Phill Calvert
Phill Calvert (b. Phillip Calvert, 1958, Australia) is an Australian rock drummer best known for his work as a member of The Birthday Party with Nick Cave. Raised in the suburbs of Melbourne he started learning the drums at four years of age. At the private boys school Caulfield Grammar in the early 1970's he met vocalist Nick Cave and guitarist Mick Harvey and formed a rock band with other students, playing parties and school functions with a mixed repertoire of pre-punk material (David Bowie, Lou Reed, Roxy Music, The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Alice Cooper).The band picked up Cave's friend Tracy Pew on Bass and after they finished secondary school they named themselves The Boys Next Door in 1977. They swiftly became a leading band in the Melbourne Punk rock scene, playing New Wave style originals. Calvert worked at a variety of jobs including record store clerk but his heart was set on playing music. After making recordings for local independent labels Mushroom and Missing Link, and playing hundreds of live shows, the band left for London in 1980 and renamed themselves The Birthday Party. Signing first to 4AD and then to Mute Records.After his split with The Birthday Party in 1982 (most sources claim he was sacked), Calvert joined the U.K. group The Psychedelic Furs, touring the U.S., but never recorded with them. He left before they recorded ''Mirror Moves'' in 1984. Drums for that LP were programmed by producer Keith Forsey.He returned to Melbourne in the early 80's to become a founding member of the rock group Blue Ruin. They achieved moderate success but, like so many other promising Australian acts, failed to turn heads in Europe and the U.K.After the split of Blue Ruin in the late 80's Calvert filled the drum chair in a succession of Melbourne based acts including In Vivo, The Sunday Kind, Sugarhips. He currently plays and records with guitarist Ben Ling in the rock band Bulletproof and lives in Melbourne with his wife Julia.
Further Reading
- ''Inner City Sound'' - Clinton Walker
- ''Bad Seed: A biography of Nick Cave'' - Ian JohnstonCalvert, Phill