Editing Nick Cave (section)

=== Early years and the Birthday Party (1973–1983) ===
{{Main|The Birthday Party (band)}}

In 1973, Cave founded a band with fellow students at Caulfield Grammar. With Cave as lead vocalist, the band included [[Mick Harvey]] (guitar), [[Phill Calvert]] (drums), John Cochivera (guitar), Brett Purcell (bass guitar), and Chris Coyne (saxophone). Their repertoire consisted of cover versions of songs by [[Lou Reed]], [[David Bowie]], [[Alice Cooper]], [[Roxy Music]] and [[Alex Harvey (musician)|Alex Harvey]], among others. Later, the line-up slimmed down to four members including Cave's friend [[Tracy Pew]] on bass guitar. In 1977, after leaving school, they adopted the name the Boys Next Door and began playing predominantly original [[punk rock]] material. Guitarist, songwriter and ex-[[Young Charlatans]] member [[Rowland S. Howard]] joined the band in 1978.

[[File:George Hotel Crystal Ballroom St Kilda.jpg|thumb|The Melbourne post-punk venue the [[Crystal Ballroom (Melbourne)|Crystal Ballroom]], Cave's "first great stage"<ref name=walker/>]]
The Boys Next Door emerged as the linchpin of the Melbourne [[post-punk]] scene in the late 1970s, securing a residency at [[St Kilda, Victoria|St Kilda]]'s [[Crystal Ballroom (Melbourne)|Crystal Ballroom]] venue, where they attracted a [[cult following]].<ref name=walker>Walker, Clinton (2009). "Planting Seeds". In Dalziell, Tanya; Welberry, Karen (ed.). ''Cultural Seeds: Essays on the Work of Nick Cave''. [[Taylor & Francis]]. pp. 31–46. ISBN 9780754663959.</ref> They played hundreds of live shows in Australia and toured interstate before changing their name to the Birthday Party in 1980 and moving to [[London]], England. Cave's girlfriend and muse [[Anita Lane]] accompanied the band. They struggled initially with financial instability and limited connections, and grew to detest London and much of its music scene, which Cave later described as "dead, ... we felt really ripped off, robbed". He did however greatly admire [[the Pop Group]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Nick Cave on The Pop Group (1999) |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUC2GmzJpGY |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/BUC2GmzJpGY |archive-date=2021-12-21 |access-date=13 January 2021 |website=[[YouTube]]| date=20 July 2010 }}{{cbignore}}</ref> and the Birthday Party shared a mutual affinity with [[The Fall (band)|the Fall]].

By the end of their first year in London, the Birthday Party had gained notoriety for their aggressive, confrontational live shows and Cave's unhinged stage presence, with him shrieking, bellowing and throwing himself about the stage, backed up by harsh pounding rock music laced with guitar feedback. Drawing on [[Old Testament]] imagery, Cave's lyrics frequently revolved around sin, debauchery and damnation.<ref name=rey>{{cite book |author=Reynolds, Simon |title=Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978–1984 |year=2005 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/ripitupstartagai00reyn/page/429 429–431] |publisher=London: [[Faber & Faber]], 2005 |isbn=0-571-21569-6 |url=https://archive.org/details/ripitupstartagai00reyn/page/429 }}</ref> The band found a champion in prominent radio DJ and taste-maker [[John Peel]], and went on to record four [[John Peel#Peel Sessions|Peel Sessions]].

Cave's droll sense of humour and penchant for parody is evident in many of the band's songs, including "Nick the Stripper" and "[[King Ink]]". "[[Release the Bats]]", one of the band's most famous songs and John Peel's single of the year in 1981, was intended as an over-the-top "[[taking the piss|piss-take]]" on [[gothic rock]], and a "direct attack" on the "stock gothic associations that less informed critics were wont to make". Ironically, it became highly influential on the genre, giving rise to a new generation of bands in England.<ref>Welberry, Karren (ed.) (2016). ''Cultural Seeds: Essays on the Work of Nick Cave''. [[Routledge]]. p. 87–88</ref>

The Birthday Party relocated to [[West Berlin]] in 1982. After establishing a [[cult following]] in Europe, Australia and the United States, they disbanded in the following year.