Nick Cave has used the latest entry on his Red Hand Files website to break the news of his mother’s passing.
Taking to the site yesterday to share an uncharacteristically-untitled post, Cave revealed that Dawn Cave had passed away on September 15th at the age of 93. “My beautiful mother passed gently away today. She was ninety-three years old,” he wrote. “She was the most extraordinary woman and greatly loved.
“My family and I would like to thank the nurses at Cabrini Hospital in Brighton, Australia for their most wonderful care and kindness over the last few weeks.”
In an interview with The Guardian in 2008, it was noted that Dawn Cave had served as the librarian of Nick’s school, while his father – who passed away when Nick was 19 – was the same school’s English and mathematics teacher.
In late 2018, Cave used his site to respond to a fan who has inquired about the best advice given by his mother. Nothing she gave him sound advice he “didn’t take that much notice of”, Cave stated how she simply “allowed me to be myself, to make my own mistakes and to find my own way”.
“She served, and still serves, as a reminder that it is entirely possible to lead an ethical life where we can be kind and careful and welcoming and, most of all, take responsibility for our actions and not complain or blame others for our own misfortunes,” he wrote.
As he continued the post, he recalled the one piece of advice his mother imparted that “affected [him] deeply”, which occurred as he accepted an honorary doctorate from Monash University in Melbourne.
“I was feeling a little intimidated by the whole thing because I was stepping out of my rock ‘n’ roll comfort zone, in-to the academic sphere and the whole affair had me feeling quite uncomfortable,” he explained. “I mentioned this to my mother, and as we stepped out of the car into the university grounds, she said, ‘Head high and fuck ‘em all.'”
