Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
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| Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds | |
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Melbourne, Australia |
| Genre(s) | Post-punk Blues-rock Alternative rock |
| Years active | 1984 - Present |
| Label(s) | Mute Records |
| Associated acts | The Birthday Party Einstürzende Neubauten Magazine Grinderman |
| Website | Official Website |
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds are an Australian rock band with multinational personnel.
Contents |
[edit] History
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds was originally formed in 1984 by two former members of the Australian band The Birthday Party: Nick Cave (vocals, songwriter, keyboards, harmonica) and multi-instrumentalist Mick Harvey. They were joined by Einstürzende Neubauten member Blixa Bargeld (guitar), Hugo Race (guitar), and former Magazine member Barry Adamson (bass, piano). Cave's former girlfriend Anita Lane was also a creative influence and occasional lyricist. This line-up recorded their debut album, From Her to Eternity, released in 1984. During their initial Australian tour, Birthday Party bass guitarist Tracy Pew also performed with the band.
The name of the new project indicated the shift in Cave's role from band member, as in The Birthday Party, to band leader, and coincided with his shift in songwriting style from expressionism to detailed lyrical narrative. The group has been through many personnel changes, with Cave and Harvey remaining the constants.
Cave separated from Lane in the mid-1980s and began a relationship with Elisabeth Recker. While in Berlin, he released four albums with the Bad Seeds: The Firstborn Is Dead; Kicking Against the Pricks; Your Funeral, My Trial; and Tender Prey. Kicking Against the Pricks was the first album to feature the drumming of Swiss Thomas Wydler, who is the longest serving member in the band beside Cave and Mick Harvey.
In 1987, the Bad Seeds made an appearance in the Wim Wenders film, Wings of Desire. In 1990, the band collectively eliminated hard drugs from its diet, relocated to Brazil, and released The Good Son. Their next record, 1992's Henry's Dream, was the first to feature current members Martyn Casey and Conway Savage. Following it came 1994's Let Love In.
In 1996, Cave and the Bad Seeds released Murder Ballads. It includes "Henry Lee", a duet with British rock singer PJ Harvey (with whom he had a brief relationship), and "Where the Wild Roses Grow", a duet with Australian pop idol Kylie Minogue. The latter was a mainstream hit in the UK and in Australia, winning three ARIA Awards including "Song of the Year".
Their next album, The Boatman's Call (1997), is marked by a radical shift away from archetypal and violent narratives to biographical and confessional songs about his relationships with Carneiro and Harvey. It was also his first full album to be centered around his own piano playing.
Cave then took a short break to rehabilitate from his 20 years of heroin and alcohol abuse, during which time he married. The band resurfaced with No More Shall We Part in 2001.
After the release of the 2003 album Nocturama, which failed to excite reviewers, Bargeld announced he was leaving the Bad Seeds to devote more time to Einstürzende Neubauten, leaving Mick Harvey as the only original member still in the band, other than Cave himself. The next year Cave released his first double record - the acclaimed two-disc set Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus.
In 2005, Cave and the Seeds released B-Sides & Rarities, a three-disc, 56-track collection of B-sides, rarities and tracks that had appeared on film soundtracks.
Cave told Billboard that apart from his album with his other venture Grinderman (nicknamed Mini-Seeds, because it consists of Seeds members - see below), he has recorded the band 14th studio album between June and August 2007. "It’s quite strange to have the two bands going at once because my head is kind of very much in the new Bad Seeds record,” Cave says, “but I finished that and now I’m going to make a new Grinderman one, I think. I just like making records."[1]
In October 2007 Cave was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame. During his acceptance speech he cheekily took it upon himself to also induct the Australian members of the Bad Seeds (excluding Hugo Race), plus the members of The Birthday Party (excluding Phill Calvert).
In March 2008, the band released their 14th studio album, titled Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!, inspired by the Biblical story of the resurrection of Lazarus of Bethany by Jesus Christ.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds also released an exclusive "Live Session" EP[2] through iTunes in April 2008, recorded at the legendary Air studios on 2nd March as part of iTunes' "Live From London" series.
Despite initial reports that the Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! tour would exclude North American venues, it was reported on April 29, 2008 that the band will be playing dates across the United States and Canada in Fall of 2008[3].
On May 3rd 2008, during the Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! tour, Shane MacGowan joined Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds on stage to preform "Lucy" at Dublin Castle Ireland.
[edit] Line-up
- Nick Cave - vocals, piano, organ, harmonica, percussion, electric guitar, string arrangements (1984—)
- Mick Harvey - electric guitar, acoustic guitar, bass, drums, organ, percussion, piano, loops, string arrangements, vocals (1984—)
- Thomas Wydler - drums, percussion, vocals (1987—)
- Martyn P. Casey - bass, vocals (1991—)
- Conway Savage - piano, organ, vocals (1991—)
- Warren Ellis - violin, fender mandocaster, loops, mandolin, tenor guitar, viola, bouzouki, accordion, flute, lute, piano, programming, percussion, string arrangements, vocals (1994—)
- Jim Sclavunos - percussion, drums, organ, melodica, vocals (1996—)
- James Johnston - organ, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals (2003—)
In addition to his performances with the Bad Seeds, Cave has, since the '90s, performed live 'solo' tours with Cave on piano, Ellis on violin and a fluctuating bass/drums line-up. The current trio are Bad Seeds' Martyn P. Casey, Jim Sclavunos and Warren Ellis (nicknamed the Mini-Seeds).
[edit] Past members, guest and touring musicians
- Blixa Bargeld - electric guitar, slide guitar, pedal steel guitar, vocals (1984–2003); original member who quit after almost 20 years[1]
- Anita Lane - lyrics (1984)
- Barry Adamson - bass, electric guitar, drums, organ, piano, percussion, vocals (1984-1986)
- Hugo Race - electric guitar, vocals (1984)
- Rowland S. Howard - electric guitar, organ, vocals
- Tracy Pew (deceased) - bass
- Kid Congo Powers - electric guitar, slide guitar (1986-1989)
- Roland Wolf (deceased) - piano, organ, electric guitar, vocals (1986-1989)
[edit] Nationalities
Band leader Cave moved from Melbourne to London in 1980. Since forming The Bad Seeds in 1984 he has lived in Berlin, São Paulo, London, and Brighton (UK). The various international members of the band meet to record and tour. Nationalities of the current and ex-members are:
- Australian: Nick Cave, Mick Harvey, Hugo Race, Conway Savage, and Warren Ellis
- British: Barry Adamson, James Johnston and Martyn P. Casey
- German: Blixa Bargeld and Roland Wolf
- Swiss: Thomas Wydler
- American: Kid Congo Powers and Jim Sclavunos
[edit] Discography
[edit] Studio albums
- From Her to Eternity (1984) UK #40
- The Firstborn Is Dead (1985) UK #53
- Kicking Against the Pricks (1986) UK #89
- Your Funeral… My Trial (1986)
- Tender Prey (1988) UK #67
- The Good Son (1990) UK #47, Australia #93
- Henry's Dream (1992) UK #29, Australia #41, Germany #59
- Let Love In (1994) UK #12, Australia #8, Germany #34
- Murder Ballads (1996) UK #8, Australia #3, Germany #5
- The Boatman's Call (1997) UK #22, Australia #5, U.S #155, Germany #19
- No More Shall We Part (2001) UK #15 U.S #180, Australia #4, Germany #8
- Nocturama (2003) UK #20 US #182, Australia #8, Germany #11
- Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus (2CD) (2004) UK #11 US #126, Australia #5, Germany #7
- Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! (2008) UK #4, Sweden #3, Australia #2, US #64
[edit] Awards
- 2007 ARIA Awards ARIA Hall of Fame inductee (Cave); honorary inductees (Harvey, Ellis, Savage, Casey)
- 2001 ARIA Awards: Best Male Artist for No more shall we part (despite album being credited to Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds)
- 2001 APRA Awards: "The Ship Song" voted in the Top 30 Best Australian Songs of the previous 75 years
- 1996 ARIA Awards: Song of the Year & Single of the Year & Best Pop Release ("Where the wild roses grow")
[edit] See also
[edit] References
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[edit] External links
- Official website
- Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds on MySpace
- Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds at Discogs
- Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds at Last.fm
- Bad-Seed.org - Fan site
- Guitarist Kid Congo Powers discusses his years with Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, 1986 - 1990 from NewYorkNightTrain.com
- Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! - Review
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