Radiohead’s Colin Greenwood on the “euphoric intensity” of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds after “true privilege” of joining as live bassist
Colin Greenwood has opened up about Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds‘ “euphoric intensity” and the privilege of joining the band as their live bassist.
Back in September, the band announced that Martyn Casey wouldn’t be able to join the tour due to illness. Instead, they shared that the Radiohead bassist would be stepping in, filling Casey’s spot.
Previously, Greenwood has played with Cave live on his recent solo tours as well as several dates of the ‘Carnage’ tour with Warren Ellis. Greenwood also contributed parts to the band’s new album, ‘Wild God’, too.
Recently speaking to NME about filling in for Casey while on the band’s tour, Greenwood shared: “It’s an awesome group of people to play music with. They’re brilliant and with ferociously loud drummers; what a team. For me, it’s a really fun thing to do because it’s not Radiohead. There are a lot of different colours in the music, so I’m having a blast.”
The musician also touched on Cave’s artistry and said: “He’s such a great story-teller, and I really love his piano-playing. When I took the rough recordings from the new album home to listen to and heard his voice fill up my front room, I thought, ‘What a voice! He’s got the lot!’”
He added: “I knew his music of course, but I didn’t know it super-well. I knew ‘Let Love In’ and really liked that record, as well as the previous records ‘Push The Sky Away’ and ‘Skeleton Tree’, Being lucky enough to watch him work and write with Warren has been a true privilege.”
The bassist also took the time to praise the Bad Seeds’ music their power and dealing in “euphoric intensity”.
“The music so powerful, passionate, emotional, involving and entrancing,” he explained, and added: “I saw Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds for the first time in 2017 in Antwerp. I just watched Nick hold that audience in the palm of his hand; there was this ornate soulfulness to it that I adored. To be a small part of that amazing story is an enormous honour and privilege for me.”
‘Wild God’ is out now. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds’ ‘Wild God’ tour continues throughout Europe before arriving in the UK and Ireland in November. You can buy tickets here (UK and Ireland) and here (Europe) and check out a full list of remaining tour dates below.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds’ 2024 tour dates are:
OCTOBER
2 – Oslo, Norway – Oslo Spektrum
3 – Stockholm, Sweden – Hovet
5 – Copenhagen, Denmark – Royal Arena
6 – Copenhagen, Denmark – Royal Arena
8 – Hamburg, Germany – Barclays Arena
10 – Lodz, Poland – Atlas Arena
11 – Krakow, Poland – TAURON Arena
13 – Budapest, Hungary – Papp László Sportaréna
15 – Zagreb, Croatia – Arena Zagreb
17 – Prague, Czechia – O2 arena
18 – Munich, Germany – Olympiahalle
20 – Milan, Italy – Milan Forum
22 – Zurich, Switzerland – Hallenstadion
24 – Barcelona, Spain – Palau Sant Jordi
25 – Madrid, Spain – WiZink Center
27 – Lisbon, Portugal – MEO Arena
30 – Antwerp, Belgium Sportpaleis
31 – Antwerp, Belgium Sportpaleis
NOVEMBER
2 – Leeds, UK – first direct arena
3 – Glasgow, UK – OVO Hydro
5 – Manchester, UK – AO Arena
6 – Cardiff, UK – Utilita Arena
8 – London, UK – The O2
9 – London, UK – The O2
12 – Dublin, Ireland – 3Arena
13 – Dublin, Ireland – 3Arena
15 – Birmingham, UK – Resorts World Arena
17 – Paris, France – Accor Arena
In a four-star review of ‘Wild God’, NME concluded: “Bad Seeds records are infamously loaded with gothic doom and gloom. Of course, this ain’t a poptastic LOLfest, and still coloured with the many shades of a life so challenging and weathered. But never has Cave been so freewheelin’ than on the giddy ‘Frogs’, ‘Jumping for love and the opening sky above’ as ‘Kris Kristofferson walks by kicking a can in a shirt he hasn’t washed for years’. With a lust for life, the once-dark prince is letting the light in.”
Elsewhere, Greenwood is set to publish How To Disappear – new photo book that documents the bassist’s life with Radiohead. How To Disappear is set for release on October 15 via John Murray Press worldwide and distributed in North America by Mobius Books. Visit here to pre-order.
As for Radiohead, the bassist recently revealed that the group have been back rehearsing together recently. “We did some rehearsals about two months ago in London, just to play the old songs,” he shared during a conversation with the Hay Festival Querétaro via video call on Sunday (September 8). “And it was really fun, had a really good time.”
The band’s ninth and most recent studio album, ‘A Moon Shaped Pool’, was released back in 2016, while their last tour together was in 2018.
The bassist’s comments came as welcome news to Radiohead fans, after his brother, guitarist Jonny Greenwood, revealed back in May that the band were all busy on separate projects.
“Well, The Smile are on tour, Ed [O’Brien] is making another solo record, Colin [Greenwood] is playing bass with Nick Cave – they’ve just done five sold-out nights at the Sydney Opera House – so lots of music is being made,” Greenwood told The Guardian.
It was also recently announced that Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke will be adapting the group’s pivotal 2003 album ‘Hail To The Thief’ for a new production of the iconic Shakespeare play Hamlet.
The upcoming production is being titled Hamlet Hail To The Thief, and will see Yorke collaborate with Tony and Olivier Award-winning directors Steven Hoggett and Christine Jones to create a contemporary adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
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Anagricel Duran
NME
