The Birthday Party - Hee-Haw

Hee-Haw is a compilation album by Australian post-punk band The Birthday Party, originally released in August 1989 via 4AD Records.

Consisting of Nick Cave (vocals, saxophone), Mick Harvey (guitar, vocals, drums, keyboards), Tracy Pew (bass, vocals), Phill Calvert (drums), and Rowland S. Howard (guitar, vocals), The Birthday Party were formed during the group's years at Caulfield Grammar School, Melbourne, during the early seventies (with the exception of Howard who joined the group later). The band was initially called The Boys Next Door and changed their name to The Birthday Party in 1980.

Greatly affected by the punk explosion of 1976, The Boys Next Door began performing punk and proto-punk cover versions, such as "Blitzkrieg Bop" and "Gloria", as well as original songs. By the end of 1977, their set was dominated by fast original new wave material, such as "Sex Crimes" and "Masturbation Generation". The band's second guitarist, Rowland S. Howard, joined in 1978.

In 1980, The Birthday Party moved from Melbourne to London, where they were championed by broadcaster John Peel. Disillusioned by their stay in London, the band's sound and live shows became increasingly violent, and shortly after relocating to Berlin in 1983, the group broke up.

Despite limited commercial success, The Birthday Party's influence has been far-reaching, and they have been called "one of the darkest and most challenging post-punk groups to emerge in the early '80s". The group's "bleak and noisy soundscapes," which drew irreverently on blues, free jazz, and rockabilly, provided the setting for vocalist Nick Cave's disturbing tales of violence and perversion, and their single "Release the Bats" was particularly influential on the emerging gothic scene.

Hee Haw is a compilation album consisting of the Hee Haw EP released by The Boys Next Door in 1979 together with tracks from their second studio album titled “The Birthday Party”, and the first two singles released by the band as The Birthday Party.

Check out the tracks:  “Mr. Clarinet”; “Happy Birthday”; “Guilt Parade”; “Death by Drowning” and “The Hair Shirt”.

This LP record is a 2017 reissue on black vinyl with reproduced artwork, pressed in Australia.