Nick Cave FAQ

=============

 

(Version 3.5)

 

(Last updated: January 26th, 1998)

 

Contents:

 

0. Acronyms

1. Biography

2. Discography

3. Bibliography

4. Filmography

5. Other resources for Cave-related stuff

6. Related bands and their important releases

7. Original versions of songs covered by Nick Cave

8. Influences on Nick Cave's work

9. Translations of selected lyrics to English

10. Bible quotes

11. Roadmap of NCs Music

12. Hidden Tracks on the X-files CD

13. Portobello Cafe

99. Credits

 

 

 

0. Acronyms used in this FAQ

 

ATASTA - And the Ass Saw the Angel

BB - Blixa Bargeld

BND - The Boys Next Door

BP - The Birthday Party

CCS - Crime and the City Solution

EN - Einstuerzende Neubauten

FHTE - From Her to Eternity

HD - Henry's Dream

LLI - Let Love In

MB - Murder Ballads

MH - Mick Harvey

NC&BS or NCBS - Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

NCTBPAOEA - Nick Cave, the Birthday Party and Other Epic Adventures

(courtesy Erik)

TBC - The Boatman's Call

TFID - The Firstborn Is Dead

TGS - The Good Son

TP - Tender Prey

YFMT - Your Funeral... My Trial

 

1. Biography

Nicholas Edward Cave was born in Warracknabeal, Australia on 22/09/1957.

His mother's name is Dawn, a librarian; his father Colin was an English

teacher. He has two older brothers, Tim (1952) and Peter (1954) and a sister,

Julie (1959). He was raised an Anglican, which explains the apparent influence

of The Bible in his work. Nick Cave was living together with Viviane, born

in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and has a son with her, Luke, born in 1991. Nick

and Viviane split up and according to rumours, Nick has had some kind of

an affair with PJ Harvey during the MB period.

 

His education: Caulfield Grammar School, Melbourne and an Art School

(Art department of Caulfield Institute of Technology, now Monash University)

which he attended only two years. An example of Nick's art is on the back

of the Birthday Party's "Prayers On Fire" album, signed "Nicholas

Cave". At Caulfield Nick met Mick Harvey, with whom he founded a high

school band that would become The Boys Next Door. The first recording released

by NC was "These Boots Are Made For Walking" in 1978, a single

that was soon followed by the album "Door Door" the next year.

The band consisted of Nick, Mick Harvey, Tracy Pew, Phillip Calvert and

Rowland S. Howard (from 1979 on).

 

The Boys Next Door slowly dissolved into "The Birthday Party"

in 1980 when the album of the same name came out: some copies stated "The

Birthday Party by The Boys Next Door", others only "The Birthday

Party". When they changed their name, the band moved from Australia

to London. The Birthday Party had a huge impact on the British rock scene

of that time, especially because of the expression of "raw emotion, wit

and essential dumbness" (Mute Records' opinion) in their music, though it took some time for them

to really break through. The LP "Prayers on Fire" was released

in 1981, "Junkyard" in 1982. The band moved to West Berlin and

fell apart in 1983 after releasing 3 studio albums and 2 EP's. Their last

EP, "Mutiny", was the ultimate manifestation of everything punk

pretended to be. Here, Blixa Bargeld, from Einstuerzende Neubauten, appeared

for the first time with Nick Cave.

 

Part of the BP members continued to form The Bad Seeds, recording the

first NC&BS album in 1984: "From Her To Eternity". The line-up

at this time was: Nick Cave, Blixa Bargeld (guitar), Mick Harvey (drums),

Barry Adamson (guitar and piano), Hugo Race (guitar), Tracy Pew (bass,

only during the Australian tour), with cooperation of Anita Lane. The name

"Bad Seeds" may come either from the Bible (e.g. St. Matthew

13) or from the film "Bad Seed" by Mervin LeRoy, 1956, based

on a play by Maxwell Anderson and a novel by William March.

 

The year 1985 saw the release of the second NC&BS album, "The

Firstborn Is Dead". The Bad Seeds were now reduced to Cave, Harvey,

Bargeld and Adamson. The song "Tupelo" contains some of the initial

ideas for the novel Cave would publish a few years later: "And The Ass

Saw The Angel" (1989). In fact, the greater part of the songs written

during the conception of "The Ass" can be seen as parallels of the book (e.g.

The Carny and Sad Waters from Your Funeral... My Trial). It is the story of a

criminal idiot hounded by a lynch mob. The novel got very good reviews and was

translated into ten languages.

 

The next year, 1986, two albums were released; one album, "Kicking

Against The Pricks" was a compilation of covers of mainly blues songs.

The Bad Seeds were extended by Thomas Wydler and there are guest appearances

of Tracy Pew and Rowland S. Howard. The second album was "Your Funeral...

My Trial", released on two EPs.

 

In 1988, Wim Wender's film "Der Himmel Ueber Berlin" ("Wings

of Desire") saw the light of day, featuring "The Carny"

and Nick doing "From Her to Eternity" live ("I'm NOT going

to tell them about a girl..."). Other Wim Wenders films that feature

NC's music are "Bis ans Ende der Welt (Until The End Of The World"

and "Faraway... So Close", the follow-up to "Wings...".

 

The album "Tender Prey" was released in 1988. After this,

Cave moved from Berlin to Sao Paolo, Brazil, where he had met Viviane Carneiro

during a tour. The influence of Brazil is apparent in "The Good Son",

the album released in 1990. The music is much more melodious and friendly

than on any other album released before and is often said to express the

Brazilian feeling of "saudade". Kid Congo Powers (Cramps, Gun

Club) made his appearance as a member of the Bad Seeds on this album, although

he already played in the band for a longer period, during the YFMT and

KAtP times. In 1989, a film called "Ghosts... of the Civil Dead"

was released, co-written by Nick, the soundtrack of which was written by

Nick, acted in by Nick. It is a prison movie.

 

Not until 1992, the seventh album was released: "Henry's Dream",

followed by a worldwide tour. Again, the line-up was changed: Nick, Blixa,

Mick, Thomas, Martyn P. Casey and Conway Savage. The tour was used to record

their only official live CD to be released in 1993: "Live Seeds".

The CD was intended as a celebration of the ten years' existence of The

Bad Seeds and was sold together with a photo book by Peter Milne. The book

contains photographs from the 1992/3 tour.

 

During the spring of 1993, Nick Cave moved to London, where part of

the ninth Bad Seeds album--"Let Love In" was recorded.

 

In 1996, "Murder Ballads" was released. The album contains songs which

exclusively deal with the subject of murder. Record-breaker for the longest

song by NC is "O' Malley's Bar", which lasts about a quarter of

an hour. Duets are sung with P.J. Harvey and Kylie Minogue. Other artists

featured are Shane McGowan and Warren Ellis (from The Dirty Three).

 

Apart from this, Nick Cave features on the compilation Album "Songs

In The Key Of X", which has songs on it from the TV serial "The

X-Files". Nick does "Red Right Hand" and can be found on

a "hidden track" called "Time Jesum transeuntem et non reverendum"

(Dread the passage of Jesus for he will not return) with The Dirty Three

(see section 12).

 

Nick Cave was shortlisted for "Best Male Artist"

of 1996 by MTV Music Awards. He declined the honour, stating that he did

not want to compete with other people where Art was concerned.

 

1997 brought a new album, again, called "The Boatman's Call",

released in February. As members of the Bad Seeds, now Warren Ellis and

Jim Sclavunos are listed.

 

A European tour started in April in France and ran through July. Nick

Cave and the Bad Seeds will not play in the US in the next eight months

or longer.

 

An official B-sides album is planned for release in April, as well as

a greatest hits album.

 

 

 

 

2. Concise Discography

(After the complete discography of Maurice Maes)

 

A checklist of official Cave releases. This list contains all known music,

not all possible different releases of the same material. Also not

included are interviews, and ultra-rare (e.g. mail order-only) releases

like the video from Columbus 1984. Entries without a mark (CD, LP, etc.)

are songs not released on albums but only as (B-sides of) singles, in

compilations or on soundtracks. The complete discography can be retrieved

at request from Maurice Maes (maes@natlab.research.philips.com).

 

THE BOYS NEXT DOOR

 

LP/CD 1979 "Door Door"

 

EP 1979 "Hee Haw"

These Boots Are Made For Walking

Boy Hero

Masturbation Generation

Enemy Of State, by Torn Ox Bodies (Anagram of Boys Next Door)

 

TUFF MONKS

 

7" 1982 "After The Fireworks"/"After After The Fireworks"

 

THE BIRTHDAY PARTY

 

Regular releases:

LP 1980 "The Birthday Party"

 

LP/CD 1981 "Prayers On Fire"

Blundertown

Kathy's Kisses

 

LP/CD 1982 "Junkyard"

Release The Bats

Blast Off

Dead Joe, second version

 

EP 1983 "The Bad Seed"

 

EP 1983 "Mutiny"

Pleasure Avalanche

The Six Strings That Drew Blood

 

LP 1985 "Compilation" (4 rare tracks) (or on CD "Drunk...")

 

1993 "The Fullness Of His Coming" from the Anita Lane album

 

Live stuff:

LP 1982 "Drunk On The Pope's Blood", a-side only

LP/CD 1982 "It's Still Living", live album

EP/CD 1987 "The Peel Sessions: The Birthday Party"

EP 1988 "The Peel Sessions: The Birthday Party II"

video 1988 "Pleasure Heads Must Burn"

 

All Birthday Party albums have been re-released by Henry Rollins' record

company with serial numbers CAKE1, CAKE2, etc.

 

DIE HAUT

 

12" 1983 "Der Karibische Western" (1 song has Cave whistling)

LP 1983 "Burning The Ice" (4 Cave songs)

LP/CD 1988 "Headless Body In Topless Bar" (1 Cave song)

LP/CD 1993 "Sweat" (live, 3 Cave songs)

video 1993 "Sweat"

 

NICK CAVE AND THE BAD SEEDS or just NICK CAVE

 

Regular albums, plus extra tracks on CD, or b-sides

 

LP/CD 1984 "From Her To Eternity"

In The Ghetto

The Moon Is In The Gutter

From Her To Eternity, version from "Der Himmel..."

 

LP/CD 1984 "The Firstborn Is Dead"

The Six Strings That Drew Blood

Tupelo, single version

 

LP/CD 1986 "Kicking Against The Pricks"

Running Scared

Black Betty

 

LP/CD 1986 "Your Funeral, My Trial"

Scum

 

LP/CD 1988 "Tender Prey",

The Mercy Seat, video version

Girl At The Bottom Of My Glass

"And The Ass Saw The Angel", 4 readings

 

LP/CD 1989 "Ghosts... Of The Civil Dead"

(w. BB & MH)

 

LP/CD 1990 "The Good Son"

The Weeping Song (re-mix)

The Train Song

Cocks'n'Asses also listed as "The B-side Song"

"Acoustic Versions From Tender Prey" 3 songs

 

LP/CD 1992 "Henry's Dream"

Blue Bird

What Can I Give You?

Jack The Ripper (acoustic)

The Mercy Seat (live)

The Carny (live)

The Ship Song (live)

I Had A Dream, Joe (live)

The Good Son (live)

 

CD 1993 "Live Seeds"

 

LP/CD 1994 "Let Love In"

Sail Away

Do You Love Me? (single version)

Loverman (single version)

B-Side

That's What Jazz Is To Me

Where The Action Is

 

LP/CD 1996 Murder Ballads

The Ballad of Robert Moore and Betty Coltrane

The Willow Garden

King Kong Kitchee Kitchee Ki-Mi-O

Knoxville Girl

 

LP/CD 1996 To Have and to Hold, Movie Soundtrack to John Hillcoat's film.

NC with Blixa Bargeld and Mick Harvey.

 

LP/CD 1997 The Boatman's Call

Empty Little Boat

Right Now I'm A-roaming

Come Into My Sleep

Black Hair (Band Version)

Babe, I Got You Bad

 

Loose songs:

CASS 1985 NME compilation. "I Put A Spell On You"

EP 1985 "Kickabye" by Anni Hogan. Cave sings "Vixo".

LP/CD 1987 "Smack my Crack": "The Atra Virago" (a spoken-word

performance; other contributions by Einstuerzende

Neubauten, Tom Waits et al.)

LP/CD 1987 "Honeymoon In Red", by Lydia Lunch. 2 songs.

flexi 1989 "Rye Whiskey"

LP/CD 1989 "The Bridge: A Tribute to Neil Young": "Helpless"

LP/CD 1991 "I'm Your Fan": "Tower Of Song"

LP/CD 1991 "Bis ans Ende der Welt": "Till the End of the World"

sngle 1992 "Wonderful World", "Rainy Night In Soho", "Lucy".

2CD 1993 "Viva Eight": "Jack The Ripper", "Nick The Stripper (live)"

CD 1993 "Faraway, So Close": title track and "Cassiels' Song"

CD 1994 "Rare On Air": "God's Hotel"

CD 1995 "Batman Forever" Soundtrack: "There Is A Light"

CD 1996 "Songs In the Key of X, the X-Files Soundtrack":

"Red Right Hand", "Dread the Passing of Jesus"

CD 1997 "September Songs", Tribute to Kurt Weill: "Mack the Knife"

 

BOOTLEGS (Concise)

 

Boys Next Door boot CD's (both very good quality and recommended):

 

1 "Boys Next Door (featuring Nick Cave [CD])"

complete FM of Melbourne 19/8/77.

2 "Next Door", incomplete soundboards(?)

of Melbourne 3/10/79 & 4/11/79.

 

Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds:

 

Recommended

1 "He Put A Spell On Us" incomplete FM radio broadcast of Rotterdam,

Pandora's Box, 12/10/85

1 "In Funeral Night" incomplete FM radio broadcast of Rotterdam,

Pandora's Box, 12/10/85 (Note:the above are the same up to two

different filler songs.)

2 "The Funeral Tour", incomplete FM radio broadcast of Bochum, Zeche,

26/09/86

3 "The Joy Of Life", complete, FM & audience recording, Hamburg, Grosse

Freiheit, 29/09/86

4 "Long Time Man", incomplete FM radio broadcast of Utrecht, Vredenburg,

10/10/88

5 "The Angel Has Blues", complete audience recording of Hechtel,

Pukkelpop, 28/08/90

6 "Murderous Ends, Collaborative Odds", various live recordings from 1989 to

1995.

7 "Where the Wild Live Roses Grow", Quart Festival, 4/7/96

8 "The Ring of Wild Roses", Bizarre Festival, 17/8/96

8 "Red Rum", same as previous CD

 

 

So-so

6 "Stranger Than Kindness", compilation of various dates, most of it is

not to be found on any of the above, but I just don't like compilation

bootlegs, especially not when the complete shows are circulating on

tape.

7 "Songs From A Diary", music ripped off the official Paradiso video.

Up to you whether you need this on CD.

 

To Be Avoided

8 "Viva Las Vegas" compilation of the above (1, 3, 4)

9 "Nick Cave Live" compilation of the above (1, 3, 4), same as Viva Las

Vegas

10 "Through The Black Holes Of Time 84-90" compilation of the above (1

and 6)

 

 

 

3. Bibliography

 

Books on or (partly) by Nick Cave

 

1982 "Inner City Sound" by Clinton Walker, (BND & BP). Wild and

Wooiley (Australia)

 

1986?"Forced Exposure" Massachusetts fanzine contains one-act plays by

Nick Cave.

 

1987 "Tape Delay" by Charles Neal, SAF (UK), interviews and pictures of

Nick Cave, EN, and others.

 

1987?"Judas Jesus" by Rolf Vasellari, Black Sheep Press (Zurich,

Switzerland) 1 contribution (7 lines on Dave-id of the Virgin

Prunes) by Nick Cave.

 

1988 "King Ink" by Nick Cave, mostly lyrics. Black Spring Press. Both

hard-cover and paperback.

 

1989 "And The Ass Saw The Angel" novel by Nick Cave. Hard Cover: Black

Spring Press. Since 1990 Penguin Pocket edition available.

 

1993 "AS-FIX-E-8", a comic by Lydia Lunch and Nick Cave. Artwork: Mike

Matthews. 35 pages. Published by Last Gasp.

 

1993 "Fish In A Barrel", Peter Milne's photo book contains (besides all

the great pictures) an intro and interview written by Nick.

Published by 2.13.61 (Henry Rollins) -> <http://www.two1361.com>

 

1995 "Nick Cave", Italian book and CD, by A. Cangioli and M.A. Scalise.

Writings by Nick, biography, interview and photos. The CD contains

readings from ATASTA. Published by Stampa Alternativa-Nuovi

Equilibri-Sconcerto/26.

 

1995 "Hellfire: Life according to Nick Cave" by Jeremy Dean. Very concise

and erroneous account of Nick's life and work. Published by The

Dunce Directive, London.

 

1995 "Bad Seed: A Biography of Nick Cave" by Ian Johnston (brother of

James - Gallon Drunk vocalist), Little, Brown and Company, London.

Relatively good book.

 

1996 "Nick Cave - The Birthday Party and other epic adventures" by Robert

Brokenmouth, Omnibus Press, London. Mainly about Boys Next Door and

Birthday Party.

 

1997 "King Ink II", sequel to King Ink, including Lyrics from TP to The

Boatman's Call. Black Spring Press

 

 

 

 

4. Films and videos

 

(also thanks to Maurice Maes)

 

Films:

1987 "Dandy" by Peter Sempel

1987 "Der Himmel ueber Berlin/Wings Of Desire" by Wim Wenders

1989 "Ghosts... of the Civil Dead"

1991 "Johnny Suede"

1995 "September Songs: The Music of Kurt Weill"

1997 "Rhinoceros Hunting in Budapest" by Michel Hausman

 

Videos:

1987 "Kings Of Independence"

1991 "The Road To God Knows Where"

1992 "Live At The Paradiso"

1996 "Ritual Habitual", Live footage from "Big Day out".

 

 

 

5. Other resources

 

GOODSON MAILING LIST:

 

Subscription / unsubscription and any other admin messages should be sent

to: <majordomo@geog.leeds.ac.uk>

 

In order to subscribe, you should send a message containing the

following commands as the first line of the body text:

 

subscribe goodson [your_email_address]

 

In order to unsubscribe, you should send a message containing the

following commands as the first line of the body text:

 

unsubscribe goodson [your_email_address]

 

The Goodson mailing-list will send you 10-20 messages a day from all over

the world. Interesting information, opinions and related things.

 

 

NICK CAVE WWW SITES:

 

Mutiny in Heaven, BP Homepage: <http://www.alphalink.com.au/~kateb>

 

The Cave Inn: <http://www.zephyr.net/cave/>

 

Skin's Cave: <http://www.xs4all.nl/~skin>

 

Euchrid's Cave of Nick: <http://www.oocities.org/SunsetStrip/Towers/5248/>

 

Mute Records Artist's Page: <http://www.mutelibtech.com/mute/cave/cave.htm>

 

From 2-13-61 Publishing in the US: <http://two1361.com/people/cave.html>

 

Nick Cave Gallery:

<http://home.netinc.ca/~ianronda/gallery/gallery.htm>

 

 

GUITAR TABS OF SELECTED SONGS:

 

<http://www.nada.kth.se:80/~f91-jsc/guitar/Nick.Cave.and.Bad.Seeds.html>

or:

<http://www.cogs.susx.ac.uk/users/andyf/cave/cave.html> (For tabs from the

albums TP, TGS, HD, LLI, MB)

 

Many available at: <http://www.zephyr.net/cave/lyrics/>

 

 

LYRICS

 

The previously existing lyrics search-engine was closed for copyright-reasons.

 

All lyrics are available at: <http://www.zephyr.net/cave/lyrics/>

 

Murder Ballads Lyrics can be found at: <http://www.medio.mh.se/~mel/nick/>

 

 

CHATS

 

Live Chat Board: <http://imusic.com/cgi-bin/bbs/bbs.cgi?x=nickcave>

 

IRC channel dedicated to Nick Cave on Dalnet: #NC&tBS

 

 

TENDER PREY NEWSLETTER / THE WITNESS:

 

Tender Prey Merchant

PO Box 13291

London, UK E1 9FL

 

Tender Prey edits a newsletter entirely devoted to Nick and closely related

bands. It is published about three times a year and is free or will only

cost you a stamp.

 

A new "Official" newsletter from Tender Prey is called "The Witness".

 

The Witness may be subscribed to by sending an addressed and stamped

envelope to:

The Witness

PO Box 13291

London, UK E1 9FL

 

NICK CAVE BOOKS:

 

Last Gasp, P.O. Box 410067, San Francisco CA. 94141-0067, USA

 

MUTE RECORDS:

 

Mute has a bulletin board, said to be accessible by telnet:

<telnet mutelibtech.com>

 

There is also an ftp-site at the same address, with info on most Mute

artists, including (of course) Nick:

<ftp://mutelibtech.com>

 

To complete the whole thing, there is a WWW page at:

<http://www.mutelibtech.com/mute>. This contains about the same

things as the ftp site.

 

 

NO WWW, NEWS AND FTP ACCESS?

 

Try the following: send a message to the following address:

 

containing the message:

send usenet/news.answers/internet-services/access-via-email

 

This contains info on how to access these services by E-mail.

 

 

 

6. Related bands and their most important releases

 

I. Einstuerzende Neubauten

 

EN is the band founded on April 1, 1980 by Blixa Bargeld (also member of

The Birthday Party and nowadays of The Bad Seeds), N.U. Unruh, F.M Einheit

("Mufti"), Alexander Hacke (Once in Crime and the City Solution) and Mark

Chung. EN created music making use of diverse appliances, such as chain

saws, drills, metal percussion sculptures, tape, amplified guitar noise

etc. Every release is unexpected, not only because of the time between

them, but also because the music changes with every album.

 

Concise discography:

LP 1982 Kollaps;

LP 1983 Zeichnungen des Patienten O.T.;

LP 1984 Strategien gegen Architektur I;

LP + 1985 Halber Mensch;

Video

LP 1987 Fuenf auf der nach oben offenen Richterskala;

LP 1989 Haus der Luege;

CD 1991 Die Hamletmaschine;

2CD 1991 Strategien gegen Architektur II;

CD 1993 Tabula Rasa;

CDS 1993 Malediction;

CD 1996 Faustmusik;

CD 1996 Ende Neu.

CD 1997 Ende Neu Remixes (Tracks from Ende Neu remixed by other artists).

 

 

A biography of EN is Klaus Maeck's "Einstuerzende Neubauten: Hoer mit

Schmerzen (Listen with Pain)", new edition released in 1996, ISBN

3-88030-028-3 (old edition) or 3-931126-09-9 (new edition), Die Gestalten

Verlag. A complete discography is available at:

<ftp://cs.uwp.edu>,

<ftp://tp.maths.tcd.ie>

and on EN's Homepage,

<http://www.icf.de/EN/>

unofficial, better

<http://www.uib.no/People/henrik/neubauten/index.html>

Blixa Bargeld Homepage: <http://www.blixa-bargeld.com>

 

There is an EN mailing list, the "Einstuerzende Adressiermaschine",

which is manually maintained and has about 80 members. Subscriptions can

be sent to: oafergus@watarts.uwaterloo.ca

 

 

II. Mick Harvey

 

Mick Harvey has played with Nick Cave since The Boys Next Door and has as

solo-projects written the soundtracks for the films "Alta Marea" and

"Vaterland". He produced many of the Bad Seeds' albums, although he's not

credited for this... In autumn 1995, he released his second solo album,

"Intoxicated Man", containing Serge "Je t'aime" Gainsburg covers in

English translation. He recorded his second album devoted to Serge

Gainsbourg this year. He lives in Melbourne. See also under Crime and the

City Solution. A Mick Harvey Homepage can be found at:

<http://cc.usu.edu/~slqqc/mick/harvey.html>

 

III. Anita Lane

 

Anita Lane, once Nick's girlfriend, appearing on (the cover of) "From Her To

Eternity" and having been given the credits for writing "Stranger than

Kindness", has worked with Einstuerzende Neubauten singing the English

version of "Blume" (Flower). Shealso collaborated with other bands like Die

Haut and with Barry Adamson (Covering "These Boots Are Made For Walking").

Her first solo release was a 12" "Dirty Sings", featuring Nick Cave. Now, she

has her first solo album out, "Dirty Pearl", the CD version of which contains

the aforementioned 12" and a song she did with the Birthday Party.

Another project was her collaboration with Mick Harvey on his second album,

as mentioned above.

 

IV. Crime and the City Solution

 

C&CS already existed in the late seventies. The albums are from later

dates and are played on by Simon Bonney, Mick Harvey, Rowland S. Howard,

Harry Howard and Epic Soundtracks. The Howard family and Epic Soundtracks

quit in 1986 to form "These Immortal Souls". The new line-up consisted of

Simon Bonney, Mick Harvey, Alexander Hacke (Einst. Neub.), Bronwyn Adams,

Chrislo Haas and Thomas Stern. Their latest album contains a track for Wim

Wender's film "Bis ans Ende der Welt" ("Until The End Of The World")

called "The Adversary". Officially, their status is that they dissoluted.

Simon Bonney has 2 solo CDs: "Forever" and "Everyman" and is recording a

third.

 

See the following URL for some more information:

>http://www.trouserpress.com/bandpages/CRIME_AND_THE_CITY_SOLUTION.html<

 

Concise discography:

1985 The Dangling Man (EP);

1986 Just South of Heaven (Mini LP);

1986 Room of Lights;

1988 Shine;

1989 The Bride Ship;

1990 Paradise Discotheque;

1993 The Adversary - Live

 

V. Barry Adamson

 

Barry Adamson discovered the bass guitar in 1977 and joined the Manchester

band "Magazine" the day after. After releasing five albums, the band

collapsed in 1981 and Barry joined the Birthday Party several times. After

the BP became The Bad Seeds, Barry recorded the first four albums with them,

after which he decided that rock music wasn't exactly what he wanted to play.

He started a solo career making film-music for non-existing films and for

real films, such as Carl Colpaert's "Delusion" and "Delayed Shock". Barry has

recently released the album "Oedipus Schmoedipus", with Nick Cave singing

"The Sweetest Embrace".

He recently collaborated with Trent Reznor and Angelo Badalamenti on David

Lynch's movie "Lost Highway", as well as has done a remix for Depeche

Mode's "Useless" single. Latest activities include a remix of EN's

"Installation No. 1" on their "Ende Neu Remixes" album.

 

Concise discography:

1989 Moss Side Story;

1991 Delusion;

1992 Soul Murder;

1993 The Negro Inside Me;

1996 Oedipus Schmoedipus

 

VI. The Dirty Three

 

A (mainly) instrumental band, formed in 1993 by Warren Ellis (Violin), Jim

White (Drums) and Mick Turner (Guitar). They performed several times with

Nick Cave and Warren Ellis appears on the LLI, MB and TBC albums. They

play on the two hidden tracks of the X-files album, one of which together

with Nick Cave. Their style was somewhere described as "folk-rock-punk

drinking songs". Warren Ellis is listed as member of the Bad Seeds on TBC.

 

A D3 homepage is located at: <http://members.tripod.com/~leh/d3main.html>

 

Concise Discography:

1994 The Dirty Three

1995 Sad and Dangerous

1996 Horse Stories

 

 

7. Original versions of songs covered by Nick Cave

 

Versions with "!" are definitely (among) the versions that inspired Nick.

Versions with "1" are first recordings of the song.

 

(BND) Door, Door:

These Boots Are Made For Walking * Nancy Sinatra

 

(BP) The Birthday Party (LP):

Catman * Gene Vincent

 

(BP) Drunk On The Pope's Blood:

Loose * The Stooges

 

(Die Haut) Sweat:

Sad Dark Eyes * Loved ones

 

(NC&tBS) From Her To Eternity:

Avalanche ! Leonard Cohen

In the Ghetto ! Elvis Presley

 

(NC&tBS) The Firstborn Is Dead:

Wanted Man 1 ! Johnny Cash (written by Bob Dylan)

 

(NC&tBS) Kicking Against The Pricks:

Jesus Met The Woman At The Well * Mahalia Jackson

Jesus Met The Woman At The Well * The Five Blind Boys of Alabama

Jesus Met The Woman At The Well * Fam. Blue Jay Sing. Birm. Alab.

Weeping Annaleah 1 Mickey Newbury

Weeping Annaleah ! Tom Jones

Something's Gotten Hold Of My Heart 1 ! Gene Pitney

Long Black Veil * Johnny Cash

Long Black Veil * Lefty Frizzell

Long Black Veil * Les Paul And Mary Ford

Long Black Veil * The Band

Running Scared 1! Roy Orbison

Black Betty 1! Leadbelly

Muddy Water ! Johnny Cash

All Tomorrow's Parties 1! The Velvet Underground

I'm Gonna Kill That Woman 1! John Lee Hooker

The Folksinger 1! Johnny Cash

The Carnival Is Over 1! The Seekers

The Carnival Is Over (Stenka Rasir) * Schwarzmeer Kosaken Chor

By The Time I Get To Phoenix * Glenn Campbell

By The Time I Get To Phoenix * Johnny Rivers

By The Time I Get To Phoenix * Tom Jones

Hey Joe * Jimi Hendrix

Hey Joe ! Tim Rose

Hey Joe 1 The Leaves

The Hammer Song [Kicking] 1! Alex Harvey Band

 

(NC&tBS) Your Funeral... My Trial:

Long Time Man * Tim Rose

 

(NC&tBS) Tender Prey:

I'm Gonna Run To The City Of Refuge * Inspired by: Blind Willy Johnson

 

(NC&tBS) Henry's Dream:

When I First Came To Town * Inspired by Herdman, Hills & Mangsen

When I First Came To Town * "Katy Cruel" (Traditional)

 

(NC&tBS) Live Seeds:

Plain Gold Ring * Nina Simone

 

(NC&tBS) Murder Ballads:

Death Is Not The End * Bob Dylan

Stagger Lee * Stagolee (traditional)

Kitchee-Kitchee Ki-Mi-O * Froggy Went A-Courting, Bob Dylan

Henry Lee * "Young Hunting" (Traditional)

The Willow Garden * "Down in a Willow Garden" (Traditional)

Knoxville Girl * "Oxford Tragedy" (Traditional)

 

Other releases:

Fever * Little Willy John

I Put A Spell On You * Screaming J. Hawkins

500 Miles * The Seekers

Rye Whiskey * Tex Ritter

I Just Dropped In (To See ...)(Die Haut) * Mickey Newbury

Helpless * Neil Young

Cindy, Cindy * Elvis Presley

Tower of Song * Leonard Cohen

Rainy Night In Soho * The Pogues

What A Wonderful World * Louis Armstrong

 

 

 

 

8. Influences on Nick Cave's work

 

In a 1995 interview with an Israeli newspaper, Nick was asked to name

nine things that had changed his life, so may be called influences on

his work, too. These are:

1. Vladimir Nabokov - Lolita, read to him by his father when 12 years old.

2. Dostoyevskiy - Crime and Punishment, especially for the murder scene...

3. The Bible, influenced many of his songs.

4. Painting, having been an Art student for two years. Nick likes

religious painting, especially German Gothic art (Gruenwald, Lochner)

and in modern art Giorgio de Chirico, Francis Bacon and L. Freud.

5. Bob Dylan, Nick seems to admire "Slow Train Coming".

6. John Lee Hooker, all-time favourite.

7. Badlands, a movie directed by Terence Malick, a loose retelling of the

story of Charles Starkweather and Caril Anne Fugate, who went on a

killing-spree.

8. Anita Lane, once his girlfriend and Bad Seed, seemed to have changed

his life thoroughly.

9. Luke, his son. Has filled a gap in his life.

 

* Other assumed influences from music are: Elvis Presley (consider

"Tupelo"), early punk bands such as The Sex Pistols, The Saints, The

Velvet Underground, Leonard Cohen, Madonna, The Stranglers, John Cale,

The Carpenters.

 

* Straub's "The Juniper Tree," and Nick's song "Do you love me? part II),

in which the narrator of the story recounts his molestation in a movie

theater seem to be related. You'll also find Straub's influence in "The

Curse of Millhaven"--Millhaven is the fictional town in Straub's novel

"The Throat" (and in several ancillary pieces).

 

 

 

9. Translations of selected lyrics to English

 

THE TRANSLATION OF 'Foi na Cruz'

 

Foi na Cruz, foi na cruz, It was on the cross, on the cross,

Que um dia, That one day,

Meus peccados castigados em Jesus My sins were punished in Jesus.

Foi na cruz, que um dia, It was on the cross, that one day,

Foi na cruz... It was on the cross

 

The above text is a Brazilian Protestant Church-song. It features in

the film 'Pixote'.

 

 

THE TRANSLATION OF the Latin part of the text on the inner

sleeve of "From Her To Eternity"

 

The text is in absolutely crap Latin, saying this:

 

"Nocti eternus in faece cloaca, in exsilium cum catarax

optici. Corpus leperum, oh, corpus leperum similis albino

papyrus vexillum. Ego surrendus. Deus non capit captivum.

Deus non capit captivum. Ego exceptum."

 

It is supposed to mean something like this:

 

"The night is eternally in the sewer, in exile with an

optical waterfall. Lovely body, oh, lovely body like a

white paper flag. I've surrendered. God does not take

captive. God does not take captive. Except for me."

 

Better suggestions are welcome!

 

 

 

10. Sources of Biblical and other quotes in Cave-songs

 

"A little sleep, a little slumber,

a little folding of the hands at rest" (Foi na Cruz, The Good Son)

Proverbs 24:33, Proverbs 6:10

 

"We walk through the valley of the shadow of death"

(Hard On For Love, YFMT)

Psalms 23:4

 

"And the ass saw the angel"

Numbers 22:23, Numbers 22:25, Numbers 22:27

 

"Kicking against the pricks"

Acts 26:14

Also: "Prometheus Bound" by Aeschylos (lines 318-327)

 

"The firstborn is dead"

???

 

"Red right hand"

John Milton, Paradise Lost 2:160

 

"The Mercy Seat"

cf. Exodus 25

 

"I walk through the valley of the shadows of death"

Psalm 23:4

 

 

 

11. Roadmap of NCs Music (or "I like this, what to buy next?")

 

* The Road from NC&TBS to The Birthday Party:

Q1: I like NC&TBS, but haven't got any Birthday Party. What should I start

with?

A1: There is little consensus on the mailing list about which is the

best BP album, so there is no obvious answer.

A2:'Hits' is a good compilation that covers the whole of their career,

and has some good sleevenotes. However if you buy it you'll probably

then decide that you want to buy all the original albums as well...

A3: If you want to hear BP stuff that sounds most like NC&BS, then it is

probably best to work backwards, so start with the 'Bad Seed / Mutiny

In Heaven' album

(Thanks, Oliver).

 

* As most people seem to start with the last NC Album, a suggested route

through the rest of the albums in terms of accessibility might be:

 

The Boatman's Call -> Murder Ballads -> Let Love In -> The Good Son ->

Your Funeral...My Trial -> Henry's Dream -> Tender Prey -> Kicking Against

The Pricks -> The Firstborn Is Dead -> From Her To Eternity ->

Bad Seed/Mutiny -> Prayers On Fire -> Junkyard -> Hee-Haw -> Door, Door

 

* On the other hand, logical links in the sense of "I like this, what

album should I buy next?" might be:

 

Door, Door -> Hee-Haw

Hee-Haw -> Prayers On Fire

Prayers On Fire -> Junkyard

Junkyard -> The Bad Seed/Mutiny

The Bad Seed/Mutiny -> From Her to Eternity

From Her... -> The Firstborn Is Dead/Tender Prey

The Firstborn... -> Kicking Against the Pricks/Tender Prey

Kicking... -> The Firstborn.../From Her...

Your Funeral My Trial -> The Bad Seed/Mutiny / Murder Ballads

Tender Prey -> Henry's Dream / The Bad Seed/Mutiny

The Good Son -> The Boatman's Call

Henry's Dream -> Tender Prey / Let Love In

Let Love In -> Tender Prey / Murder Ballads

Murder Ballads -> The Boatman's Call / Your Funeral...

The Boatman's Call -> The Good Son / Let Love In

 

Note that this is my personal opinion!

 

 

 

12. The hidden tracks on the X-files CD

 

"Songs in the key of X" contains two tracks on which Nick

Cave features: track 6 (Red Right Hand) and the first of two hidden tracks

(Time Iesum Transeuntem et non Reverendem - Dread the passage of Jesus

for he will not return). The hidden tracks can be found by rewinding from

track 1 into negative time till -9:14. The Dirty Three do a second hidden

track after this first one. Note that the CD states that "This compact

disc does not fully conform with Philips' "Red Book" specifications,

in that the "pre-gap" may not play on all CD players", meaning

that your CD player may not be able to find the hidden tracks.

 

 

 

13. Portobello Cafe

 

Michael Hutchence (from INXS) and Nick Cave are now co-owners of the

Portobello Cafe on Portobello Road, one of the most famous and trendier

spots in London. Nick and Michael, along with Madness' Carl Smith and Andy

Ross, the man who discovered and signed Blur, have invested in an 'alternative

Planet Hollywood' in London, England. Their finances will help fund a so-called

'acoustic back room' at the Portobello Cafe where some of Britain's top

stars can perform.

 

The Cafe closed in 1997.

 

The cafe's address was:

Portobello Cafe

305 Portobello Rd

London

W10 5TD

(Ladbrook Grove Tube)

 

 

 

99. Credits

 

Compiled and edited by: Dolf-Jan van der Haven, dvdhaven@nl.ibm.com

Further edits by Ross Olson, rosso@zephyr.net and Skin, skin@xs4all.nl.

Thanks to all members of the goodson-list for input.

 

 

 

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