The band the Boys Next Door were formed by schoolfriends Nick Cave and Mick Harvey, who were joined by Tracy Pew, Philip Calvert and, later, Rowland S. Howard. Their first single, 'These Boots are Made for Walking', was released in 1978 and the album Door Door appeared the following year. With the issue of The Birthday Party (1980), some copies of which were released with the name of the band omitted, The Boys Next Door metamorphosed into The Birthday Party. As they changed their name, the band moved from Melbourne to London, where they proved enormously influential on the British rock scene. The band disintegrated in West Berlin in 1983. Their last recording, Mutiny, is held to be the definitive expression of their art. Nick Cave and Mick Harvey went on to form The Bad Seeds, who have garnered critical praise and cultivated-popular adulation over several decades' performing in the UK, Europe and Australia.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 1999
© Michel Lawrence
Michel Lawrence (age 30 in 1978)
Nick Cave AO (age 21 in 1978)
Mick Harvey (age 20 in 1978)
Tracy Pew (age 21 in 1978)
Philip Calvert (age 20 in 1978)
On one level The Companion talks about the most famous and frontline Australians, but on another it tells us about ourselves.
An interview with graffiti artist Marc de Jong about the art of Howard Arkley.
Celebrate the people, places and sounds of Australian pub rock and its enduring impact on our nation’s identity.
