with Adamson on keyboards and percussion, joined by the rhythm section of Wydler and Casey, and with Ellis as the featured multi-instrumentalist. In May 2015, Larry Mullins replaced Adamson as a guest touring member; Adamson has not returned since, and Mullins did not participate in sessions for the subsequent Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds album.
On 2 June 2016, the official Nick Cave website announced a documentary film titledOne More Time with Feeling (directed byAndrew Dominik) which was screened on 8 September 2016. It accompanies the band's acclaimed 16th album titledSkeleton Tree (released 9 September 2016). In 2017, Cave begun writing songs for the next Bad Seeds record, which is set to complete a musical trilogy the band began withPush the Sky Away.[47] Ellis and Cave played two orchestral shows at Hamer Hall in Melbourne, Australia on 9 and 10 August, featuring a selection of their various film scores.[48]
On 23 September 2019, Cave formally announced the albumGhosteen, to be released at the beginning of October 2019.[49] It premiered on Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds'YouTube channel on 3 October.[50]
On 22 October 2021, the band releasedB-Sides & Rarities Part II; the sequel to their 2005 compilationB-Sides & Rarities.[51] In June 2022, the band embarked upon their first tour since the onset ofCOVID-19, with their 2020Ghosteen tour having previously been cancelled due to the pandemic. For the tour, the band were joined by four additional members – keyboardistCarly Paradis and backing vocalists Janet Ramus, T Jae Cole, and Subrina McCalla – alongside returning touring keyboardist Larry Mullins, now acting as touring drummer.
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds 18th studio albumWild God was announced on 6 March 2024 and the title track was released as a single on the same day. A second single "Frogs" followed on 31 May and a third, "Long Dark Night", on 23 July. The album was released on 30 August.[52]
Current members
Current touring musicians
Studio albums
TheAPRA Awards are presented annually from 1982 by theAustralasian Performing Right Association (APRA), "honouring composers and songwriters". They commenced in 1982.[53]
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | "Do You Love Me?" | Song of the Year | Nominated | [54] |
| 1996 | Nick Cave | Songwriter of the Year | Won | |
| "Where the Wild Roses Grow" | Most Performed Australian Work | Nominated | ||
| Song of the Year | Nominated | |||
| 1998 | "Into My Arms" | Nominated | ||
| 2021 | "Ghosteen" (Nick Cave & Warren Ellis) | Song of the Year | Shortlisted | [55] |
| 2025 | "Wild God" (Nick Cave & Warren Ellis) | Song of the Year | Shortlisted | [56] |
TheARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres ofAustralian music. They commenced in 1987.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Let Love In | Best Group | Nominated | [57] |
| "Do You Love Me?" | Single of the Year | Nominated | ||
| 1996 | Murder Ballads | Album of the Year | Nominated | [57] |
| Best Alternative Release | Nominated | |||
| "Where the Wild Roses Grow" (with Kylie Minogue) | Song of the Year | Won | ||
| Single of the Year | Won | |||
| Best Pop Release | Won | |||
| 1997 | The Boatman's Call | Album of the Year | Nominated | [57] |
| Best Alternative Release | Nominated | |||
| "Into My Arms" | Song of the Year | Nominated | ||
| Single of the Year | Nominated | |||
| 2001 | No More Shall We Part | Best Male Artist (Nick Cave) | Won | |
| 2003 | Nocturama | Best Male Artist (Nick Cave) | Nominated | [57] |
| Best Rock Album | Nominated | |||
| 2007 | Cave (honorary inductees Harvey, Ellis, Savage, Casey) | ARIA Hall of Fame | inducted | |
| 2008 | Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! | Album of the Year | Nominated | [57] |
| Best Male Artist (Cave) | Won | |||
| Best Rock Album | Nominated | |||
| 2013 | Push The Sky Away | Album of the Year | Nominated | [58] |
| Best Group | Nominated | |||
| Best Independent Release | Won | |||
| Best Adult Contemporary Album | Won | |||
| "Jubilee Street" (directed byJohn Hillcoat) | Best Video | Nominated | ||
| Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds | Best Australian Live Act | Nominated | ||
| 2014 | Live from KCRW | Best Adult Contemporary Album | Nominated | |
| 2015 | Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds | Best Australian Live Act | Nominated | |
| 2017 | Skeleton Tree | Best Group | Nominated | |
| Best Adult Contemporary Album | Nominated | |||
| Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds | Best Australian Live Act | Nominated | ||
| 2020 | Ghosteen | Best Independent Release | Nominated | |
| Best Adult Contemporary Album | Nominated |
TheAustralian Music Prize (the AMP) is an annual award of $30,000 given to an Australian band or solo artist in recognition of the merit of an album released during the year of award. The commenced in 2005.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Ghosteen | Australian Music Prize | Nominated | [59][60] |
| 2024 | Wild God | Australian Music Prize | Nominated | [61] |
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Push the Sky Away | Independent Album of the Year | Nominated |
| 2020[62] | Ghosteen | Best Independent Rock Album or EP | Nominated |
TheEG Awards (known asMusic Victoria Awards since 2013) are an annual awards night celebrating Victorian music. They commenced in 2006.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008[63] | Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! | Best Album | Won |
| Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds | Best Band | Won |
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Themselves | Best International Band | Nominated |
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Themselves | Best Live Act | Nominated |
| 2008 | Nominated | ||
| Dig, Lazarus, Dig | Best Album | Nominated |
TheRolling Stone Australia Awards are awarded annually in January or February by theAustralian edition ofRolling Stone magazine for outstanding contributions to popular culture in the previous year.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Wild God | Best LP/EP | Shortlisted | [64] |
| Nick Cave and Bad Seeds | Rolling Stone Global Award | Shortlisted |
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Themselves | World's Best Group | Nominated |
| World's Best Live Act | Nominated | ||
| Push the Sky Away | World's Best Album | Nominated |
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds became one of the most original and celebrated bands of the post-punk and alternative rock eras in the '80s and onward.
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