Nick Cave

Musician and writer living in Hove

Carina Barnett

Nick Cave in Grinderman

Nick Cave was born on 22 September 1957 in Warracknabeal, Australia, the youngest of 3 brothers. He studied art and formed The Boys Next Door with former school friend Mick Harvey, which evolved into The Birthday Party in 1980. They moved to London, where their dark music was in stark contrast to the commercial pop of the time.

After the band split up, Cave moved to LA and began to write, publishing King Ink in 1988, a collection of poetry, plays and lyrics and his novel And the Ass Saw the Angel in 1989. Around this time he also formed The Bad Seeds, moving to Brazil for a  period, before heading back to London in the late 90s. The 1996 album Murder Ballards on which he dueted with artists including P.J. Harvey and Kylie Minogue, earned him an MTV nomination for Best Male Artist. However Cave was uneasy with the nomination and in an open letter to MTV asked to be withdrawn from the nominations asking they be presented to: 'those who feel more comfortable with the competitive nature of these award ceremonies.'

Musically his new band Grinderman is currently touring and a live double DVD of The Bad Seeds came out in January.

Cave moved to Hove with his wife Susie and sons Earl and Arthur, describing the town as a private version of Melbourne - 'I'm invisible, for some reason.....people don't bother me...and its wonderful' but he says he still feels 'Australian to the core'. Although not a political activist, Cave joined the West Pier debate, endorsing a plan to grow wisteria round the skeletal edifice as, 'a gamble, but an exciting one'.

Bibliography

King Ink (1988)
And the Ass Saw the Angel (1989)
Complete Lyrics (2001)