Boy on Fire: The Young Nick Cave
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- Create Date：2021-05-13 09:50:57
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Mark Mordue
- ISBN：1838953698
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Summary
The first volume of the long-awaited， near-mythical biography of Nick Cave， by award-winning writer， Mark Mordue。
An intensely beautiful， profound， and poetic biography of the formative years of the dark prince of rock 'n' roll， Boy on Fire is Nick Cave's creation story， a portrait of the artist first as a boy， then as a young man。 A deeply insightful work that charts his family， friends， influences， milieu， and， most of all， his music， the book reveals how Nick Cave shaped himself into the extraordinary artist he would become。 A powerful account of a singular， uncompromising artist， Boy on Fire is also a vivid and evocative rendering of a time and place， from the fast-running dark rivers and ghost gums of country-town Australia to the torn wallpaper， sticky carpet， and manic energy of the nascent punk scene which hit staid 1970s Melbourne like an atom bomb。 Boy on Fire is a stunning biographical achievement。
An intensely beautiful， profound， and poetic biography of the formative years of the dark prince of rock 'n' roll， Boy on Fire is Nick Cave's creation story， a portrait of the artist first as a boy， then as a young man。 A deeply insightful work that charts his family， friends， influences， milieu， and， most of all， his music， the book reveals how Nick Cave shaped himself into the extraordinary artist he would become。 A powerful account of a singular， uncompromising artist， Boy on Fire is also a vivid and evocative rendering of a time and place， from the fast-running dark rivers and ghost gums of country-town Australia to the torn wallpaper， sticky carpet， and manic energy of the nascent punk scene which hit staid 1970s Melbourne like an atom bomb。 Boy on Fire is a stunning biographical achievement。
Reviews
Tim Armitage
，
A totally immersive look at one of Australia’s greatest performers。 An imperfect but deeply rewarding account of the formative stages of Cave’s career。 A must read。
Jeanette
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As a borderline obsessed fan of Nick Cave， I was really excited to read this。 And it was good。。。。 it just left me wanting more。 I loved learning so much about his years growing up and his early years with The Boys Next Door。。。 but now I need sequel books so I can follow him through The Birthday Party and onward！ :）
Mark Booth
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Well written biography - concentrates on the early days of Nick Cave which I knew relatively little about
David Wasley
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A good bio， well worth reading。 The comprehensive research behind it is evident。 There is a tendency toward the minutiae of The Boys Next Door and overstatement of their importance that goes on a bit。 The author is reluctant to discuss that most Australians would not have heard of The Boys Next Door or be able to name a single song。 On the national music scene they had negligible sales and influence。
Paula
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Even for a hardcore fan this book is a must read cause it has so many details！ Very personal and emotional book。 Loved it so much！
Rob
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Delving in to the Melbourne punk scene of the late 1970s with a forensic detail that would perhaps astonish even those who were part of that scene， who in fact already received a feature film about themselves in 1986 （Richard Lowenstein's Dogs in Space）， this is a titanic look at Nick Cave's formative years that manages to make him feel both real and fictional at once。 Confrontational and charismatic， he was expected to go places and in the end he did， but his beginnings came not from hype or fr Delving in to the Melbourne punk scene of the late 1970s with a forensic detail that would perhaps astonish even those who were part of that scene， who in fact already received a feature film about themselves in 1986 （Richard Lowenstein's Dogs in Space）， this is a titanic look at Nick Cave's formative years that manages to make him feel both real and fictional at once。 Confrontational and charismatic， he was expected to go places and in the end he did， but his beginnings came not from hype or from marketing， but rather from live gigs and desire。This book， by long-time music and film journalist Mark Mordue， looks long and hard at his youth growing up in Australia。 Obviously it is being written when we know where young Cave was headed， but it is also like the first volume of one of those multi-volume biographies of a well-known author， like Joseph Frank's 5 volumes on Dostoyevsky， or Carl Rollyson's 2 big volumes on William Faulkner。 Cave would love that， but in fact the collection it reminds me most of is Simon Callow's 3 volumes （and counting？） on Orson Welles。 Like the first volume there， The Road to Xanadu， this one has Cave becoming an artist and a feted live performer but not yet getting back the full critical and commercial approval for it。Obviously the plan is to go further， but the curious thing is how absorbed we can become in a rather closed music and arts scene of this kind at such a remove。 Mordue is obviously keen to make on his aim to render Nick Cave in more detail than the skittish footlights and Nick's own contrary nature have allowed him to have。It took me some time to come to this realisation but basically Nick Cave is the most complete artistic embodiment of the tussle between Apollo （formalism， melody， clarity in description） and Dionysus （wicked wit， mischief， noise， wig-out， catharsis）。 Think about it: he covers bases from heartfelt literature to film scripts and soundtracks to fierce punk to solo piano ballads to poetic song suites。 He is the words and the music， but also the grin and the shimmy。 What other artist can lay claim to this kind of whisper to a roar scope？He must have been pretty difficult to deal with， but the placement in particular of his father's death within several contexts when he was 21 serves to tinge the surrounding events with both tragedy and a spur to creation。 Loss and belief have in some ways been Nick Cave's metier， whether it's nostalgia for a father perhaps not known and appreciated as well as he would have liked or a homeland that still has an odd ambivalence in its dealings with him or just the many little things we lose along the way in a life that can only be permanent in our description of it。 Cave is a product of all these things and also of a gargantuan imagination that has allowed to reinvent himself in new and unexpected ways in particular since Kicking Against The Pricks。 He churns obliquely， then rages， then whispers， then wails。 Behind him the sound is drawn-out or insistent。 Single finger piano lines give him counterpoint and pathos。 Well behind him lies the priapic mask-shifting rage， but still before him lies the exploration of an ineffable country that only he will be able to map but that many people will want to visit， if only briefly。I wonder what Mordue has planned for the next book， wherein young Nick goes off and scares London and Berlin before balladry brings his whole literate， Gothic and curiously classicist shtick into focus and stark relief。 And when will he have it ready？ 。。。more
Simon Reid
，
Mark Mordue was at work on a complete biography of Nick Cave when events in both of their lives around 2015 caused the ambitious project to fizzle out。 'I'm a different person now，' Cave said， seeming to draw a line under his long-standing co-operation。 Mordue has since returned to his extensive research， but now he zooms in on Cave's formative years。 Boy On Fire looks in detail at every fad and phase， every side of Cave that can be traced prior to him leaving Australia in February 1980。 These i Mark Mordue was at work on a complete biography of Nick Cave when events in both of their lives around 2015 caused the ambitious project to fizzle out。 'I'm a different person now，' Cave said， seeming to draw a line under his long-standing co-operation。 Mordue has since returned to his extensive research， but now he zooms in on Cave's formative years。 Boy On Fire looks in detail at every fad and phase， every side of Cave that can be traced prior to him leaving Australia in February 1980。 These include the tearaway schoolboy， the dreaming junkie， the tyrannical frontman and the sensitive young soul blindsided by the death of his father。 There are other dimensions to the young Nick we might not immediately recognise。Mordue finds so much that connects with the Nick Cave of 2021， including how he uses imagination to reckon with personal tragedy。 In fact， everything is grist to his mill。 His early collaborator and girlfriend Anita Lane once told him， 'If you were hit by a car， you'd reach for your pencil and try to write what it was like before you died。'For fans it's thrilling to read of moments and images from Cave's early days that will surface in his songs years， even decades， later。 A very particular stretch of the Ovens River flows from Wangaratta into multiple lyrics， most notably Sad Waters。 The hopeful wisdom of Colin Cave underpins Nature Boy。My father said， don’t look awayYou got to be strong， you got to be bold， nowHe said， that in the end it is beautyThat is going to save the world， now A good music bio has you constantly looking up the tracks and bands it mentions。 This one also directs you toward painters （Matthias Grünewald， Egon Schiele， Sidney Nolan， the Dadaists） and writers （Dostoevsky， Alfred Jarry， Nabokov， Flannery O'Connor）。 It's a soup of reference that thickens as Cave assimilates culture like there's no tomorrow， and feeds it all back into his nascent band， The Boys Next Door。Mordue has aimed for Boy On Fire to show Cave at the centre of 'a kaleidoscope of people and stories'。 He's particularly strong on the subculture that congregated in the Crystal Ballroom （a legendary venue in St Kilda， then Melbourne's bohemian-attracting red light district） to watch post-punk bands in the late 70s。 In one interview excerpt， Brownyn Bonney provides a perceptive account of why it is Nick Cave who became a star， whilst other gifted artists from the time faded into obscurity。 She carefully lists all the crucial things that he possessed， and notes that 'everyone else lacked two or three of those ingredients'。 In a single page， she threatens to render the rest of the book redundant， so complete is her sense of the young Cave， and so neatly does it tally with the same artist who has just put out Carnage at 63。 Work ethic is again and again pinpointed by Cave's contemporaries as his great advantage。 'He works like a demon。 He deserves his success，' insists Bonney。 In issue #138 of The Red Hand Files， Cave concurs that it's mainly that surfeit of sheer energy – 'a shameless and pathological belief in my own awesomeness' – that has sustained his long career， above any talent he may have had。Other participants in the scene that whirled around The Boys Next Door and their clique are more blunt in their assessment， less prepared to balance Cave's virtues against his vices。 'I thought they were dickheads，' remarks fashion designer Alannah Hill。The books ends with Cave and his cohort aboard a flight to London， to them the promised land of indie music， as the 80s dawn。 During the flight they elect to change their name to The Birthday Party。 I was reminded of Tune In， the first volume of Mark Lewisohn's mammoth Beatles bio， which also chooses to stop with its subject airborne and on the cusp of something bigger （the soon-to-be Fab Four flying home from Hamburg for the last time， in December 1962）。If Mordue goes beyond that long-haul cliffhanger and does continue with his epic biography of Cave after all， there are four full decades of restless creativity left to cover， as Cave moves through multiple cities and scenes， collects and discards muses and collaborators， and emerges from addictions and complex private torments。 It's a staggering challenge。 Such is the artistic depth and international breadth of that story， the ongoing work could end up akin to John Richardson's all-consuming multi-volume biography of his friend Picasso。 But Boy on Fire's brief flashes forward into the 2000s only confirm that Mordue is the man to document the Bad Seeds years — the brilliant biographer Nick Cave deserves。 。。。more
Shane Murphy
，
This good but frustrating biography covers Nick's life in Australia up until the start of The Birthday Party， finishing with the band heading to London。 As an Australian reader， there is a lot to like。 The regional/urban divide is explored， along with class and cultural progress， as well as Nick's own story， obviously。 The frustration comes in as there's very little resolution to what's discussed throughout， so feels like the first volume of a set。 We don't find out how Nick's relationships with This good but frustrating biography covers Nick's life in Australia up until the start of The Birthday Party， finishing with the band heading to London。 As an Australian reader， there is a lot to like。 The regional/urban divide is explored， along with class and cultural progress， as well as Nick's own story， obviously。 The frustration comes in as there's very little resolution to what's discussed throughout， so feels like the first volume of a set。 We don't find out how Nick's relationships with his father， son or Tracy - all of whom passed prematurely - affected him， or much about how his secondary relationships with Rowland， Mick and Phil ended。 （Rowland could easily be the subject of his own volume）。 Nonetheless the writing's intimate and feels 'authorised'。I'd recommend it absolutely for a Nick fan （though truth be told he does come across as a pretentious bellend）， or for those interested in Australia's cultural history。PS One shouldn't judge a book by its cover， but the cover and book itself is beautiful。 。。。more
Laurence
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Well-researched from original and secondary sources， sensitively written， non-linear， vividly evocative， semi-autobiographical。 Awesome work， Mr Mordue。 Congratulations！
Susanne （Pages of Crime）
，
This is indeed a very comprehensive look at Nick Cave's early years from childhood through to the Boys Next Door leaving for London。 Mark Mordue has obviously put a lot of time， thought and care into crafting this book and he certainly managed to convey the atmosphere of the time and place where young Nick was growing up and coming of age。 It seemed to end all of a sudden though， knowing that there is so much more to the story of Nick Cave's work， it would be interesting to know if there are fur This is indeed a very comprehensive look at Nick Cave's early years from childhood through to the Boys Next Door leaving for London。 Mark Mordue has obviously put a lot of time， thought and care into crafting this book and he certainly managed to convey the atmosphere of the time and place where young Nick was growing up and coming of age。 It seemed to end all of a sudden though， knowing that there is so much more to the story of Nick Cave's work， it would be interesting to know if there are further volumes planned to make a set， I seem to recall reading somewhere that this may be the case。 I hope so， as it would be a shame to leave all of the research and background work， that would have obviously covered the later years as well while putting this book together， with no further outlet。 。。。more
Adam Osth
，
Beautifully written biography that focuses on the young Nick Cave， up to the point where him and the Boys Next Door depart for the UK in about 1980。 What's amazing about this level of focus is that the book begins with him being born and ends up him really being an artist - you see everything that happens in-between。 I was a bit surprised to learn that when he got his start， him and his bandmates simply weren't very good。 But you see the changes that took place in-between， including immersion in Beautifully written biography that focuses on the young Nick Cave， up to the point where him and the Boys Next Door depart for the UK in about 1980。 What's amazing about this level of focus is that the book begins with him being born and ends up him really being an artist - you see everything that happens in-between。 I was a bit surprised to learn that when he got his start， him and his bandmates simply weren't very good。 But you see the changes that took place in-between， including immersion in new music， an iron-clad work ethic， and playing close to 200 gigs a year with his band。 That's part of what led to the rapid， rapid changes that were taking place in his music - Door Door and Hee Haw were less than a year apart， and yet they sound like they're from completely different time periods。I also loved learning about the other members of the band。 Tracy Pew used to steal cars， go on joyrides， and crash them in random places。 Mick Harvey slowly developed into a very mature arranger and was very content to take a backseat to newcomer Rowland S Howard's fierce guitar playing because it made them a better band。 Phil Calvert was a phenomenal musician from day one， easily the best in the band。 Rowland S Howard was only 17 when he joined the band and was miles ahead - he could write， play， and dressed well， but Nick and Mick were quick to catch up with him。I'm not even a huge Nick Cave fan， and this still managed to be an absolutely engrossing read。 I learned a lot about Melbourne in the mid to late 70's。 At the beginning of the decade， almost all of the music was fairly boring covers of old standards。 By the end， each suburb had its own thriving scene， with the Boys Next Door dominating the Crystal Ballroom in St Kilda （which were both respectively like the CBGB and Bowery of Melbourne）， the little band scene in Fitzroy， and singer songwriters popping up in Carlton。 。。。more
Dale
，
A very clever way to tell an epic story by focusing on a relatively short time period。 It makes you want the rest but at the same time doesn’t need the next chapter。 Well done Mark Mordue。
Alicia
，
It's a great read for any Nick Cave fan。 You learn a lot about his early life and what shaped him。 As a fellow Victorian it was refreshing to read about where he grew up， where he went to school， where he used to hang out with his mates etc。。。 I found myself asking my parents about the venues and bands that were featured in the book。 It was a great trip down memory lane for them also。 The book leaves you wanting more as it basically ends with The Boys Next Door becoming The Birthday Party。 As a It's a great read for any Nick Cave fan。 You learn a lot about his early life and what shaped him。 As a fellow Victorian it was refreshing to read about where he grew up， where he went to school， where he used to hang out with his mates etc。。。 I found myself asking my parents about the venues and bands that were featured in the book。 It was a great trip down memory lane for them also。 The book leaves you wanting more as it basically ends with The Boys Next Door becoming The Birthday Party。 As a lot of fans say after a show "WE WANT MORE！" 。。。more
Matthew Walker
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Enchanting tale， exquisitely told。Tremendous。
Amanda
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A lapse in my commitment to only read murder mysteries until Christmas， but an interesting lapse。I love Nick Cave's music， and find him a remarkable performer， but as a young man he sounds a wee bit like a pretentious tosser。He's certainly come a very long way in terms of personal development - but I guess we all have。 A lapse in my commitment to only read murder mysteries until Christmas， but an interesting lapse。I love Nick Cave's music， and find him a remarkable performer， but as a young man he sounds a wee bit like a pretentious tosser。He's certainly come a very long way in terms of personal development - but I guess we all have。 。。。more
Helen
，