Angus Colwell Angus Colwell

Nick Cave’s right-hand man Warren Ellis on AI, Gorecki and staying young

‘Any creative act is a profoundly human instinct’: meet the superficially scary co-conspirator of one of the greatest bands around

The first time I saw Warren Ellis on stage, he scared me. His dark glare makes him look like he’s sizing you up. Credit: Cyril Zannettacci/Guardian/eyevine  
issue 02 November 2024

In the next few days Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds play Leeds, Glasgow, Manchester and London. There are still some tickets left. The price is reasonable but the price doesn’t matter when the band are unequivocally one of the finest of live acts. By whatever means you can, go.

When you get there, enjoy Nick Cave himself, of course. Prepare to be awed by ‘Tupelo’, converted by ‘Into My Arms’. Prepare to cry to ‘Girl in Amber’ and dance to ‘Stagger Lee’. Get ready to experience an assault on every one of your orifices by the impossibly loud and dark ‘Jubilee Street’.

‘I think you feel like you’re a young person until you accept that you’re old. And I don’t want to do that’

But also watch Warren Ellis. The best position to do this is by standing near the front, stage left. That’s where Ellis stands. Don’t worry about your distance from the front-man – Cave moves around plenty in the three-piece suits he’s worn forever, even when he was scoring heroin.

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