Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds were formed in Melbourne, Australia. For the first 6 months of their existence they went by ‘Nick Cave and the Cavemen’, but that moniker was replaced after the dissolution of their previous project The Birthday Party (originally called ‘The Boys Next Door’) whose last EP was titled The Bad Seed. The original lineup featured Nick Cave on vocals, multi-instrumentalist Mick Harvey (left the band in 2009), and guitarist Blixa Bargeld (left the band in 2003). Since then they’ve expanded their repertoire and now consist of virtuoso Warren Ellis, Martyn P. Casey on bass, Barry Adamson on keyboards, guitarist George Vjestica, and drummers Thomas Wydler and Jim Sclavunos.

Between 1983 and 1985, Record producer Flood worked on From Her To Eternity and The Firstborn Is Dead. During the creation of the latter the band was living in Germany, slightly vexing considering the complete infusion of gothic Southern Americana and blues.

1986-1988 saw two of their darkest works—Your Funeral My Trial and Tender Prey. Their first taste of fame coming from the ‘condemned man’ narrative in Tender Prey’s “The Mercy Seat”, an album Cave has described as “one long cry for help”.

Cave moved to Brazil after a successful stint in rehab and began experimenting with piano driven ballads, alienating some of his former fan base who adored the Gothic feel of his early work. Ironically critics loved it. Aided by Neil Young producer David Briggs, their next album, Henry’s Dream had a decidedly hard rock foundation.

In 1993 they moved back to London and released Let Love In and its wildly popular “Red Right Hand”, which featured in the well known Scream movies. This proved to be a fitting introduction to their 1996 best-selling album Murder Ballads with special guest appearances from PJ Harvey and Kylie Minogue. Cave’s 1997 album The Boatman’s Call was a departure from all of the cynicism and destruction, instead focusing on themes of hope and rebirth.

After a brief hiatus Cave released three albums from 2001-2005, No More Shall We Part, Nocturama, Abattoir Blues/Lyre of Orpheus, evolving through previous sound forms and eventually landing on a stripped down punk/garage-rock sound.

Their 2008 album Dig, Lazarus, Dig! garnered much critical acclaim around the time their previous album’s “O' Children” featured in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1.

Shortly after their side project Grinderman disbanded, Push The Sky Away was released in 2013. The album formed the first part of a so-called trilogy of albums which feature a more extensive use of synthesisers and drum machines than the band had used on previous releases. During the recording of their sixteenth LP Skeleton Tree, Cave’s 15-year-old son passed away, with themes of loss and death weaved throughout the album. It was released in 2016 to critical acclaim. In September 2018, longtime keyboardist Conway Savage, who had joined for The Good Son and stayed with the band until 2015, passed away after a battle with cancer. In 2019 the double album Ghosteen was released to conclude the trilogy.