The Birthday Party

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

The Birthday Party was an Australian post-punk band, active from 1977 to 1983 and first known as The Boys Next Door. The core met in the early 1970s at Caulfield Grammar School in Melbourne: the singer Nick Cave, the guitarist Mick Harvey and the drummer Phill Calvert, later joined by the bassist Tracy Pew. Under the influence of the punk explosion of 1976 they first played punk covers and later fast new wave songs of their own. In 1978 a second guitarist, Rowland S. Howard, joined, and with him the sound changed greatly.

Music and breakthrough

In 1980 the group moved from Melbourne to London, where the broadcaster John Peel supported them. They released two albums, Prayers on Fire (1981) and Junkyard (1982). The 1981 single Release the Bats was influential for the emerging gothic scene. Disappointed by their time in London, their sound and performances became increasingly violent. Shortly after the move to West Berlin in 1982 the band split up. Cave, Harvey and Howard went on to build admired careers.

Influence

The music used blues, free jazz and rockabilly for gloomy, noisy soundscapes. Many songs rested on repeating bass lines and frantic, minimalist drumming, with the feedback of Howard's guitar as a trademark. Above it Cave told disturbing stories of violence and perversion. Although commercial success remained limited, the influence was great.

Listening

Discography

Studio albums

• 1981Prayers on Fire
• 1982Junkyard