The Birthday Party (band): Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Australian band}}

'''The Birthday Party''' was an [[Australia]]n [[rock music]] group, active in the late [[1970s]] and early [[1980]]s. 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.

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}

{{Use Australian English|date=January 2012}}

{{Infobox musical artist

| name = The Birthday Party

| image = The birthday party, summer 1981.jpg

| caption = The Birthday Party in 1981, from left to right: Pew, Calvert, Harvey, Howard and Cave.

| background = group_or_band

| alias = The Boys Next Door

| origin = [[Melbourne]], [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]], Australia

| genre = {{flatlist|

*[[Post-punk]]

*[[noise rock]]<ref>{{cite web |last1=Terich |first1=Jeff |title=The 30 Best Noise-Rock Songs |url=https://www.stereogum.com/2023335/best-noise-rock-songs/lists/ultimate-playlist/ |website=Stereogum |date=28 November 2018 |access-date=22 January 2022}}</ref>

*[[punk-blues]]<ref>{{cite web |title=The music stars that will break through in 2014 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/jan/02/music-stars-breakthrough-2014 |website=The Guardian |access-date=11 July 2025}}</ref>

*[[gothic rock]]<ref>{{cite web |last1=Staff |title=Gothic Rock Guide: 5 Notable Goth Rock Musicians |url=https://www.masterclass.com/articles/gothic-rock-guide#a-brief-history-of-gothic-rock |website=[[MasterClass]] |access-date=22 January 2022}}</ref>

*[[art punk]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Smithers |first1=Aaron |title=Old Roots, New Routes: The Cultural Politics of Alt.country Music |date=2008 |publisher=University of Michigan |page=179 |isbn=978-0-472-05053-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=igxaoGsr7_IC&dq=the+birthday+party+%22art+punk%22&pg=PA179 |quote=...the seminal Australian art-punk band Birthday Party}}</ref>

*[[blues rock]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/the-birthday-party-junkyard/|title=The Birthday Party: Junkyard Album Review|website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]|last=Lipez|first=Zachary|date=6 February 2022|access-date=6 February 2022}}</ref>

}}

| years_active = 1977–1983

| label = [[Missing Link Records|Missing Link]], [[4AD]], [[Shock Records|Shock]]

| spinoffs = [[Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds]]

| website = {{URL|thebirthdayparty.com.au/}}

| past_members = [[Nick Cave]]<br />[[Mick Harvey]]<br />[[Tracy Pew]]<br />[[Phill Calvert]]<br />[[Rowland S. Howard]]

}}

'''The Birthday Party''' (originally known as '''the Boys Next Door''') were an Australian [[post-punk]] band, active from 1977 to 1983. The group's "bleak and noisy soundscapes," which drew irreverently on [[blues music|blues]], [[free jazz]], and [[rockabilly]], provided the setting for vocalist [[Nick Cave]]'s disturbing tales of violence and perversion.<ref name="auto"/><ref name=rey>{{cite book |last=Reynolds |first=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 and Faber, 2005 |isbn=0-571-21569-6 |url=https://archive.org/details/ripitupstartagai00reyn/page/429 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://thequietus.com/articles/08590-the-birthday-party-junkyard|title=The Quietus &#124; 30 Years On: We Return To The Birthday Party's Junkyard|website=The Quietus}}</ref> Their 1981 single "[[Release the Bats]]" was particularly influential on the emerging [[gothic rock|gothic]] scene.<ref name=rey /> 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."<ref name="auto">{{cite web|last=Thomas |first=Stephen |url={{AllMusic|class=artist |id=p3681/biography |pure_url=yes}} |title=The Birthday Party |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=9 October 2011}}</ref>

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.

In 1980, the Birthday Party moved from [[Melbourne]] to London, where they were championed by broadcaster [[John Peel]]. They subsequently released two albums: ''[[Prayers on Fire]]'' (1981) and ''[[Junkyard (album)|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]] in 1982. The creative core of the Birthday Party – singer and songwriter Nick Cave, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter [[Mick Harvey]], and singer, songwriter and guitarist [[Rowland S. Howard]] – later went on to acclaimed careers.

==The Boys Next Door==

==History==

The nucleus of the band first met at the private boys school Caulfield Grammar (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]] and the [[Sensational Alex Harvey Band]], among others.

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

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 in 1973, with [[Nick Cave]] (vocals), [[Mick Harvey]] (guitar), and [[Phill Calvert]] (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]], [[Lou Reed]], [[Roxy Music]], [[Alice Cooper]] and the [[Sensational Alex Harvey Band]], among others. Saxophonist Chris Coyne went on to join the [[Bands and accompanying musicians of Paul Kelly|Paul Kelly Band]] in the 1980s.<ref name="ARDb">{{cite web |url=http://hem.passagen.se/honga/database/k/kellypaul.html |title=Paul Kelly |publisher=[[Australian Rock Database]]. Passagen.se (Magnus Holmgren) | access-date = 31 October 2008 |url-status=usurped | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081022040737/http://hem.passagen.se/honga/database/k/kellypaul.html| archive-date = 22 October 2008 }}</ref>

After their final school year in [[1975]] the band decided to continue as a four-piece group, with friend [[Tracy Pew]] picking up the bass. Greatly affected by the [[Punk rock|punk]] explosion of [[1976]] which saw Australian bands [[The Saints (Australian band)|The Saints]] and [[Radio Birdman]] making their first recordings and tours, '''Thethe Boys Next Door''', as they were now called, began performing fastpunk originaland proto-punk [[Newcover Waveversion]]s, materialsuch inas "[[1977Blitzkrieg Bop]]." Rowland S Howard joined inand "[[1978Gloria (Them song)|Gloria]]", bringingand a chaoticfew original songs.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://home.iae.nl/users/maes/cave/live/bndgigs.html#2nd |title=The Boys Next Door Concerts |publisher=Home.iae.nl |access-date=9 October 2011}}</ref> By November 1977 their set was dominated by fast original [[feedbackNew wave music|new wave]] guitarmaterial, stylesuch toas the"Sex bandCrimes" and "Masturbation Generation".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.messandnoise.com/articles/1301167 |title="Lethal Weapons" 30 Years On|author=David Nichols |publisher=Messandnoise.com |date=22 October 2007 |access-date=9 October 2011}}</ref>

The Boys' second guitarist, [[Rowland S. Howard]], 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]] being a hallmark of the group) but there were other changes, as well: their sound drew upon [[punk rock|punk]], [[rockabilly]], [[free jazz]] and [[blues]], but defied categorization.{{citation needed|date=March 2022}} Many songs were driven by prominent, repetitive [[bassline]]s and frenetic, [[minimalist music|minimalist]] drumming.{{citation needed|date=March 2022}} In producer/engineer [[Tony Cohen]] they found a collaborator sympathetic to their experimentation and their refusal to repeat themselves, and in manager [[Keith Glass]] they found an enthusiastic financial backer. Glass' label [[Missing Link Records]] released all of the early Birthday Party records.

==London and beyond==

===Name change and relocations (1978–1982)===

After recordings and moderate success in Australia (including hundreds of live shows) they headed for [[London]] in 1980, changing their name to the '''Birthday Party''' and launching into a period of innovative and aggressive music-making. They resided in London, with trips back to Australia and tours through Europe and the U.S. before relocating to [[West Berlin]] in 1982.

The Boys Next Door's best known song, "[[Shivers (The Boys Next Door 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]] play ''[[The Birthday Party (play)|The Birthday Party]]'';<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.heathenworld.com/bandname/a-e.html |title=Heathenworld.com |publisher=Heathenworld.com |access-date=9 October 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111011182130/http://www.heathenworld.com/bandname/a-e.html |archive-date=11 October 2011 }}</ref> 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]] novel ''[[Crime and Punishment]]''. 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".<ref>Mojo magazine, November 2008. As told to Roy Wilkinson p.162</ref>

They resided in London, but were disillusioned with the state of the music scene, only finding like-minded groups in [[the Fall (band)|the Fall]] and [[the Pop Group]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Taylor |first1=Tom |title=Heroin, Hedonism and Mick Harvey: Managing 'The Birthday Party', the most violent band in the world |url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/mick-harvey-the-birthday-party-heroin-nick-cave/ |website=Far Out Magazine |date=11 May 2021 |access-date=22 January 2022}}</ref> They took trips back to Australia and tours through Europe and the U.S. before relocating to [[West Berlin]] 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]] nor [[Alfred Hitchcock]] was ever this scary,"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=birthday_party |title=Trouser Press |publisher=Trouser Press |access-date=9 October 2011}}</ref> and that Cave "doesn't so much sing his vocals as expel them from his gut".<ref>{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=song |id=t3606092 |pure_url=yes}} |title=Blast Off! |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=9 October 2011}}</ref> Though Cave drew on earlier rock and roll shriekers—especially [[Iggy Pop]] and [[Suicide (band)|Suicide]]'s [[Alan Vega]]—his singing with the Birthday Party remains powerful and distinct. His lyrics also drew on [[Arthur Rimbaud]] and [[Charles Baudelaire]].{{sfn|Reynolds|2005|pp=428–429}}

Their sound drew upon [[punk rock|punk]], [[rockabilly]] and the rawest [[blues]], but transcended concise categorisation. Many songs were driven by prominent, repetitive [[bassline]]s and drumwork that sounded like an angry [[Gene Krupa]]; after two decades, Howard's stinging guitar remains distinctive. The instrumentalists often sounded as if they were on the verge of falling apart, emphasising the mania of Cave's singing. Harvey, Pew and Calvert were tightly rehearsed, if at times affected by alcohol and violent audiences.

The single "[[Release the Bats]]" came out during the emergence of the gothic scene.<ref name=lew>{{cite web

Above the barely-controlled racket, Cave's vocals ranged from desperate to simply menacing and demented. Critics have written that "neither [[John Cale]] nor [[Alfred Hitchcock]] was ever this scary." [http://trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=birthday_party]), and that Cave "doesn't so much sing his vocals as expel them from his gut"[http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=33:2sj20roal4aj]. Though Cave drew on earlier rock and roll shriekers; especially [[Iggy Pop]] and [[Suicide]]'s Alan Vega; his singing with the Birthday Party remains powerful.

|url=https://www.nme.com/blog/index.php?blog=10&p=5890&more=1&c=1

|title=Release The Bats – It's The 20 Greatest Goth Tracks

|author=Lewis, Luke

|website=[[NME]]

|date=5 March 2009

|quote=7. The Birthday Party – Release The Bats. Knuckle-dragging drums. Sickening, scything distortion. Barely comprehensible vocals in the Vic Reeves 'club style': here was a compelling sonic template for goth's lunatic fringe. Most gothic moment: Nick Cave's blood-curdling shriek: "Whooaaargh! BITE!"

|url-status=dead

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121019064247/http://www.nme.com/blog/index.php?blog=10&p=5890&more=1&c=1

|archive-date=19 October 2012

}}</ref> This song about "vampire sex" was promoted by an advertisement with the words "Dirtiness is next to antigodliness".<ref name=rey/><ref name=lew/>

Their 1982 album ''[[Junkyard (album)|Junkyard]]'' was inspired by American [[Southern Gothic]] imagery, dealing with extreme subjects like an evangelist's murdered daughter.<ref name=rey/>

Calvert was ejected in [[1982]]; he was "unable to nail down the beats for 'Dead Joe' to everyone's satisfaction" [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=33:08jgtq4zzuhp], and Harvey moved to drums. When Pew was jailed for [[drunk driving]], also in 1982, [[Barry Adamson]] and several others replaced him on records or live appearances.

===Final years (1982–1983)===

The Birthday Party disbanded in [[1984]], due in part to creative tension between Cave and Howard.

[[File:George Hotel Crystal Ballroom St Kilda.jpg|thumb|The Birthday Party were regulars at Melbourne's [[Crystal Ballroom (Melbourne)|Crystal Ballroom]], playing their final show there in 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",<ref>{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=song |id=t3606094 |pure_url=yes}} |title=Dead Joe |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=9 October 2011}}</ref> and Harvey moved to drums. When Pew was jailed for [[drunk driving]] and petty theft early in 1982, [[The Moodists|Chris Walsh]], [[Barry Adamson]] and Howard's brother [[Harry Howard (musician)|Harry]] replaced him for live appearances and brief studio work. Pew rejoined the band in July.

The ''[[Mutiny/The Bad Seed|Mutiny]]'' EP contained lyrics evoking [[blasphemy]], words which were as dark as the gothic poems of [[Lautréamont]].<ref name=rey/> The title track portrayed a dirty heaven with rats and trash.<ref name=rey/>

Several groups rose from the Birthday Party's ashes: [[Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds]] (featuring Cave and Harvey), [[Crime and the City Solution]] (featuring Harvey and Howard, later just Harvey) and [[These Immortal Souls]] (featuring Howard). All of these bands shared a similar aesthetic, though perhaps they showed unequal deftness in expressing it.

In 1982 a spin-off group with [[Lydia Lunch]], [[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.

==Trivia==

A tour in January 1983 found the group return to a five-piece, with [[Laughing Clowns|Jeffrey Wegener]] 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]] from the German group [[Einstürzende Neubauten]] 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 [[The Marching Girls|Des Hefner]] on drums. The Birthday Party played their final show at the [[Crystal Ballroom (Melbourne)|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.<ref name="Larkin">{{cite book|title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]|editor=Colin Larkin|editor-link=Colin Larkin (writer)|publisher=[[Virgin Books]]|date=1997|edition=Concise|isbn=1-85227-745-9|page=134}}</ref>

*The band takes its name from the ''[[Harold Pinter]]'' play "The Birthday Party."

===Post-breakup, legacy and influence===

Several groups rose from the Birthday Party's ashes: [[Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds]] (featuring Cave, Harvey, Adamson, Bargeld and briefly Pew), [[Crime and the City Solution]] (featuring Harvey and Howard, later just Harvey) and [[These Immortal Souls]] (featuring Howard).

Pew died from injuries caused by an [[epileptic seizure]] 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]] 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]] genre. According to ''[[New Musical Express]]'', "The Party have been indirectly held responsible for the rise of a visceral new [[hardcore punk|hardcore]], ranging from the [[Sex Gang Children]], through Danse Macabre to [[March Violets]]."<ref name="New Musical Express 1982. p. 141, 143">''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.</ref> Rock acts that have cited the Birthday Party as an influence include [[My Bloody Valentine (band)|My Bloody Valentine]],<ref>[http://www.mybloodyvalentine.net/press/guitarworld-apr93.html Guitar World, April 1993 by Alan Di Perna] Kevin Shields: "The Birthday Party were also my favorite band at that time. They're pretty much why I formed a band. Them and the Cramps."</ref> [[Alex Turner]],<ref>[https://ew.com/music-festivals/2014/06/13/arctic-monkeys-alex-turner-interview-tour-bonaroo/ EW, June 2014 by Kyle Anderson] Alex Turner: "I got turned on to this record by Roland S. Howard called Popcrimes. He was in the Birthday Party with Nick Cave, and it’s f—ing excellent. The lyrics are fantastic. It’s a lot easier on the ear than the Birthday Party—and I love the Birthday Party, by the way. I was listening to them just yesterday."</ref> and [[LCD Soundsystem]].<ref>[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0JSE/is_298/ai_n15662221 Thrasher Magazine, Sept, 2005 by Sarah Pulver] James Murphy: « My first album: I got some birthday money, went to the record store and bought Siouxsie and the Banshees Join Hands, The Fall Grotesque, and The Birthday Party Nick the Stripper, all in one day. And all three of those records are three of my favorite things I've ever heard. »</ref> In 2006, American label [[Three One G]] 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 (band)|Daughters]], [[Melt-Banana]] and [[Cattle Decapitation]].

In October 2007, Cave alone was inducted into the [[ARIA Hall of Fame]]. 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]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/12/31/2783381.htm?section=entertainment |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120719002047/http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/12/31/2783381.htm?section=entertainment |url-status=dead |archive-date=19 July 2012 |title=Bandmate pays tribute to Birthday Party guitarist – Entertainment (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |date=31 December 2009 |access-date=9 October 2011}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://messandnoise.com/news/4439804 |title=Watch: Rowland S Howard Tribute At Ballroom Reunion In News : Mess+Noise |publisher=Messandnoise.com |date=5 March 2012 |access-date=1 April 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130203093725/http://messandnoise.com/news/4439804 |archive-date=3 February 2013 }}</ref>

== Musical style ==

The band's music is described as a "bleak, [[Gothic rock|gothic]] approach to [[garage rock]]," characterized by "bleak and noisy soundscapes" and use of [[audio feedback]]. Additionally, the band's music incorporated elements of [[blues]] and [[rockabilly]]. Stephen Thomas of ''[[AllMusic]]'' called them "one of the darkest and most challenging post-punk groups to emerge in the early '80s." He described [[Nick Cave]]'s lyrics "difficult, disturbing stories" that explore themes such [[religion]], [[violence]], and [[perversion]]." The band's later material is considered to be darker, "alternat[ing] between [[Dirge|dirges]] to blistering sonic assaults."<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Birthday Party Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio... |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-birthday-party-mn0000044906 |access-date=2025-04-03 |website=AllMusic |language=en}}</ref>

==Members==

;Band members

*[[Nick Cave]] – vocals, saxophone (1977–1983)

*[[Mick Harvey]] – guitar, drums, keyboards (1977–1983)

*[[Rowland S. Howard]] – guitar, vocals (1978–1983; died 2009)

*[[Tracy Pew]] – bass, clarinet (1977–1982, 1982–1983; died 1986)

*[[Phill Calvert]] – drums (1977–1982)

;Touring and guest musicians

*Chris Walsh – bass (February 1982)

*[[Barry Adamson]] – bass (April–May 1982)

*[[Harry Howard (musician)|Harry Howard]] – bass (June–July 1982)

*[[The Laughing Clowns|Jeffrey Wegener]] – drums (January 1983)

*[[The Scavengers|Des Hefner]] – drums (May–June 1983)

*[[Blixa Bargeld]] – guitar (April 1983, in-studio guest)

===Timeline===

<timeline>

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id:Vocals value:red legend:Lead_vocals

id:BVocals value:pink legend:Backing_vocals

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id:Bass value:blue legend:Bass

id:Drums value:orange legend:Drums

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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=

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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

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bar:Harvey from:01/01/1983 till:01/02/1983 color:Guitar

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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

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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

</timeline>

==Discography==

{{Main|The Birthday Party discography}}

===Albums===

* ''[[;The Birthday Party (album)|The Birthday Party]]/Boys Next Door'' (LP, 1980)

* ''[[PrayersDoor, On FireDoor]]'' (LP, 19811979)

* ''[[Junkyard]]'' (LP, 1982)

;The Birthday Party

* ''[[It's Still Living]]'' (LP, 1985)

*''[[The Birthday Party (The Birthday Party album)|The Birthday Party]]'' (1980)

* ''Best and Rarest'' (LP, 1985)

* ''The[[Prayers Badon Seed/Mutiny!Fire]]'' (CD1981)

* ''[[Junkyard (album)|Junkyard]]'' (1982)

* ''Hits'' (CD, 1992)

* ''Live 1981&ndash;82'' (CD, 1999)

==References==

* ''Peel Sessions'' (CD)

{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==

*"Inner City Sound", [[Clinton Walker]] (Wild & Wooley, 1981; revised and expanded edition, Verse Chorus Press, 2005)

*"[[Stranded: The Secret History of Australian Independent Music 1977-1991]]", [[Clinton Walker]] ([[Pan MacMillan]] Australia, 1996) {{ISBN|0-7329-0883-3}}

*"Bad Seed: A biography of Nick Cave", Ian Johnstone (1996) {{ISBN|0-349-10778-5}}

*"Nick Cave: The Birthday Party and Other Epic Adventures", Robert Brokenmouth ([[Omnibus Press]] London, 1996) {{ISBN|0-7119-5601-4}}

*"The life and music of Nick Cave: An illustrated biography", Maximilian Dax & Johannes Beck (1999) {{ISBN|3-931126-27-7}}

*"Kicking Against the Pricks: An Armchair Guide to Nick Cave", Amy Hanson (2005) {{ISBN|1-900924-96-X}}

*"Nick Cave Stories", Edited by Janine Barrand (2007)

===SinglesExternal and EPs=links==

*{{official website}}

* "Mr Clarinet/Happy Birthday" (7" single, 1980)

* [http://www.fromthearchives.org From The Archives]: a site with discography, concert history, videography, bibliography, etc. Also features [[Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds]], [[Einstürzende Neubauten]] and related artists.

* "Nick the Stripper/Blundertown/Kathys Kisses" (12" single, 1981)

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120716193453/http://www.howlspace.com.au/en/boysnextdoor/boysnextdoor.htm Article on The Birthday Party] from [http://www.howlspace.com.au/ HowlSpace]

* "Nick the Stripper/Blundertown" (7" single, 1981/82)

* [http://www.nick-cave.com/_discography_tbp.php The Birthday Party discography] from [https://web.archive.org/web/20061125145522/http://www.nick-cave.com/ Nick Cave Online]

* "Release the Bats/Blast Off" (7" single, 1981)

*[http://www.innercitysound.com.au/ Inner 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.

* "Mr Clarinet/Happy Birthday" (7" single, 1981)

* [http://www.prehistoricsounds.com Record cover art at prehistoricsounds.com]

* "Drunk on the Pope's Blood/The Agony Is The Ecstacy" with [[Lydia Lunch]] (12" EP, 1982)

* "Dead Joe" (7" flexidisc, 1982)

* "The Bad Seed" (12" EP, 1983)

* "The Birthday Party" (12" EP, 1983)

* "Mutiny! "(12" EP, 1983)

* "The Peel Sessions" (12" EP, 1987)

* "The Peel Sessions" (12" EP, 1988)

{{The Birthday Party|state=expanded}}

== External links ==

{{Mick Harvey}}

* [http://www.howlspace.com.au/en/boysnextdoor/boysnextdoor.htm Article on The Birthday Party] from [http://www.howlspace.com.au/ HowlSpace]

{{Authority control}}

* [http://www.nick-cave.com/_discography_tbp.php The Birthday Party discography] from [http://www.nick-cave.com/ Nick Cave Online]

[[Category{{DEFAULTSORT:Australian musical groups|Birthday Party, The]]}}

[[Category:PostMusical punk|Birthdaygroups Party,established Thein 1977]]

[[Category:DeathAustralian rock|Birthdaygothic Party,rock Thegroups]]

[[Category:Australian post-punk groups]]

[[Category:Mute Records artists]]

[[Category:4AD artists]]

[[Category:Nick Cave]]

[[Category:Musical groups from Melbourne]]