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.

The Boys Next Door

The nucleus of the band first met at the private boys school Caulfield Grammar School (in suburban Melbourne) in the early seventies. A rock group was formed with Nick Cave (vocals), Mick Harvey (guitar), and Phill Calvert (drums), with other students on guitar, bass and saxophone. Most were also members of the school choir. The band played under various names at parties and school functions with a mixed pre-punk repertoire of Lou Reed, David Bowie, Roxy Music, Alice Cooper and the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, among others.

Related Topics:
Caulfield Grammar School - Melbourne - Nick Cave - Mick Harvey - Phill Calvert - Lou Reed - David Bowie - Roxy Music - Alice Cooper - Sensational Alex Harvey Band

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After their final school year in 1975 the band decided to continue with friend Tracy Pew picking up the bass. Greatly affected by the punk explosion of 1976 which saw Australian bands The Saints and Radio Birdman making their first recordings and tours, The Boys Next Door, as they were now called, began performing fast original New Wave material in 1977. Rowland S Howard joined in 1978, bringing a chaotic feedback guitar style to the band.

Related Topics:
1975 - Punk - 1976 - The Saints - Radio Birdman - New Wave - 1977 - 1978 - Feedback

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