Phill Calvert

Phill Calvert
Birth name	Phillip Calvert
Genres	Post-punk, alternative rock
Instruments	Drums, percussion
Years active	1973–present
Labels	Mute
Associated acts	Boys Next Door, The Birthday Party, The Psychedelic Furs, Blue Ruin

Phillip Calvert (born 11 January 1958) is an Australian rock drummer and producer best known for his playing in the influential post-punk band The Birthday Party with Nick Cave. His playing with the Birthday Party was noted for its use of tom-toms ("Zoo Music Girl", "Release the Bats"). Numerous sources incorrectly spell his first name as "Phil" with one l.

Raised in the suburbs of Melbourne, he started learning the drums at four years of age. At the private boys school Caulfield Grammar in the early 1970s he met vocalist Nick Cave and guitarist Mick Harvey and formed a rock band with other students, playing parties and school functions with a mixed repertoire of protopunk material (David Bowie, Lou Reed, Roxy Music, The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Alice Cooper).

The band picked up Cave's friend Tracy Pew on Bass, and after they finished secondary school they named themselves The Boys Next Door in 1977. They swiftly became a leading band in the Melbourne Punk rock scene, playing new wave style originals. Calvert worked at a variety of jobs including record store clerk but his heart was set on playing music. After making recordings for local independent labels Suicide (a subsidiary of Mushroom Records) and Missing Link, and playing hundreds of live shows, the band left for London in 1980 and renamed themselves The Birthday Party. Signing first to 4AD Records and then to Mute Records.

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