Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds are an Australian group formed in Melbourne in 1983. The project begins after the demise of The Birthday Party, the earlier band of Nick Cave and Mick Harvey, and first takes shape in London in September 1983 as a backing group for Cave’s intended solo project. The original line-up includes Cave, Harvey, Blixa Bargeld, Barry Adamson and Jim G. Thirlwell, with Hugo Race later joining for a short Australian period. The band first performs live in St Kilda, Melbourne, before returning to London and taking the name Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds in May 1984, a reference to The Birthday Party EP The Bad Seed.

Line-up and membership

The band’s membership changes repeatedly over time and features a large number of international musicians. Members listed include Hugo Race, Barry Adamson, Blixa Bargeld, Mick Harvey, Nick Cave, Thomas Wydler, Kid Congo Powers, Roland Wolf, Conway Savage, Martyn P. Casey, Jim Sclavunos, Warren Ellis, James Johnston and Anita Lane. At different points the group includes Cave, Warren Ellis, Martyn P. Casey, George Vjestica, Larry Mullins, Thomas Wydler and Jim Sclavunos, with George Vjestica, Larry Mullins and Jim Sclavunos all part of later line-ups. Anita Lane contributes as a lyricist on the debut album.

Style and development

The band is associated with post-punk, alternative rock, art rock, gothic rock, indie rock and punk blues. Its early material is rooted in post-punk, but by the fifth studio album, Tender Prey, the sound shifts towards experimental alternative rock. Later releases draw on different styles: Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! and the side project Grinderman show garage rock influence, while Push the Sky Away uses synthesizers and minimal guitar work after Mick Harvey leaves in 2009.

Recordings and albums

The debut album, From Her to Eternity, is released in 1984 on Mute Records after recording sessions at London’s Trident Studios and earlier abandoned Man Or Myth? sessions. The band then moves to West Berlin in 1985 and releases The Firstborn Is Dead. Your Funeral, My Trial follows in 1986 and coincides with Barry Adamson’s departure. After a period in New York City, Nick Cave relocates to São Paulo, Brazil, and the band’s post-rehabilitation period produces The Good Son in 1990, which features piano-driven ballads.

In 1993 the group returns to London for Let Love In. Murder Ballads appears in 1996 and becomes the band’s best-selling album. The Boatman’s Call, released in 1997, marks a major change from the violent storytelling of earlier records. No More Shall We Part arrives in 2001, followed by Nocturama in 2003, which returns to more band-oriented arrangements. In 2004 the band releases the two-disc set Abattoir Blues / The Lyre of Orpheus, with James Johnston replacing Blixa Bargeld. Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! appears in 2008, Push the Sky Away in 2013, and Ghosteen in 2019.

Compilations, live releases and related projects

After the live album Live at the Royal Albert Hall in 2008, Cave takes a brief hiatus. The band then oversees Original Seeds, a compilation of songs by other artists that influence the group. In 2005 it releases B-Sides & Rarities, a three-volume collection of B-sides, rarities and compilation tracks, followed by B-Sides & Rarities Part II in 2021. The side project Grinderman is also part of the group’s wider history.

Labels and status

The group is active from 1983 to the present and is associated with the Bad Seed label as well as earlier releases on Mute Records. It remains one of the long-running Australian acts associated with post-punk and alternative rock.