Nick Cave

Nick Cave was an Australian musician, writer, and actor who played a prominent role in the post-punk movement as frontman for the bands the Birthday Party and the Bad Seeds. He was known for his baritone voice and his haunting lyrics that explored themes of death, religion, love, and violence. He was born in 1957 in Warracknabeal, Victoria, to a Catholic family of English and Irish descent. He attended Caulfield Grammar School and later studied art at the University of Melbourne. He formed his first band, the Boys Next Door, in 1973 with his school friends Mick Harvey, Phill Calvert, and Tracy Pew. They changed their name to the Birthday Party in 1980 and moved to London and then Berlin. They developed a reputation for their intense and chaotic live shows and their dark and abrasive sound that influenced gothic rock and noise rock. They disbanded in 1983 after releasing four albums. Cave then formed Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds in 1983 with Harvey and other former members of the Birthday Party. The band's music was more diverse and eclectic, incorporating elements of blues, rock, folk, gospel, and experimental music. They also had a more stable lineup and a larger following. They released 17 albums between 1984 and 2019, including critically acclaimed works such as Tender Prey (1988), The Boatman's Call (1997), Abattoir Blues The Lyre of Orpheus (2004), Push the Sky Away (2013), and Skeleton Tree (2016). Some of their most popular songs include The Mercy Seat, Red Right Hand, Into My Arme, Where the Wild Roses Grow (a duet with Kylie Minogue), and "O Children". Cave also pursued other artistic projects besides music. He wrote two novels: And the Ass Saw the Angel (1989) and The Death of Bunny Munro (2009). He also wrote screenplays for several films, such as Ghosts... of the Civil Dead (1988), The Proposition (2005), The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007), Lawless (2012), and Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017). He also composed scores for films such as The Road (2009), Hell or High Water (2016), and Wind River (2017), often collaborating with his bandmate Warren Ellis. He also acted in some films, such as Wings of Desire (1987), Johnny Suede (1991), and 20,000 Days on Earth (2014). Cave's personal life was marked by tragedy and addiction. He struggled with heroin and alcohol abuse for many years. He also lost his 15-year-old son Arthur in 2015 after he fell from a cliff near Brighton. He documented his grief and recovery in his music, especially in the albums Skeleton Tree and Ghosteen (2019). He also opened up to his fans through his website The Red Hand Files, where he answered questions on various topics. Cave died in 2021 at the age of 63 after a long battle with cancer. He was cremated at Cambridge City Crematorium and his ashes were scattered in his garden.