Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
The band performing on stage, 2008
Background information
Origin	Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Genres	Alternative rock post-punk experimental rock art rock
Years active	1983–present
Labels	Bad Seed Ltd. via Kobalt Label Services Mute
Associated acts	The Birthday Party Einstürzende Neubauten Grinderman Die Haut Shilpa Ray The Cramps PJ Harvey
Website	nickcaveandthebadseeds.com
Members	Nick Cave Thomas Wydler Martyn P. Casey Conway Savage Jim Sclavunos Warren Ellis George Vjestica Toby Dammit
Past members	Mick Harvey Barry Adamson Blixa Bargeld Hugo Race Anita Lane Kid Congo Powers Roland Wolf James Johnston Ed Kuepper

For the US garage band, see The Bad Seeds (band)

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds are an Australian rock band formed in Melbourne in 1983 by vocalist Nick Cave, multi-instrumentalist Mick Harvey and guitarist Blixa Bargeld. The band has featured international personnel throughout its career and presently consists of Cave, violinist and multi-instrumentalist Warren Ellis, bassist Martyn P. Casey and keyboardist Conway Savage (all four from Australia), keyboard/percussionist Barry Adamson and guitarist George Vjestica (both from the United Kingdom), and drummers Thomas Wydler (Switzerland) and Jim Sclavunos (United States). The band has released fifteen studio albums and completed numerous international tours, and has been considered "one of the most original and celebrated bands of the post-punk and alternative rock eras in the '80s and onward".

The band was founded in 1983 following the demise of Cave and Harvey's former group the Birthday Party, the members of which met at a boarding school in Victoria. By the release of their fifth studio album Tender Prey in 1988, they shifted from post-punk towards an experimental alternative rock sound, later incorporating various influences throughout their career. For example, the 2008 album Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! and the side-project Grinderman were strongly influenced by garage rock. Synthesizers and minimal guitar work feature prominently on Push the Sky Away (2013), recorded after Harvey's departure from the band in 2009.