Sunday, 15 February 2026

Feb 15: N is for Nick Cave

An alphabet of bands and artists as a series for February. These were selected by the Spotify algorithm.

Not surprising that this came up via the Spotify algorithm as I'd been listening to a lot of his music before and since seeing the Wild God tour at the O2 arena. The album is now out on CD and in other formats.

Image: Nick Cave at the O2 - Alan Parkinson, shared on Flickr under CC license

His concerts are real experiences, like a church service. He prowls and draws in the audience with his lyrics, which often feature dark themes.

The musicians he accompanies himself with are also excellent. We saw a band which included Jonny Greenwood - the bassist from Radiohead - who sold out the O2 in November last year with hefty ticket prices as a result - and also some other top musicians.

He has usually collaborated with the musician Warren Ellis, who is Australian like him, and has composed a whole range of soundtracks, including a film about Jesse James. Warren Ellis' stage persona is wonderful.

My son also had the chance to meet him and say hello when he was down at the London Film Festival, as he had been involved in a film about Marianne Faithful. My son was coincidentally wearing his Nick Cave tour t-shirt from the O2 arena show. On the way there, we had also seen Mark Kermode on the tube, and as my son is a massive student of film, he had the chance to say hello to him too - more 2nd hand encounters of the first kind.

There are a few stand out tracks that I particularly like.

The encore at his recent UK concerts was a solo song at the piano: "Into my Arms".



A virtual exhibition has also opened up.


Selected discography - produced by AI 




Any Nick Cave related stories welcome.... and what comes up in your 'N'?

No comments:

Post a Comment