THE BIRTHDAY PARTY – PRAYERS ON FIRE LP – Nr MINT A2/B1 UK PUNK NICK CAVE

The Birthday Party – Prayers On Fire
(4AD Records  1981  CAD104)
Matrix No’s: A1/B1 – UK Pressing

Sleeve & Inner Sleeve in Nr MINT condition

Vinyl in Nr MINT condition
(there are some surface marks visible on the vinyl when held up to the light but they don’t affect the sound quality)

The Birthday Party (originally known as The Boys Next Door) were an Australian post-punk band, active from 1978 to 1983.

In 1980, The Birthday Party moved from Melbourne to London, where they were championed by broadcaster John Peel. Disillusioned by their stay in London, the band’s sound and live shows became increasingly violent. They broke up soon after relocating to West Berlin in 1983. Despite limited commercial success, The Birthday Party’s influence has been far-reaching, and they have been called one of “the darkest and most challenging post-punk groups to emerge in the early ’80s.” Their music was classified by critic Simon Reynolds as gothic rock. In his lyrics, Nick Cave frequently used Old Testament imagery, combining “sacred and profane” themes. Their 1981 single “Release the Bats” was particularly influential on the emerging gothic scene.

The creative core of The Birthday Party – singer and songwriter Nick Cave, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Mick Harvey, and singer, songwriter and guitarist Rowland S. Howard – later went on to acclaimed careers.

Prayers on Fire is the debut studio album by Australian rock group The Birthday Party, which was released on 6 April 1981 on the Missing Link label in Australia, later licensed to the 4AD label. This was the band’s first full-length release on an international record label and the first after changing the group’s name from Boys Next Door to The Birthday Party. It was recorded at Armstrong’s Audio Visual Studios in Melbourne and Richmond Recorders in the nearby suburb of Richmond, between December 1980 and January 1981.

Track listing

Personnel

The Birthday Party members^[8]

• Nick Cave – lead vocals, piano (track 7), saxophone (track 9), drums (track 11)
• Rowland S. Howard – guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals (track 5), snare drum (track 7), saxophone (track 11)
• Mick Harvey – organ, piano, guitar
• Tracy Pew – bass guitar, clarinet (track 8), double bass (track 9)
• Phill Calvert – drums

Equal Local members on “Nick the Stripper”

• Phillip Jackson – trumpet
• Mick Hauser – tenor saxophone (incorrectly credited as “Mick Hunter”)
• Stephen Ewart – trombone

Recording details

• Producer – Tony Cohen, The Birthday Party
• Engineer – Tony Cohen
• Studios – Armstrong’s Audio Visual Studios (tracks 1–5, 7–9, 12–13), Richmond Recorders (tracks 6, 10, 11)
  • Mixing studios – Armstrong’s Audio Visual Studios (tracks 6, 10, 11)

Art work

• Photography – Jenny, Polly Borland, Evan English (cover photo)