Biography
Who is Mick Harvey?
Early life and education
Mick Harvey was born in Rochester, Victoria, Australia. He moved to the suburbs of Melbourne during his childhood. His father served as a Church of England vicar. The family lived in Ormond and later in Ashburton. He sang in the church choir as a child.
He attended Caulfield Grammar School with his brothers Philip and Sebastian. In the early 1970s, he met Nick Cave, Phill Calvert, and Tracy Pew at the school. They started a rock group with Cave on vocals and Mick on guitar. This band played songs by David Bowie and Lou Reed at school functions. He took jazz guitar lessons from Bruce Clarke and sang in a choir led by Norman Kaye.
Early bands and The Birthday Party
After finishing school in 1975, the band continued with Tracy Pew on bass. They named themselves The Boys Next Door. From 1977 to 1980, the group played in Melbourne pubs. The music was influenced by The Saints and Radio Birdman. Mick's guitar style drew from Paul Weller and James Williamson.
Rowland S. Howard joined the line-up in 1978. In 1980, the band moved to London and became The Birthday Party. Katy Beale followed the group to London. Mick played guitar during this aggressive musical phase. The group relocated to West Berlin in 1982. At that point, he switched from playing guitar to drums.
Work with Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds
In 1983, Mick Harvey and Nick Cave started Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. He played drums on the first two albums of the group. He later became the bass guitarist after Barry Adamson left. He returned to guitar in 1990 when Martyn P. Casey joined the band.
He also played keyboards and xylophone and provided backing vocals. Along with Cave and Blixa Bargeld, he produced the group's recordings. He arranged the strings and managed the business side of the band. Mick Harvey left the Bad Seeds on 20 January 2009 after a final show in Perth. This ended a 36 year partnership with Cave.
Other musical projects
He reformed the band Crime and the City Solution with Simon Bonney. This group appeared in the film Wings of Desire. He toured with them until 1991. He worked with other musicians like Chrislo Haas and Alexander Hacke.
Mick worked with Anita Lane on the albums Sex O'Clock and Dirty Pearl. In 2007, his retro rock group The Wallbangers released the EP Kick the Drugs. He collaborated with PJ Harvey on the albums Is This Desire? And To Bring You My Love. He co-produced the 2000 album Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea. He toured as a musician for the 2011 album Let England Shake.
Solo career
Mick released solo albums of Serge Gainsbourg songs called Pink Elephants and Intoxicated Man. In September 2005, he released One Man's Treasure. He toured Australia and Europe in 2006 with James Johnston and Thomas Wydler. He released Two of Diamonds in 2007 and the live album Three Sisters in 2008.
Mick Harvey's 2011 album Sketches from the Book of the Dead was his first entirely original work. The track October Boy refers to Rowland S. Howard. In 2013, he released the album Four (Acts of Love) on Mute.
Birthday and age
Mick Harvey was born on August 29, 1958, which makes Mick 68 years old today. That birthday falls under the Virgo sign. Mick shares the date with 46 other famous people.
Explore more
