Nick Cave has recalled the time he saw Queen frontman Freddie Mercury perform a show in Melbourne.
The Bad Seeds frontman, who teased he was working on new material earlier this year, confirmed he had not only seen Mercury perform live but that the Don’t Stop Me Now hitmaker’s attitude had influenced his own stage presence. Cave confirmed as much in a new post to his The Red Hand Files series, a place where Cave answers questions asked by fans. In his latest post, the Wild God songwriter shared his encounter with Mercury in the mid-1970s and how much of an effect this had on him.
He shared: “Whatever Freddie Mercury did to ready himself for the stage clearly worked. I saw Queen play at the Festival Hall in Melbourne in the mid-seventies, and Freddie radiated a complete, unshakeable confidence – a strutting peacock of a frontman who seemed born for the stage. As a teenager, watching him I felt the yearning that I’d always feel whenever I saw a great entertainer; above all else, I wanted to be like Freddie – a performer.”
Cave would go on to share that he is aware of his stage presence and persona, actively choosing to be aware of how he looks and dresses for the benefit of the performance. He added: “When I am on stage I imagine I am Elvis Presley, or Michael Jackson, or Beyoncé, or indeed Freddie Mercury, but in reality, I am not. On the rare occasions I have seen myself perform live the illusion is quickly and brutally shattered.
“I am not remotely akin to any of these godlike people. Whatever other people may see when they watch me, I do not. I am, for better or worse, simply myself – the same all too human figure who stares back at me from the mirror each morning.
“Having said that, I have noticed that the discomfort with how I present myself has faded a little in recent years. I suppose we grow older, weather difficult times, and somewhere along the way that morbid introspection subsides. It has been replaced, it seems, by a growing compassion and acceptance of myself.”
Cave went on to confirm that The Bad Seeds were in the middle of rehearsals for their upcoming European tour, and that they may play one of his favourite songs. The deep cut track, Rings of Saturn, is reportedly being rehearsed by the band, Cave said. The band has performed the Skeleton Tree track just 33 times over the last 10 years, with its most recent performance back in 2022.
Cave shared: “I’m in the middle of rehearsals with The Bad Seeds before we head out on the road next week, and we’re revisiting songs we haven’t played in ages. In one of my favourite Bad Seeds songs, Rings of Saturn, I sing, ‘This is the moment / This is exactly what we were meant to be / This is what we do, and this is what we are.’
“When performed live, these lines carry a powerful energy that speaks to us all and lifts us beyond melancholic notions of self-image, beyond our individual preoccupations and internal worries. They ignite our souls, unite us, and return us to that righteous place – the glorious common moment – where together we can be fully ourselves.”
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