Nick Cave

Awards & Honours

Awards Won

Honours

Rankings

Covers

Records

Nick Cave's career is marked by a rare combination of critical respect and cult devotion. He is one of the few artists to have been inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame (2007) while still actively releasing vital work. His film scores with Warren Ellis have earned a Grammy and an Ivor Novello Award, and his albums Skeleton Tree and Ghosteen were hailed as masterpieces of grief and resilience. In 2017, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia for services to the performing arts. His influence extends across generations of musicians, from punk to folk to electronic, and his songwriting is studied for its literary depth. Cave's ability to transform personal tragedy into transcendent art has made him a touchstone for authenticity in popular music.

AwardsNick Cave has won several ARIA Music Awards, including Best Male Artist in 1996, Best Original Soundtrack in 2006, and Best Adult Contemporary Album in 2013, 2017, and 2020. He won a Brit Award for Best International Male Solo Artist in 1996. His film score work earned him a Grammy for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media in 2017 for Hell or High Water (shared with Warren Ellis). He also won an Ivor Novello Award for Best Original Film Score in 2017 for the same film.

Honours & Distinctions

Officer of the Order of Australia (AO)

Government of Australia·2017

Awarded for services to the performing arts.

ARIA Hall of Fame

Australian Recording Industry Association·2007

Inducted as a solo artist and with the Bad Seeds.

Honorary Doctor of Letters

University of Brighton·2017

Honorary degree for contributions to music and literature.

Honorary Doctor of Music

University of Melbourne·2018

Honorary degree for contributions to music.

Keys to the City of Brighton and Hove

Brighton and Hove City Council·2021

Awarded for cultural contributions to the city.

Rankings & Lists

#82

100 Greatest Singers of All Time

Rolling Stone·2008

#19

100 Greatest Artists of All Time

NME·2012

#30

100 Greatest Albums of All Time

Mojo·2021

#79

200 Best Albums of the 1990s

Pitchfork·2003

#15

100 Greatest Albums of the 21st Century

The Guardian·2020

Magazine Covers

Rolling Stone Australia

April 1997

Nick Cave: The Dark Star

Mojo

October 2001

Nick Cave: The Ballad of the Bad Seed

Uncut

July 2016

Nick Cave: The Skeleton Tree Interview

The Guardian Weekend

September 2016

Nick Cave: 'I'm not sure I believe in God, but I believe in the Devil'

Vanity Fair UK

November 2019

Nick Cave: The Ghosteen Chronicles

Records & Feats

First Australian artist to win a Brit Award for Best International Male Solo Artist

Awards·1996

Won the Brit Award in 1996, a first for an Australian male solo artist.

Longest-running active frontman of a band with the same core lineup

Career Milestone·2024

Cave has led Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds since 1983, with several members staying for decades.

Only artist to have a song used as the theme for Peaky Blinders for all six seasons

Cultural Impact·2022

'Red Right Hand' was the theme song for every season of the BBC series.