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Formed: Melbourne, Australia

Band Bio / Discography / Lineups

In my opinion, Australia’s fourth-finest band - after The Saints, Radio Birdman, and The Celibate Rifles. The Birthday Party began life as The Boys Next Door and introduced of of the major players in alternative/indie rock: Nick Cave, their manic, obsessive singer who went on to become King of the Goths (an accolade I believe he wasn't cock-a-hoop about). However, the Party was far from solely the product of Cave’s fevered imagination. His band mates - Rowland S. Howard (guitar), Mick Harvey (guitar, drums, organ, piano), Tracey Pew (bass) and Phill Calvert (drums) - provided lyrics, tunes and playing just as destructive as Cave’s. They started off as a fairly normal Roxy/Velvets-influenced rock band but went punk in late 1976 and, with the addition of second guitarist Rowland S. Howard in 1978 began producing wild music, borrowing from artists as diverse as Howlin’ Wolf and The Velvet Underground.

Their first album, Door, Door was recorded when they were called The Boys Next Door, and is fairly straightforward new wave art-punk with a vaguely paranoid edge. On ‘Brave Exhibitions’ and ‘Roman Roman’ (a silly homage to Polanski) saxophones are played in standard fashion and melodic backing vocals are the order of the day. Side one is given over to tightly strummed guitars and a steady 4/4 beat. It is probably the band’s most honestly enjoyable record, with only ‘Shivers’ really offering any hint of the majesty to follow. A big slushy ballad, it turns the act of being dumped into major melodramatic teen angst. And it’s great.

The Hee Haw 12" single introduced more abrasion and murk into the brew and took them further away from the mainstream, as did their second album The Birthday Party, released first as The Boys Next Door and then as The BIrthday Party. This was by some measure their most deranged sounding record yet, and coincided with their move to London.

In the UK The Birthday Party’s music was met with much favour amongst music critics and high-cheekboned kids dressed in black who were looking for more than Anti-Pasti and their ilk had to offer. They signed to the happening 4AD Records (and then Mute) and in between 1980 and 1983 issued a brace of mad-sounding barrier-breaking singles and two LPs, Prayers On Fire and Junkyard (They also released records back home via the Aussie label Missing Link.)

One of their EP's, the live Drunk On The Pope’s Blood was aptly self-described on its sleeve as “16 minutes of sheer hell!”, and it was split with the like minded Lydia Lunch.

All of these records are notable for the astonishingly violent lyrics and music, full of brutally pummeled rhythm guitars, piercing lead runs and loose-sounding arrangements which often obscures the fact that the band's skills are highly developed, their ability to twist the screw unmatched by any other at the time.

ABOVE: Article from Punk Lives #6, and an advert

Following two excellent 12" EPs in 1983 - The Bad Seed and Mutiny! - they split.

For anybody wishing to delve further into their formative period, the bootleg album Boys Next Door (1988) features the contents of a studio tape from August 1977, recorded prior to Howard joining. Interesting poppy punk, it even has versions of ‘Blitzkrieg Bop’, ‘Louie Louie’ and ‘These Boots Are Made For Walkin’’ (not the 7” version) alongside spunky originals like ‘Masturbation Generation’ and ‘Who Needs You?’.

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