Prayers on Fire is the debut album by Australian post-punk rock group The Birthday Party. In February 1980 Melbourne-based new wave group, The Boys Next Door, changed their name to The Birthday Party. They consisted of Phill Calvert on drums, Nick Cave on vocals, Mick Harvey on guitar, Rowland S. Howard on guitar and Tracy Pew on bass guitar. Prayers on Fire is the debut album by Australian post-punk rock group The Birthday Party. In February 1980 Melbourne-based new wave group, The Boys Next Door, changed their name to The Birthday Party. They consisted of Phill Calvert on drums, Nick Cave on vocals, Mick Harvey on guitar, Rowland S. Howard on guitar and Tracy Pew on bass guitar. false 2022-09-13 21:42:48 Prayers on Fire 8.5 2000 2000-05-16 2000-05-16 42 Art Rock New Wave Post-Punk Punk Rock 120709 2166885 cc5b5b27-e8f7-4e16-8464-bacb851c8954 cbcd4d49-e892-4fc6-a313-35f275a153d2 d13db7d8-5cee-33ce-ac3e-012dc6c71667 /media/data/media2/Music/The Birthday Party/Prayers on Fire (1981)/folder.jpg The Birthday Party AlbumArtist The Birthday Party Artist The Birthday Party The Birthday Party 1 Zoo-Music Girl 02:38 2 Cry 02:42 3 Capers 02:39 4 Nick the Stripper 03:52 5 Ho-Ho 03:07 6 Figure of Fun 02:48 7 King Ink 04:41 8 A Dead Song 02:13 9 Yard 05:04 10 Dull Day 03:04 11 Just You and Me 02:03 12 Blundertown 03:10 13 Kathy's Kisses 04:06 The Birthday Party (originally known as The Boys Next Door) were an Australian post-punk band, active from 1977 to 1983. The group's "bleak and noisy soundscapes," which drew irreverently on blues, free jazz, and rockabilly, provided the setting for vocalist Nick Cave's disturbing tales of violence and perversion. Their 1981 single "Release the Bats" was particularly influential on the emerging gothic scene. 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." In 1980, The Birthday Party moved from Melbourne to London, where they were championed by broadcaster John Peel. They subsequently released two albums: Prayers on Fire (1981) and Junkyard (1982). 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 1982. 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.