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Nick Cave

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Nick Cave was born in 1957 in the small Australian town of Warracknabeal, in the state of Victoria. He studied art in Melbourne and sang there in The Birthday Party, one of the best post-punk bands in the city. In 1980 the group moved to London, and after a stay in West Berlin it broke up in 1982. The following year Cave founded Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, a band that would last for decades. He is also a writer: his first novel, And the Ass Saw the Angel, appeared in 1989.

Music and breakthrough

His music revolves around a deep baritone voice and themes such as death, religion, love and violence. The first Bad Seeds records are set in a mythical American South, with influences from spirituals and Delta blues. The Mercy Seat from 1988 is regarded as his most important song. In the 1990s he broke through with quieter, piano-led ballads, such as the duet with Kylie Minogue, Where the Wild Roses Grow, in 1996 and Into My Arms in 1997.

Influence

From the 2000s he increasingly wrote film music, often with Warren Ellis, including for The Proposition, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and Hell or High Water. In 2019 Ghosteen was released, after the death of his son Arthur. The course shows him from the angle of the music video: in 1992 an artist directed the video of Straight to You for him, an example of how image and music reinforced each other in the 1990s. Cave was appointed Officer of the Order of Australia in 2017.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to Where the Wild Roses Grow, his duet with Kylie Minogue. Notice how his low voice and her light voice stand in contrast.

Discography

Studio albums

In School of Rock

The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.

Categories: Artists