Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds are an Australian rock band from Melbourne. Formed by eponymous vocalist Nick Cave and multi-instrumentalist Mick Harvey after the breakup of The Birthday Party in August 1983, the original lineup of the group also included German guitarist Blixa Bargeld and English bassist Barry Adamson. [1] The band's first tour, later in the year, featured guitarist Hugo Race in place of Bargeld (who was touring with Einstürzende Neubauten) and bassist Tracy Pew (also formerly of The Birthday Party), the latter of whom left early the next year. [2] They released their debut album From Her to Eternity in June 1984. [3] Race left later in the year, although performed as a guest on several Bad Seeds releases later. [4] The group continued briefly as a four-piece, releasing The Firstborn Is Dead in June 1985. [5]
Shortly after the release of the band's second album, Thomas Wydler joined as the new drummer for Bad Seeds, with Harvey moving to focus primarily on guitar and keyboards. [1] Two albums followed in 1986 – Kicking Against the Pricks and Your Funeral... My Trial – the latter of which featured Adamson on only two tracks, having recently left. [6] Harvey took over on bass, with Kid Congo Powers joining on guitar and keyboardist Roland Wolf also joining. [7] Tender Prey was released in 1988, before Wolf was dismissed the next year due to personality conflicts with Cave. [8] The 1990 follow-up The Good Son was also the last Bad Seeds album for Powers, who left later in the year. [1] Harvey took over from Powers on guitar, as bassist Martyn P. Casey and keyboardist Conway Savage joined to expand the group to a six-piece. [1]
The lineup of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds remained stable throughout the 1990s, save for two additions. First was second drummer and percussionist Jim Sclavunos, who joined in 1994 during the promotional tour for Let Love In . [9] Second was violinist and multi-instrumentalist Warren Ellis, who became an official members of the group in 1997 after having featured as a session and touring musician. [10] In March 2003, founding member Bargeld left the Bad Seeds in order to "concentrate on other creative areas in [his] life", describing his departure as "nothing to do with artistic or personal differences with the band". [11] The guitarist was replaced by James Johnston, who had previously toured briefly with the group in 1994. [1] Johnston remained a member of the group until after the release of Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! in 2008. [1]
On 22 January 2009, it was announced that Harvey, the last remaining original member of the Bad Seeds besides Cave, had left the band in order to pursue other projects. [12] He was replaced for shows later in the year by Ed Kuepper. [13] After a brief hiatus, the band returned in 2013 with Push the Sky Away , during which time Barry Adamson returned to the band on drums and keyboards, filling in for Wydler who was absent to illness. [14] Kuepper briefly toured with the group again, before being replaced later by George Vjestica. [1] Adamson remained until early 2015, when Wydler returned to touring and keyboards were taken over by Larry Mullins (also known as Toby Dammit). [15] Savage was forced to leave the touring group in early 2017 after being diagnosed with a brain tumour. [16] He died the following September. [17]
Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
---|---|---|---|---|
Nick Cave | 1983–present |
| all Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds releases | |
Thomas Wydler | 1985–present (studio only 2013–2015, 2022–present) |
| all Bad Seeds releases from Kicking Against the Pricks (1986) onwards, except Live from KCRW (2013) | |
Martyn P. Casey | 1990–present |
| all Bad Seeds releases from Henry's Dream (1992) onwards | |
Jim Sclavunos | 1994–present |
| all Bad Seeds releases from Murder Ballads (1996) onwards | |
Warren Ellis | 1997–present (session 1993–97) |
| all Bad Seeds releases from Let Love In (1994) onwards | |
George Vjestica | 2013–present |
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Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
---|---|---|---|---|
Mick Harvey | 1983–2009 |
| all Bad Seeds releases from From Her to Eternity (1984) to Live at the Royal Albert Hall (2008) | |
Blixa Bargeld (Christian Emmerich) | 1983–2003 |
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Barry Adamson |
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Hugo Race | 1983–1984 |
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Kid Congo Powers (Brian Tristan) | 1986–1990 |
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Roland Wolf | 1986–1989 (died 1995) |
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Conway Savage | 1990–2017 (died 2018) |
| all Bad Seeds releases from Henry's Dream (1992) to Push the Sky Away (2013), except Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! (2008) | |
James Johnston | 2003–2008 (touring 1994) |
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Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Details |
---|---|---|---|---|
Tracy Pew | 1983–1984 (died 1986) | bass | Pew performed between December 1983 and January 1984, with Adamson substituting for Bargeld on guitar. [1] | |
Edward Clayton-Jones | 1984 | guitar | Clayton-Jones substituted for Blixa Bargeld, who was unavailable, during a European tour in May 1984. [4] | |
Rowland S. Howard | 1985 (died 2009) |
| Howard temporarily replaced Blixa Bargeld, who was unavailable, during a UK tour in April 1985. [18] | |
Christoph Dreher | 1985 | bass | Dreher temporarily replaced Barry Adamson, who was unwell, during a UK tour in April 1985. [18] | |
Ed Kuepper |
| guitar | Kuepper filled in on guitar following Harvey's departure in early 2009, [13] and again in early 2013. [1] | |
Larry Mullins (aka. Toby Dammit) | 2015–present |
| Mullins took over keyboards in the touring lineup of the Bad Seeds from Adamson in early 2015 and substituted Wydler as drummer for the 2022 European Tour. [15] | |
Carly Paradis | 2022–present |
| Paradis joined the band on their 2022 European tour on keyboards filling in for Mullins who took over drumming duties. | |
Janet Ramus | backing vocals | Ramus, Cole and McCalla joined the band on their 2022 European tour. Ramus and Cole previously toured with Nick Cave and Warren Ellis on their 2021–2022 Carnage tour. | ||
T Jae Cole | ||||
Subrina McCalla |
Period | Members | Releases |
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August – November 1983 |
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December 1983 – January 1984 | none | |
February – April 1984 |
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May 1984 |
| none |
Mid-1984 |
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Late 1984 – early 1985 |
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April 1985 |
| none |
May 1985 – July 1986 |
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July – August 1986 |
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September 1986 – July 1989 |
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August 1989 – May 1990 |
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May 1990 – March 1994 |
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March – July 1994 |
| none |
July – September 1994 |
| |
October 1994 – March 1997 |
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March 1997 – March 2003 |
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March 2003 – April 2008 |
|
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April 2008 – January 2009 |
| none |
May – July 2009 |
| |
July 2009 – January 2013 |
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February – April 2013 |
| none |
May 2013 – early 2015 |
| |
Early 2015 – May 2017 |
|
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May 2017 – October 2018 |
|
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June 2022 – present |
| N/A |
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds are an Australian rock band formed in 1983 by vocalist Nick Cave, multi-instrumentalist Mick Harvey and guitarist-vocalist Blixa Bargeld. The band has featured international personnel throughout its career and presently consists of Cave, violinist and multi-instrumentalist Warren Ellis, bassist Martyn P. Casey, guitarist George Vjestica, keyboardist/percussionist Larry Mullins, also known as Toby Dammit, and drummers Thomas Wydler (Switzerland) and Jim Sclavunos. Described as "one of the most original and celebrated bands of the post-punk and alternative rock eras in the '80s and onward", they have released seventeen studio albums and completed numerous international tours.
James Sclavunos is an American drummer, multi-instrumentalist musician, record producer, and writer. He is best known as a drummer, having been a member of two seminal no wave groups in the late 1970s. He is also noted for stints in Sonic Youth and the Cramps, and has been a member of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds since 1994. Sclavunos has led his own group the Vanity Set since 2000.
Tender Prey is the fifth studio album by Australian rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, released on 19 September 1988 on Mute Records. Produced by Flood, the album was recorded during several sessions over the course of four months in West Berlin—where the band were based at the time of its release—and London and dedicated to Fernando Ramos da Silva.
Murder Ballads is the ninth studio album by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, released in 1996 on Mute Records. As its title suggests, the album consists of new and traditional murder ballads, a genre of songs that relays the details of crimes of passion.
Nocturama is the twelfth studio album by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, released on February 3, 2003 on Mute and ANTI-. Produced by Nick Launay, the album is the last to feature founding member Blixa Bargeld who departed from the band shortly after the album's release.
No More Shall We Part is the eleventh studio album by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, released on 2 April 2001 in the UK. The record, which was well received critically, came after a 4-year gap from recording, following the much acclaimed album The Boatman's Call and subsequent 'Best Of' album.
Abattoir Blues / The Lyre of Orpheus is the thirteenth studio album by the Australian alternative rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, released on 20 September 2004 on Mute Records. It is a double album of seventeen songs.
Kicking Against the Pricks is the third album released by the rock music group Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. First released in 1986, the album is a collection of Cave's interpretations of songs by other artists. The title is a reference to a biblical quote from the King James version of the Bible, Acts 26, verse 14.
Your Funeral... My Trial is the fourth studio album by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, released on 3 November 1986 by Mute Records. Your Funeral... My Trial was originally released as a double EP. The album was issued on CD with a different running order and the additional track "Scum". During this period in his life, Cave was steeped in heroin addiction, perhaps evidenced by the melancholy, desperate mood of this album. This was the final Bad Seeds album to feature Barry Adamson until he returned for Push the Sky Away (2013).
The Boatman's Call is the tenth studio album by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, released in 1997. The album is entirely piano-based, alternately somber and romantic in mood, making it a marked departure from the bulk of the band's post-punk catalogue up to that point. The Boatman's Call remains one of the most critically acclaimed releases of Nick Cave's career.
Live Seeds is the first official live album by Australian post-punk band, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. The album was recorded live from 1992 to 1993, at various concerts throughout Europe and Australia, at the touring stage promoting their previous studio album, Henry's Dream. Nick Cave wanted to give the songs a raw feeling as originally intended before production problems occurred. Live Seeds includes a not previously studio-recorded track, "Plain Gold Ring", which is a cover of a song performed by Nina Simone.
The Best of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds is a compilation album by Australian rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, released on 11 May 1998.
Michael John Harvey is an Australian musician, singer-songwriter, composer, arranger and record producer. A multi-instrumentalist, he is best known for his long-term collaborations with Nick Cave, with whom he formed The Boys Next Door, The Birthday Party and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.
B-Sides & Rarities is a 3CD compilation by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, released in March 2005. It features over 20 years of the band's B-sides and previously unreleased tracks. It is also the first recording to include all members of the Bad Seeds, past and present up to the time of its release: current members Mick Harvey, Blixa Bargeld, Thomas Wydler, Martyn P. Casey, Conway Savage, Jim Sclavunos, and Warren Ellis, and former members Barry Adamson, Hugo Race, Kid Congo Powers, Roland Wolf, and James Johnston. A second volume, B-Sides & Rarities Part II, was released in October 2021.
Martyn Paul Casey is an English-born Australian rock bass guitarist. He has been a member of the Triffids, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and Grinderman. Casey plays either his Fender Precision Bass or Fender Jazz Bass.
Thomas Wydler, is a Swiss musician best known for being a core member of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, of which he has been a drummer since 1985. Prior to joining them, he was a member of the experimental German band Die Haut. Wydler has been present on almost every Bad Seeds album, making his debut appearance on the group's third album Kicking Against The Pricks (1986). After the departure of founding member Mick Harvey in January 2009, Wydler became the longest-serving member of the Bad Seeds apart from singer Nick Cave.
The Abattoir Blues Tour is the second live album by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, released on 29 January 2007. The deluxe release includes two audio CDs and two DVDs.
Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! is the fourteenth studio album by Australian rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. The album was recorded in June and July 2007 at The State of the Ark Studios in Richmond, London and mixed by Nick Launay at British Grove Studios in Chiswick, and was released on 3 March 2008.
Live at the Royal Albert Hall is a live album by Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, released on 24 November 2008. It was recorded on 19 and 20 May 1997 during the tour for The Boatman's Call and eight of these tracks were originally released as a nine-track bonus disc for The Best of Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds. It features a version of "Where the Wild Roses Grow" with vocals by Blixa Bargeld, which is delivered in a way that is similar to the demo version that can also be found on the B-Sides & Rarities three-disc set. These live recordings display the more mellow sound and performances that the group had been showcasing at that period, and would continue to deliver in the later No More Shall We Part.
God Is in the House is a live concert DVD by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, released on 26 August 2003.
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