Nicholas Edward Cave was born in Warracknabeal, Australia 40 years ago
today. The son of a librarian and an English teacher, Cave is widely known
for his literate and haunting goth rock. Cave met Mick Harvey in high school and formed a band that
would become the Boys Next Door.
In 1978, the band released a cover of Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots Are Made
For Walking," which led to the recording of their 1979 album Door
Door. In 1980, the band changed its name to the Birthday Party, moved
to London and released their self-titled debut. The Birthday Party's
expression of raw emotion and sharp wit made quite an impression on the
British rock scene of that time. Prayers on Fire was released in
1981 and Junkyard in 1982. The band moved to West Berlin and broke
up in 1983 during the recording of Mutiny!.
Cave and Harvey recruited a new set of musicians and went on to form Nick
Cave and The Bad Seeds. In 1984, they released From Her To
Eternity and 1985 saw the release of The Firstborn Is Dead.
The song "Tupelo" from The Firstborn Is Dead contains some of the
initial ideas for "And The Ass Saw The Angel," the novel Cave published to
rave reviews in 1989. In 1986, the band released Kicking Against The
Pricks, a compilaton of blues covers, and Your Funeral. . .My
Trial, a whole album divided into two EPs. Cave appeared in the 1988
film "Wings Of Desire" and released Tender Prey that same year. In
1989, Cave wrote, composed the soundtrack for and starred in a prison film
entitled "Ghosts... of the Civil Dead." Cave moved from London to San
Paolo, Brazil that same year and many fans claim that 1990's The Good
Son was more melodious and friendly as a result. Critics and fans
both declared 1992's Henry's Dream and 1994's Let Love In a
return to form, with Cave having moved back to London in 1992. In 1996
Cave recorded Murder Ballads, a collection of duets about murder
which included appearances by dance-pop diva Kylie Minogue and grunge
goddess PJ Harvey. Cave contributed a track to 1996's Songs In The Key
Of X and released The Boatman's Call earlier this year.
Other birthdays: David Coverdale (Deep Purple/Whitesnake), 46; Debby
Boone, 41 and Joan Jett, 37.
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