Not Fade Away

ANITA LANE

Bad Seeds lyricist and muse (1960-2021)

FINE Art student Anita Lane was first introduced to Nick Cave by guitarist Roland S Howard in 1977. A creative catalyst for a transfixed Cave, then in The Boys Next Door, they quickly became an item, their relationship extending to lyrical collaborations. When the band morphed into The Birthday Party and moved from Melbourne to London three years later, Lane was a fixture too, co-writing “A Dead Song” for their debut, Prayers On Fire.

Lane’s dark, allusive lyrics chimed with The Birthday Party’s sensibilities. “Dead Joe” and “Kiss Me Black” appeared on 1982’s Junkyard, while her union with Cave continued into The Bad Seeds, of which Lane was briefly a member. She co-wrote 1984’s “From Her To Eternity”, a magnificent study of lust and obsession, and – after she and Cave had split – 1986’s exquisitely tortured “Stranger Than Kindness”, with Blixa Bargeld. Cave’s favourite Bad Seeds song, it was recently adopted as the title for his book and exhibition of life’s work.

Lane lent her ethereal vocals to various Bad Seeds-related projects in the latesoundtrack, Mick Harvey’s and Einstürzende Neubauten’s . She made her solo bow with 1988’s Harvey-produced “Dirty Sings” EP, on which she was also joined by Cave and Barry Adamson. A captivating full-length debut, , with musical backings mostly by Harvey, landed in 1993. Lane’s second and final release was 2001’s .