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ICONS: Nick Cave

The Australian songwriter recently returned with new material: the album Wild God is as haunting as it is healing. In October, he delighted his fans with swing-style covers of old classics, which he also recorded for the Joker sequel.

Over 40 years into his music career, Nick Cave was repositioned and “promoted” from a quiet, ever-theatrical attraction to a premier arena rock performer. This move was a crucial part of a master plan to define Cave as the last alt-rock icon, filling the immense void left by Leonard Cohen, David Bowie, and Lou Reed. It was indeed an ambitious goal, but the results now show that the plan was not only brilliant but that Cave had been vastly underrated. For Cave, music was just one important part of his broad multimedia career, which encompassed not only rock music but also books, films, life-coaching advice, and even his own line of home décor products. According to rock music lovers, if Elvis was “The King,” then Nick Cave, the “lord of gothic darkness,” as a singer-songwriter—and, of course, as a writer and actor—has created a massive body of work over his more than four-decade career. His exceptional genius is evident in his ability to continually triumph in multiple mediums.

Growing up in rural Victoria and then in the suburbs of Melbourne, Cave formed his first band with schoolmates in 1973, which later became known as The Birthday Party. In 1980, The Birthday Party moved to London and then West Berlin, gaining a cult following in both Europe and Australia before disbanding in 1983. The next year, Nick formed Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, a band still described today as “one of the most intimidating bands in rock,” and it remains prolific to this day. Throughout his career, Nick continued to write and publish novels and poetry. For instance, he wrote the screenplay for the Australian film The Proposition, directed by John Hillcoat, which enjoyed international success. In 2014, Nick was the star and co-writer of the documentary 20,000 Days on Earth, which celebrated 24 hours in Cave’s life. In 2016, he released One More Time with Feeling, an intimate and honest portrayal of his artistic process as he grappled with the personal grief of losing his son. The film was shown worldwide for just one evening.

Nowadays, Cave is regarded as a top-tier celebrity: naturally, he was present at King Charles’ coronation, chatting about songwriting tips with his buddy Chris Martin, and enjoying VIP treatment at Bruce Springsteen concerts alongside Chris Rock, Lars Ulrich, and Sting. Nick Cave currently resides in the UK and continues to tour globally.