Augie March and Romy Vager have come together to reimagine a Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds song.
The pop-rock band and RVG‘s lead singer have covered “Henry Lee”, a collaboration with PJ Harvey that featured on Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds’ 1996 album, Murder Ballads.
The cover comes after the release of Tony Cohen’s acclaimed posthumous humour, Half Deaf, Completely Mad: The Chaotic Genius of Australia’s Most Legendary Producer, earlier this year.
“Henry Lee” is the fifth in a series of releases which sees Australian artists interpret iconic songs originally recorded by Cohen, including Leah Senior’s “Easy Come, Easy Go” (Grant McLennan), CIVIC’s “Chase the Dragon” (Beasts of Bourbon), Grace Cummings’ “Straight to You” (Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds) and Julia Jacklin’s “Shivers” (The Boys Next Door).
Cohen’s memoir details his decades-long relationship with Nick Cave and provides behind-the-scenes access to recordings by Cat Stevens, The Ferrets, Split Enz, Laughing Clowns, Models, Magazine, The Reels, The Go-Betweens, Cold Chisel, Beasts of Bourbon, The Saints, Michael Hutchence, The Cruel Sea, TISM, Paul Kelly and so many more.
Rolling Stone AU/NZ ran an exclusive excerpt of Cohen’s memoir detailing the tortuous process behind recording “The Mercy Seat”, one of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds’ most memorable songs. As Cave once said of his former collaborator, Cohen was “the most obsessive, single-minded character I’ve ever seen, outside of the mirror.”
“These recordings highlight unique Australian artists and are a continuation of Tony’s career supporting independent music,” the memoir’s co-author John Olson says.
Both Augie March and Romy Vager have plenty of other things going on. RVG kick off their European tour in Manchester this week, in celebration of their well-received third studio album Brain Worms. And Augie March are currently in the final stages of their forthcoming album, which is expected for release early next year.
Augie March & Romy Vager’s “Henry Lee” (Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds cover) is out now.
