Nick Cave discusses influence of Barry Humphries: “He was a hero of mine”
nme.comNick Cave has discussed the influence that fellow Australian Barry Humphries – the comedian and satirist known for his characters Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson – had on him growing up.Cave discussed the late Humphries, who died last month aged 89, during an interview with John Wilson for BBC Radio 4’s This Cultural Life program.
During the appearance, Cave discussed formative influences and experiences that affected his own life and creative practice, including Humphries along with Johnny Cash, Leonard Cohen, and his wife Susie Cave.Humphries began performing in Melbourne in the 1950s.
His most famous creation, Dame Edna Everage, became a hit both in his own country and overseas, with Humphries satirising the cult of celebrity, class snobbery and prudishness, as well as poking fun at political leaders and fashion.“He was a hero of mine,” Cave said of Humphries, recounting seeing him perform as Dame Edna Everage in Melbourne when Cave was 15. “[His] shows are extreme.
Extremely politically incorrect and offensive on every possible level. And she [Dame Edna] just lets loose. And it’s mostly a satirising of a particular Australian-ness which I think Australia outlived and maybe Barry started to grate to some Australians after a while, but it was so thrilling.”“It was these sorts of people for me growing up that were my great inspiration, particularly a group of Australians from his generation that were just troublemakers and that stirred the cultural pot, that were social irritants,” Cave added.
Read more on nme.com