Originally, the Australian band was called The Boys Next Door, comprising Cave, Howard, Mick Harvey (guitar, drums, organ, piano), bassist Tracy Pew, and drummer Phill Calvert. After the Door Door album and Hee Haw EP under that name, the band moved to London and switched its name to the deceptively benign Birthday Party. Once they arrived in Britain, their demented, knotty post-punk began to gel. They released their first international album, Prayers On Fire, in 1981, earning critical praise in the U.K. and U.S. While the band was preparing to record the follow-up, Pew was jailed for drunk driving; former Magazine member Barry Adamson, Harry Howard, and Chris Walsh filled in for the absent Pew on 1982's Junkyard.
After the release of Junkyard, Calvert joined Psychedelic Furs and the band moved to Germany, where they began collaborating with such experimental post-punk acts as Lydia Lunch and Einstürzende Neubauten. Harvey left in the summer of 1983. The group briefly continued with drummer Des Heffner, but it soon disbanded after a final concert in Melbourne, Australia. Cave had the most successful solo career, recording a series of albums in the '80s and '90s that maintained his status as a popular cult figure; Harvey joined Cave's band Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. Howard joined Crime & The City Solution, which also featured his brother Harry and Harvey. Tracey Pew toured with The Saints before dying of an epileptic seizure in 1986.
--Review from AMG Allmusic Guide
Nick The Stripper
The Birthday Party Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Nick The Stripper
A-hideous to the eye
A-hideous to the eye
Well he's a fat little insect
A fat little insect
A fat little insect
And ooooooooh! here we go again
Nick The Stripper
A-dances on all fours
A-dances on all fours
He's in his birthday suit
He's in his birthday suit
He's in his birthday suit
He's in his birthday suit
And ooooooooh! a-here we go again
Nick The Stripper
A-hideous to the eye
A-hideous to the eye
Well he's a fat little insect
A fat little insect
A fat little insect
A fat little insect
And ooooooooh! here we go again
Well he's a fat little insect
A fat little insect
A fat little insect
A fat little insect
He's in his birthday suit
He's in his birthday suit
He's in his birthday suit
He's in his birthday suit
Insect insect insect insect
The Birthday Party's song "Nick The Stripper" is a disturbing and provocative piece of music that challenges the listener's sense of decency and morality. The repeated use of the word "insect" throughout the song seems to suggest that the subject of the song is not a human being, but rather some kind of twisted, mutated creature.
The lyrics describe Nick as "hideous to the eye" and "a fat little insect," which immediately sets a tone of disgust and revulsion. The fact that he is also referred to as "the stripper" suggests that he is engaging in some kind of sexual exhibitionism, which adds another layer of creepiness to the song. When the lyrics describe Nick as "dancing on all fours" in his "birthday suit," it becomes clear that he is not simply a strip club performer, but rather someone who is gleefully embracing his own depravity and making a spectacle of himself.
Line by Line Meaning
Insect insect insect insect incest insect incest insect
Repeatedly highlighting the disgusting and taboo nature of insects and incest, setting the tone for the grotesque subject matter to follow.
Nick The Stripper, A-hideous to the eye
Introducing the titular character and immediately establishing his unpleasant appearance, suggesting that he may not be your typical attractive stripper.
Well he's a fat little insect, a fat little insect
Reaffirming Nick's unpleasant appearance and comparing him to a disgusting insect, further emphasizing his repulsiveness and unattractiveness.
And ooooooooh! here we go again
Repeating this phrase after each verse, creating a sense of repetition and routine, perhaps mocking the mundanity of the experience or the audience's enjoyment of such a spectacle.
Nick The Stripper, A-dances on all fours
Providing more detail about Nick's unconventional stripping style, which involves crawling on all fours, adding to his unappealing and strange demeanor.
He's in his birthday suit, He's in his birthday suit
Repeating this phrase to describe Nick's chosen outfit, which is nothing at all. This further highlights his unconventional behavior and adds to the idea that this is not your typical strip show.
Well he's a fat little insect, a fat little insect
Reiterating Nick's repulsiveness, perhaps for comedic or shocking effect.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@ZOO_MUSIC_GIRL
Rowland Howard is so wonderful in this!!!
@dantek3050
i swear i was going to say the same just rn
@Kuningaz93
Aussie barbecues are the best
@hughiedavies6069
😂
@littleriverlads5207
Underrated comment ahahah
@noisepollution6761
Aaaahhhh!!! 🥵 hands on. Have you heard of the dead c? Kiwi's originally entitled bbq's I'd love to man a barbie right now ten to six in the morning nz time
@nicolasjuandecardenas7921
One of favorite bands. Nick Cave is awesome
@rickwilliams967
Or is it just cool to like him? Basically a wannabe Tom Waits
@SponsoredSubs
​@@rickwilliams967All of them are legends in their own right. They can be loved together or independently. None takes away from one another
@ja_9568
@@rickwilliams967 what ahahah waits in his best works is much more similar to captain beefheart, cave has nothing in common with him