The Birthday Party (originally known as the Boys Next Door) were an Australian

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

band, active from 1977 to 1983. The group's "bleak and noisy soundscapes," which drew irreverently on

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

free jazz Free jazz, or free form in the early to mid-1970s, is a style of avant-garde jazz or an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s, when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventi ...

, and

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre, it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western musi ...

, provided the setting for vocalist

Nick Cave Nicholas Edward Cave (born 22 September 1957) is an Australian musician, writer, and actor who fronts the rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Known for his baritone voice, Cave's music is characterised by emotional intensity, a wide variety ...

's disturbing tales of violence and perversion. Their 1981 single "

Release the Bats ''"Release the Bats"'' is a song by Australian post-punk band The Birthday Party. Written by Nick Cave and Mick Harvey, the song was released as a single on 31 July 1981 through 4AD record label, with the B-side "Blast Off". The recordings were ...

" was particularly influential on the emerging

gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, a Germanic people **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Gothic alphabet, an alphabet used to write the Gothic language ** Gothic ( ...

scene. Despite limited commercial success, the Birthday Party's influence has been far-reaching, and they have been called "one of the darkest and most challenging post-punk groups to emerge in the early '80s." In 1980, the Birthday Party moved from

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

to London, where they were championed by broadcaster

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ...

. They subsequently released two albums: ''

Prayers on Fire ''Prayers on Fire'' is the debut studio album by Australian rock group the Birthday Party, released on 6 April 1981 on the Missing Link label in Australia, later licensed to the 4AD label. This was the band's first full-length release on an int ...

'' (1981) and '' Junkyard'' (1982). Disillusioned by their stay in London, the band's sound and live shows became increasingly violent. They broke up soon after relocating to

West Berlin West Berlin ( or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin from 1948 until 1990, during the Cold War. Although West Berlin lacked any sovereignty and was under military occupation until German reunification in 1 ...

in 1982. The creative core of the Birthday Party – singer and songwriter Nick Cave, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter

Mick Harvey Michael John Harvey (born 29 August 1958) 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 ...

, and singer, songwriter and guitarist

Rowland S. Howard Rowland Stuart Howard (24 October 1959 – 30 December 2009) was an Australian rock musician, guitarist and songwriter, best known for his work with the post-punk group The Birthday Party (band), The Birthday Party and his subsequent solo career ...

– later went on to acclaimed careers.

History

Early years and The Boys Next Door (1973–1978)

The nucleus of the band first met at the private boys school

Caulfield Grammar School Caulfield Grammar School is a private, co-educational, Anglican, International Baccalaureate, day and boarding school, located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1881 as a boys' school, Caulfield Grammar began admitting girls exactly ...

, in suburban

, in the early seventies. A rock group was formed in 1973, with

(vocals),

(guitar), and

Phill Calvert Phillip Calvert (born 11 January 1958) is an Australian rock drummer and producer best known for his playing in the post-punk band The Birthday Party with Nick Cave. History At the private boys' school Caulfield Grammar in the early 1970s, Ca ...

(drums), with other students John Cocivera, Brett Purcell and Chris Coyne (on guitar, bass and saxophone respectively). Most were also members of the school choir. The band played under various names at parties and school functions with a mixed repertoire of

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician and songwriter. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. Althoug ...

Roxy Music Roxy Music are an English rock music, rock band formed in 1970 by Bryan Ferry (lead vocals/keyboards/principal songwriter) and Graham Simpson (musician), Graham Simpson (bass). By the time the band recorded their Roxy Music (album), first albu ...

Alice Cooper Vincent Damon Furnier (born February 4, 1948), known by his stage name Alice Cooper, is an American rock singer and songwriter whose career spans sixty years. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusion ...

and the

Sensational Alex Harvey Band The Sensational Alex Harvey Band were a Scottish rock band formed in Glasgow in 1972. Fronted by Alex Harvey accompanied by Zal Cleminson on guitar, bassist Chris Glen, keyboard player Hugh McKenna (28 November 1949 – 18 December 2019) and ...

, among others. Saxophonist Chris Coyne went on to join the Paul Kelly Band in the 1980s. After their final school year in 1975 the band decided to continue as a four-piece group, with friend

Tracy Pew Tracy Franklin Pew (19 December 1957 – 7 November 1986) was an Australian musician, and bassist for The Birthday Party. He was later a member of The Saints, and worked with Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. As a member of the Birthday Party, Pe ...

picking up the bass. Greatly affected by the

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

explosion of 1976 which saw Australian bands The Saints and

Radio Birdman Radio Birdman is an Australian punk rock band formed by Deniz Tek and Rob Younger in Sydney in 1974. ''Classic Rock'' magazine describes them as "Australia’s first influential punk band". History Origins Deniz Tek and Rob Younger f ...

making their first recordings and tours, the Boys Next Door, as they were now called, began performing punk and proto-punk

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

s, such as "

Blitzkrieg Bop "Blitzkrieg Bop", titled "The Blitzkrieg Bop!!" on its single release, is a song by American punk rock band Ramones, released in February 1976 as their debut single in the United States. It was the opening track on the band's self-titled debut a ...

" and "

Gloria Gloria may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Christian liturgy and music * Gloria in excelsis Deo, the Greater Doxology, a hymn of praise * Gloria Patri, the Lesser Doxology, a short hymn of praise ** Gloria (Handel) ** Gloria (Jenkins ...

", and a few original songs. By November 1977 their set was dominated by fast original new wave material, such as "Sex Crimes" and "Masturbation Generation". The Boys' second guitarist,

, joined in 1978, and about this time the group's sound changed dramatically. The addition of Howard's guitar was a catalyst (his later use of

audio feedback Audio feedback (also known as acoustic feedback, simply as feedback) is a positive feedback situation that may occur when an acoustic path exists between an audio output (for example, a loudspeaker) and its audio input (for example, a microphon ...

being a hallmark of the group) but there were other changes, as well: their sound drew upon

and

, but defied categorization. Many songs were driven by prominent, repetitive

bassline Bassline (also known as a bass line or bass part) is the term used in many styles of music, such as blues, jazz, funk, Dub music, dub and electronic music, electronic, traditional music, traditional, and classical music, for the low-pitched P ...

s and frenetic,

minimalist In visual arts, music, and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in the post-war era in western art. The movement is often interpreted as a reaction to abstract expressionism and modernism; it anticipated contemporary post-mi ...

drumming. In producer/engineer

Tony Cohen Anthony Lawrence Cohen (4 June 19572 August 2017) was an Australian music record producer and sound engineer. He worked with Nick Cave's groups the Birthday Party, and then the Bad Seeds from 1979 to 2001. In mid-1986 he followed Cave to Lond ...

they found a collaborator sympathetic to their experimentation and their refusal to repeat themselves, and in manager

Keith Glass Keith Robert Glass (born 17 September 1946) is an Australian country music singer-songwriter, guitarist, musical theatre actor, record label owner, producer and journalist. In April 1967 he formed a soul music group, Cam-Pact, which released fou ...

they found an enthusiastic financial backer. Glass' label

Missing Link Records Missing Link Records was an Australian-based independent record label established in 1977. The Missing Link label was created by Keith Glass (singer-guitarist ex- Cam-Pact) and David Pepperell (journalist and vocalist, ex-The Union) who were th ...

released all of the early Birthday Party records.

Name change and relocations (1978–1982)

The Boys Next Door's best known song, " Shivers", written by Howard, and first performed and recorded by his band the Young Charlatans, was banned by radio stations because of a reference to suicide. After recordings and moderate success in Australia (including hundreds of live shows) they headed for London in 1980, changed their name to the Birthday Party and launched into a period of innovative and aggressive music-making. Some sources say the band took its new name from the

Harold Pinter Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A List of Nobel laureates in Literature, Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramat ...

play '' The Birthday Party''; others (including Ian Johnston's Cave biography) state it was prompted by Cave misremembering, or intentionally misattributing, the name to a non-existent birthday party scene in the

Dostoyevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky. () was a Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist and journalist. He is regarded as one of the greatest novelists in both Russian and world literature, and many of his works are considered highly influenti ...

novel ''

Crime and Punishment ''Crime and Punishment'' is a novel by the Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. It was first published in the literary journal '' The Russian Messenger'' in twelve monthly installments during 1866.

''. In a 2008 interview, Rowland S. Howard gave his own recollection: "The name The Birthday Party came up in conversation between Nick and myself. There's this apocryphal story about it coming from a Dostoyevsky novel. It may have had various connotations, but what he and I spoke about was a sense of celebration and making things into more an occasion and ritual". They resided in London, but were disillusioned with the state of the music scene, only finding like-minded groups in the Fall and

the Pop Group The Pop Group are an English rock band formed in Bristol in 1977 by vocalist Mark Stewart, guitarist John Waddington, bassist Simon Underwood, guitarist/saxophonist Gareth Sager, and drummer Bruce Smith. Their work in the late 1970s crossed ...

. They took trips back to Australia and tours through Europe and the U.S. before relocating to

in 1982. Above the barely-controlled racket, Cave's vocals ranged from desperate to simply menacing and demented. Critics have written that "neither

John Cale John Davies Cale (born 9 March 1942) is a Welsh musician, composer, and record producer who was a founding member of the American rock band the Velvet Underground. Over his six-decade career, Cale has worked in various styles across rock, dr ...

nor

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featu ...

was ever this scary," and that Cave "doesn't so much sing his vocals as expel them from his gut". Though Cave drew on earlier rock and roll shriekers—especially

Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter, actor and radio broadcaster. He was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band the Stooges, who were formed in 1 ...

and

Suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

Alan Vega Alan Bermowitz (June 23, 1938–July 16, 2016), known professionally as Alan Vega, was an American vocalist and visual artist, primarily known for his work with the electronic proto-punk duo Suicide. Life and career Alan Bermowitz was raise ...

—his singing with the Birthday Party remains powerful and distinct. His lyrics also drew on

Arthur Rimbaud Jean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud (, ; ; 20 October 1854 – 10 November 1891) was a French poet known for his transgressive and surreal themes and for his influence on modern literature and arts, prefiguring surrealism. Born in Charleville, he s ...

and

Charles Baudelaire Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poet, essayist, translator and art critic. His poems are described as exhibiting mastery of rhythm and rhyme, containing an exoticism inherited from the Romantics ...

. The single "

" came out during the emergence of the gothic scene. This song about "vampire sex" was promoted by an advertisement with the words "Dirtiness is next to antigodliness". Their 1982 album '' Junkyard'' was inspired by American

Southern Gothic Southern Gothic is an artistic subgenre of Gothic fiction, fiction, Popular music, music, Gothic film, film, theatre, and television that are heavily influenced by Gothic fiction, Gothic elements and the Southern United States, American South. ...

imagery, dealing with extreme subjects like an evangelist's murdered daughter.

Final years (1982–1983)

For the Birthday Party, things had changed. Calvert was ejected in 1982; he was reportedly "unable to nail down the beats for 'Dead Joe' to everyone's satisfaction", and Harvey moved to drums. When Pew was jailed for

drunk driving Drunk driving (or drink-driving in British English) is the act of driving under the influence of alcohol. A small increase in the blood alcohol content increases the relative risk of a motor vehicle crash. In the United States, alcohol is in ...

and petty theft early in 1982, Chris Walsh,

Barry Adamson Barry Adamson (born 11 June 1958)Biography
. Barryadamson.com. is an English pop and rock music ...

and Howard's brother

Harry Harry may refer to: Television * ''Harry'' (American TV series), 1987 comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (New Zealand TV series), 2013 crime drama starring Oscar K ...

replaced him for live appearances and brief studio work. Pew rejoined the band in July. The ''

Mutiny Mutiny is a revolt among a group of people (typically of a military or a crew) to oppose, change, or remove superiors or their orders. The term is commonly used for insubordination by members of the military against an officer or superior, ...

'' EP contained lyrics evoking

blasphemy Blasphemy refers to an insult that shows contempt, disrespect or lack of Reverence (emotion), reverence concerning a deity, an object considered sacred, or something considered Sanctity of life, inviolable. Some religions, especially Abrahamic o ...

, words which were as dark as the gothic poems of Lautréamont. The title track portrayed a dirty heaven with rats and trash. In 1982 a spin-off group with

Lydia Lunch Lydia Lunch (born Lydia Anne Koch; June 2, 1959)Martin Charles Strong. ''The Great Indie Discography''. 2003, page 85 is an American singer, poet, writer, actress and self-empowerment speaker. Her career began during the 1970s New York City no ...

, Honeymoon in Red, recorded an album which was eventually released in 1987. Harvey and Cave were reportedly so unhappy with the mixing and overdubbing done after their involvement that they requested their names be withheld from its liner notes. Howard and Pew apparently had no objections to being credited by name. A tour in January 1983 found the group return to a five-piece, with

Jeffrey Wegener Jeffrey may refer to: * Jeffrey (name), including a list of people with the name *Jeffrey's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada *Jeffrey City, Wyoming, United States *Jeffrey Street, Sydney, Australia *Jeffreys Bay, Western Cape, South Africa Art ...

playing drums and Harvey returning to second guitar. Wegener did not remain with the group, however, and they returned to a four-piece soon after. Later that year,

Blixa Bargeld Blixa Bargeld (born 12 January 1959) is a German musician who has been the lead singer of the band Einstürzende Neubauten since its formation in 1980. Bargeld was also a founding member of the Australian rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, s ...

from the German group

Einstürzende Neubauten (, 'Collapsing New Buildings') is a German experimental music group, formed in West Berlin in 1980. The band currently comprises founding members Blixa Bargeld (lead vocals, guitar, keyboard) and N.U. Unruh (custom-made instruments, percussion, ...

recorded a guitar part in the studio on the track "Mutiny in Heaven". Tension between Cave and Howard soon came to a head, but it was Harvey who first left the group – their final tour saw

Des Hefner The Scavengers were a New Zealand-Australian punk rock band that formed in 1977. They moved to Melbourne, Australia, in November 1978 and became Marching Girls. History The band was formed in 1976 at Auckland Technical Institute by graphic d ...

on drums. The Birthday Party played their final show at the Crystal Ballroom in St Kilda on 9 June 1983 and disbanded not long after, due in part to the split between Cave and Howard, as well as work and drug-related exhaustion.

Post-breakup, legacy and influence

Several groups rose from the Birthday Party's ashes:

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds are a Rock music, rock band formed in Melbourne in 1983 by lead vocalist Nick Cave, multi-instrumentalist Mick Harvey and German guitarist-vocalist Blixa Bargeld. The band has featured international personnel throug ...

(featuring Cave, Harvey, Adamson, Bargeld and briefly Pew),

Crime and the City Solution Crime & the City Solution are an Australian rock band formed in late 1977 by singer-songwriter and mainstay Simon Bonney. They disbanded in 1979 leaving only bootleg recordings and demos. In late 1983, Bonney moved to London and in 1985 he for ...

(featuring Harvey and Howard, later just Harvey) and

These Immortal Souls These Immortal Souls were an Australian post-punk band formed in London in 1987 by Harry Howard on bass guitar, his older brother Rowland S. Howard on guitar and vocals, Epic Soundtracks (a.k.a. Kevin Godfrey) on drums (all three ex- Crime & ...

(featuring Howard). Pew died from injuries caused by an

epileptic seizure A seizure is a sudden, brief disruption of brain activity caused by abnormal, excessive, or synchronous neuronal firing. Depending on the regions of the brain involved, seizures can lead to changes in movement, sensation, behavior, awareness, o ...

in 1986. On 1 September 1992, there was a brief Birthday Party reunion as Rowland S. Howard joined Nick Cave and Mick Harvey on stage at a Bad Seeds

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

charity show at the Town and Country Club in London to play "Wild World", "Dead Joe" and "Nick the Stripper". Due in part to their legendary status and to the continuing success of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, the Birthday Party's back catalogue has been re-released on CD several times. Mick Harvey has overseen releases of rare or previously unissued recordings (''Live'' and ''John Peel'' CDs). The Birthday Party's initial impact was on the

gothic rock Gothic rock (also called goth rock or simply goth) is a style of rock music that emerged from post-punk in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The first post-punk bands which shifted toward dark music with gothic overtones include Siouxsie an ...

genre. According to ''

New Musical Express ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a " rock inkie", the ''NME'' would become a maga ...

'', "The Party have been indirectly held responsible for the rise of a visceral new

hardcore Hardcore, hard core or hard-core may refer to: Arts and media Film * ''Hardcore'' (1977 film), a British comedy film * ''Hardcore'' (1979 film), an American crime drama film starring George C Scott * ''Hardcore'' (2001 film), a British documen ...

, ranging from the

Sex Gang Children Sex Gang Children are an early gothic rock and post-punk band that formed in early 1982 in Brixton in London, England. Although the original group only released one official studio album, their singles and various other tracks have been packa ...

, through Danse Macabre to

March Violets ''March Violets'' is a historical detective novel and the first written by Philip Kerr featuring detective Bernhard "Bernie" Gunther. ''March Violets'' is the first of the trilogy by Kerr called ''Berlin Noir''. The second, '' The Pale Crimin ...

."''New Musical Express'', 25 December 1982. Cited in Jennifer Park, "Melancholy and the Macabre: Gothic Rock and Fashion," ''Gothic: Dark Glamour'' by Valerie Steele and Jennifer Park, p. 141, 143. Rock acts that have cited the Birthday Party as an influence include My Bloody Valentine,

Alex Turner Alexander David Turner (born 6 January 1986) is an English musician. He is the lead vocalist and songwriter of the rock band Arctic Monkeys. Turner is known for his Songwriter, lyricism ranging from kitchen sink realism to surrealism, surreal ...

, and

LCD Soundsystem LCD Soundsystem is an American Dance-punk#Contemporary dance-punk, dance-punk revival band from Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2002 by James Murphy (electronic musician), James Murphy, of DFA Records. The band comprises Murphy (vocals ...

. In 2006, American label

Three One G 31G Records, or Three One G, is a San Diego, California-based independent record label, started by musician Justin Pearson in 1994 and focusing on punk and experimental music. The label has released a number of albums and compilations in what has ...

released ''Release The Bats: The Birthday Party As Heard Through The Meat Grinder Of Three One G'', a compilation featuring covers by various bands, including

Daughters A daughter is a female offspring; a girl or a woman in relation to her parents. Daughterhood is the state, condition or quality of being someone's daughter. The male counterpart is a son. Analogously the name is used in several areas to show re ...

Melt-Banana Melt-Banana is a Japanese noise rock band that is known for playing extremely fast noise rock and hardcore punk mixed with experimental, electronica and pop-based song structures. Since forming in 1992 the band has released ten albums and toure ...

and

Cattle Decapitation Cattle Decapitation is an American deathgrind band formed in San Diego, California, in 1996. The band's current lineup includes vocalist Travis Ryan, guitarists Josh Elmore and Belisario Dimuzio, and drummer David McGraw. Since 2001, none of th ...

. In October 2007, Cave alone was inducted into the

ARIA Hall of Fame Since 1988 the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) has inducted artists into its annual ARIA Hall of Fame. While most have been recognised at the annual ARIA Music Awards, in 2005 ARIA sought to create a separate standalone ceremo ...

. During his acceptance speech, Cave took it upon himself to 'induct' the Australian members of the Bad Seeds (including Harvey), plus Howard and Pew from The Birthday Party. Rowland S. Howard died on 30 December 2009 of

liver cancer Liver cancer, also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy, is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary in which the cancer starts in the liver, or it can be liver metastasis, or secondar ...

. In 2012, Howard's early songs were played live as a tribute in Melbourne: a four-piece band played consisting of Harvey, Calvert, Ron Rude and Rowland Howard's sister Angela.

Musical style

The band's music is described as a "bleak,

approach to

garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock music that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The style is ...

," characterized by "bleak and noisy soundscapes" and use of

. Additionally, the band's music incorporated elements of

and

. Stephen Thomas of ''

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

'' called them "one of the darkest and most challenging post-punk groups to emerge in the early '80s." He described

's lyrics "difficult, disturbing stories" that explore themes such

religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...

violence Violence is characterized as the use of physical force by humans to cause harm to other living beings, or property, such as pain, injury, disablement, death, damage and destruction. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines violence a ...

, and

perversion Perversion is a form of human behavior which is far from what is considered to be orthodoxy, orthodox or Normality (behavior), normal. Although the term ''perversion'' can refer to a variety of forms of ''deviation'', it is most often used to desc ...

." The band's later material is considered to be darker, "alternat ngbetween

dirges A dirge () is a somber song or lament expressing mourning or grief, such as may be appropriate for performance at a funeral. Often taking the form of a brief hymn, dirges are typically shorter and less meditative than elegies. Dirges are often slo ...

to blistering sonic assaults."

Members

;Band members *

– vocals, saxophone (1977–1983) *

– guitar, drums, keyboards (1977–1983) *

– guitar, vocals (1978–1983; died 2009) *

– bass, clarinet (1977–1982, 1982–1983; died 1986) *

– drums (1977–1982) ;Touring and guest musicians *Chris Walsh – bass (February 1982) *

Barry Adamson Barry Adamson (born 11 June 1958)Biography
. Barryadamson.com. is an English pop and rock music ...

– bass (April–May 1982) * Harry Howard – bass (June–July 1982) *

– drums (January 1983) *

– drums (May–June 1983) *

– guitar (April 1983, in-studio guest)

Timeline

ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:20 PlotArea = left:110 bottom:100 top:0 right:10 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1976 till:01/07/1983 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:4 ScaleMajor = increment:2 start:1976 ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1976 Colors = id:Vocals value:red legend:Lead_vocals id:BVocals value:pink legend:Backing_vocals id:Guitar value:green legend:Guitar id:Keyboards value:purple legend:Keyboards id:Bass value:blue legend:Bass id:Drums value:orange legend:Drums id:Sax value:skyblue legend:Saxophone id:Clarinet value:coral legend:Clarinet id:Touring value:yellow legend:Touring_member id:Lines value:black legend:Studio_albums LineData = at:15/06/1979 color:black layer:back at:01/11/1980 color:black layer:back at:06/04/1981 color:black layer:back at:10/05/1982 color:black layer:back BarData = bar:Cave text:"Nick Cave" bar:Harvey text:"Mick Harvey" bar:Howard text:"Rowland S. Howard" bar:Pew text:"Tracy Pew" bar:Calvert text:"Phill Calvert" bar:Walsh text:"Chris Walsh" bar:Adamson text:"Barry Adamson" bar:HHoward text:"Harry Howard" bar:Wegener text:"Jeffrey Wegener" bar:Hefner text:"Des Hefner" PlotData= width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,–4) bar:Cave from:01/01/1976 till:end color:Vocals bar:Cave from:01/01/1980 till:01/02/1982 color:Sax width:3 bar:Harvey from:01/01/1976 till:01/06/1982 color:Guitar bar:Harvey from:01/08/1978 till:01/02/1982 color:Keyboards width:3 bar:Harvey from:01/06/1982 till:01/01/1983 color:Drums bar:Harvey from:01/06/1982 till:01/01/1983 color:Guitar width:3 bar:Harvey from:01/01/1983 till:01/02/1983 color:Guitar bar:Harvey from:01/02/1983 till:01/05/1983 color:Drums bar:Harvey from:01/02/1983 till:01/05/1983 color:Guitar width:3 bar:Howard from:01/08/1978 till:end color:Guitar bar:Howard from:01/01/1980 till:end color:BVocals width:3 bar:Pew from:01/01/1976 till:01/02/1982 color:Bass bar:Pew from:01/01/1981 till:01/02/1982 color:Clarinet width:3 bar:Pew from:01/08/1982 till:end color:Bass bar:Calvert from:01/01/1976 till:01/06/1982 color:Drums bar:Walsh from:01/02/1982 till:01/04/1982 color:Bass bar:Walsh from:01/02/1982 till:01/04/1982 color:Touring width:3 bar:Adamson from:01/04/1982 till:01/06/1982 color:Bass bar:Adamson from:01/04/1982 till:01/06/1982 color:Touring width:3 bar:HHoward from:01/06/1982 till:01/08/1982 color:Bass bar:HHoward from:01/06/1982 till:01/08/1982 color:Touring width:3 bar:Wegener from:01/01/1983 till:01/02/1983 color:Drums bar:Wegener from:01/01/1983 till:01/02/1983 color:Touring width:3 bar:Hefner from:01/05/1983 till:end color:Drums bar:Hefner from:01/05/1983 till:end color:Touring width:3

Discography

;The Boys Next Door *''

Door, Door ''Door, Door'' is the debut album by Australian rock band The Boys Next Door. The album was recorded before the band left Australia for London in 1980, at which point they changed their name to The Birthday Party and created the body of work ...

'' (1979) ;The Birthday Party *'' The Birthday Party'' (1980) * ''

'' (1981) * '' Junkyard'' (1982)

References

External links

*
From The Archives
a site with discography, concert history, videography, bibliography, etc. Also features

and related artists.
Article on The Birthday Party
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HowlSpace

The Birthday Party discography
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Nick Cave OnlineInner City Sound Website
a site dedicated to Clinton Walker's book "Inner City Sound" which lists The Birthday Party and other alternative Australian bands of that era.
Record cover art at prehistoricsounds.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Birthday Party, The Musical groups established in 1977 Australian gothic rock groups Australian post-punk groups Mute Records artists 4AD artists Nick Cave Musical groups from Melbourne

History

Early years and The Boys Next Door (1973–1978)

Name change and relocations (1978–1982)

Final years (1982–1983)

Post-breakup, legacy and influence

Musical style

Members

Timeline

Discography

References

Further reading

External links