Album: The Birthday Party by The Boys Next Door (1980)
Genre: Post-Punk
Format: Album

Artist Background: "Boys Next Door" was formed in 1973 by Nick Cave, Mick Harvey, and Phill Calvert and others while they were attending Caulfield Grammar School outside of Melbourne, Australia. They were later joined by Tracy Pew on bass in 1975, and Rowland S. Howard in 1978 on guitar, thereby solidifying the line-up that would be The Birthday Party, to which they changed their name in 1980. Part of the Melbourne, Australia music scene. Emerged in the 1970s era. Associated with Post-Punk movement.

Related Artists: The Birthday Party, These Immortal Souls, Rowland S. Howard, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

Music Scene: Part of the Melbourne, Australia music scene. Emerged in the 1970s era. Associated with Post-Punk movement.

Tags: Post-Punk, 1980s, Album

Additional Context: Available on Discogs marketplace


Album: Door, Door by The Boys Next Door (1979)
Format: Album

Description: Door, Door is the debut album by Australian rock band The Birthday Party, released under the name "The Boys Next Door" in 1979. The Album was recorded before the band left Australia for London in 1980, at which point they changed their name to The Birthday Party and created the body of work for which they are most recognized. Likewise, the album is different stylistically from their later work, being less dark and slightly more poppy. Guest saxophonist Chris Coyne had played in the band in its pre-Punk days. He appears on "The Nightwatchman," "Brave Exhibitions" and "The Voice."

The band recorded a full album in June 1978 as a four-piece. After Rowland S. Howard joined (shortly after June 1978), and they rapidly developed new material, they recorded five new songs in January 1979 which became side two of the released LP (tracks 7-10 of the CD release). Of the "missing" half-album, only a demo of the song "Sex Crimes" has ever been released (in 2005).

Cave later said of the album, "We were adolescents and very late developers. There was a period where we were confused and had a lot of problems and we put out an album like Door, Door which is a product of all those things. I mean, it was a complete wet dream that record. I hate it. It reeks of a band trying to be musically intelligent and write clever, witty lyrics. It's a complete wank."

The album includes the single "Shivers" which became their best known song of this period. Written by Rowland S. Howard, "Shivers" was later covered by Marie Hoy, The Screaming Jets during the 1990s, Divine Fits, and others. "Shivers" was also in the soundtrack of the 1980s film Dogs in Space, both the original Door Door version and Marie Hoy cover.

Artist Background: "Boys Next Door" was formed in 1973 by Nick Cave, Mick Harvey, and Phill Calvert and others while they were attending Caulfield Grammar School outside of Melbourne, Australia. They were later joined by Tracy Pew on bass in 1975, and Rowland S. Howard in 1978 on guitar, thereby solidifying the line-up that would be The Birthday Party, to which they changed their name in 1980. Part of the Melbourne, Australia music scene. Emerged in the 1970s era. Associated with Post-Punk movement.

Related Artists: The Birthday Party, These Immortal Souls, Rowland S. Howard, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

Music Scene: Part of the Melbourne, Australia music scene. Emerged in the 1970s era. Associated with Post-Punk movement.

Tags: 1970s, Album

Additional Context: Available on Discogs marketplace


Door, Door is the debut album by Australian rock band The Birthday Party, released under the name "The Boys Next Door" in 1979. The Album was recorded before the band left Australia for London in 1980, at which point they changed their name to The Birthday Party and created the body of work for which they are most recognized. Likewise, the album is different stylistically from their later work, being less dark and slightly more poppy. Guest saxophonist Chris Coyne had played in the band in its pre-Punk days. He appears on "The Nightwatchman," "Brave Exhibitions" and "The Voice."

The band recorded a full album in June 1978 as a four-piece. After Rowland S. Howard joined (shortly after June 1978), and they rapidly developed new material, they recorded five new songs in January 1979 which became side two of the released LP (tracks 7-10 of the CD release). Of the "missing" half-album, only a demo of the song "Sex Crimes" has ever been released (in 2005).

Cave later said of the album, "We were adolescents and very late developers. There was a period where we were confused and had a lot of problems and we put out an album like Door, Door which is a product of all those things. I mean, it was a complete wet dream that record. I hate it. It reeks of a band trying to be musically intelligent and write clever, witty lyrics. It's a complete wank."

The album includes the single "Shivers" which became their best known song of this period. Written by Rowland S. Howard, "Shivers" was later covered by Marie Hoy, The Screaming Jets during the 1990s, Divine Fits, and others. "Shivers" was also in the soundtrack of the 1980s film Dogs in Space, both the original Door Door version and Marie Hoy cover.

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