The Birthday Party (originally known as The Boys Next Door) were an
Australian post-punk band, active from 1978 to 1983. 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." The group's
"bleak and noisy soundscapes," which drew irreverently on blues, free
jazz, and rockabilly, provided the setting for vocalist Nick Cave's
disturbing tales of violence and perversion. Their music has been
described by critic Simon Reynolds as gothic, and their single
"Release the Bats" was particularly influential on the emerging gothic
scene.In 1980, The Birthday Party moved from Melbourne to London,
where they were championed by broadcaster John Peel. 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 â€" singer and
songwriter Nick Cave, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Mick
Harvey, and singer, songwriter and guitarist Rowland S. Howard â€"
later went on to acclaimed careers.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 Paul
Kelly Band in the 1980s. The Birthday Party (band) Biography, NetWorth, Height, Age, Weight, Family, Married, Son, Daughter