The Birthday Party (band)

The Birthday Party was an Australian rock music group, active in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It launched the careers of the internationally renowned singer and songwriter Nick Cave and of the respected musicians and songwriters Mick Harvey and Rowland S. Howard. Their early music found them sometimes classed as goth rock, but they disliked the label, and in retrospect, sound very different from most goth rockers.

Related Topics:
Australia - Rock music - 1970s - 1980 - Singer - Songwriter - Nick Cave - Mick Harvey - Rowland S. Howard - Goth rock

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Their sound drew upon punk, rockabilly and the rawest blues, but transcended concise categorisation. Many songs were driven by prominent, repetitive basslines and drumwork that sounded like an angry Gene Krupa; after two decades, Howard's stinging guitar remains distinctive. Though the band was tightly rehearsed, the instrumentalists often sounded as if they were on the verge of collapse, this quality only emphasising the mania of Cave's singing.

Related Topics:
Punk - Rockabilly - Blues - Bassline - Gene Krupa

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Despite being championed by John Peel, the Birthday Party found little success during their career. They've been called one of "the darkest and most challenging post-punk groups to emerge in the early '80s." http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:bx1m967o3ep3~T1 Though often indirect, their influence has been far-reaching.

Related Topics:
John Peel - Post-punk

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