It’s my Birthday, so Let’s Have a Party with Nick Cave, Mick Harvey, and Rowland Howard... We’ll Call It The Birthday Party!!

Sorry for the delay in posts; I had a birthday this week!! So this will be a short one, but I'll get back to business this weekend with some more goodies.... The Birthday Party were an Australian Post-Punk/Noise Rock band that formed in 1973 and remained active until 1983. Their first name, however, was The Boys Next Door, and they changed to the Birthday Party sometime in the late 70s before they relocated to the London music scene. Critics have claimed them to be the pioneers of “gothic rock” and “no wave” due to their darker approach to post-punk noisiness; I’m sure most have heard their name due to their lead singer’s later worldwide exposure and commercial success as Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds.  Nick Cave needs no explanation; he’s a legend, but his work with the Bad Seeds often eclipses his previous material as the Birthday Party.  That’s too bad because this band’s influence cannot be overstated; these guys were making noise before the advent of bands like Scratch Acid, Jesus Lizard, Big Black, and Shellac.  Here’s an interesting video of the single, “Nick the Stripper,” from their debut album, Prayers on Fire (1981 4AD):

So that’s what would happen if the kids of Lord of the Flies decided to form a Post-Punk band to pass the time.  I believe I saw Beelzebub bouncing around on the ole wooden stake as they reveled in their Dionysian frenzy.  Poor Piggy and Simon...  One can definitely hear the roots of 90s Noise Rock.  People always talk about their connection to Bauhaus and other "Goth Rock" bands, but there's definitely more going on here. I bet Albini and Yow would agree...  The Birthday Party released only two full length albums, the second being Junkyard (1982 4AD), before disbanding.  They did record some Eps, however. Definitely check out both records....

Birthday Party's Payers on Fire

Birthday Party's Junkyard

Nick Cave’s later career has been well celebrated and thoroughly noted, but I think more recent audiences are often unaware of the later of work of band members, Mick Harvey and Rowland S. Howard.  They too have continued to record and release really great records.  In fact, when Nick Cave gave his acceptance speech for the Australian music hall of fame, he informally inducted the other members who equally deserved such accolades.  Well, it is my birthday, and I would love to post video samples of the artists’ work, but that takes time.  Perhaps I’ll post later (with links and all); their solo work is worth all Nick Cave fans’ attention.  Check ‘em out...