‘It doesn’t move on.. But there’s a sort of resilience’
NICK CAVE ON GRIEF AFTER DEATH OF TWO OF HIS SONS
ROCK star Nick Cave said he has built up resilience to grief over the years after the death of two of his sons.
The dad of four lost Jethro (31), a model, in May 2022 and Arthur (15), who fell off a cliff in Brighton after taking LSD in 2015.
Asked about grief, Cave said: “It feels like it doesn’t move on for me, in the sense it’s always there.
“But there’s a sort of resilience. I’ve really noticed this in Susie [Cave’s wife]. When you are broken apart, you come back tougher. When the worst happens, other things don’t feel as important anymore.”
The Australian is known for his baritone voice and his gothic rock band Nick
Cave and the Bad Seeds.
Dubbed the ‘Prince of Darkness’, he told Mojo magazine his 2017 tour helped him after the death of Arthur. Cave said: “It’s difficult to talk about this but there was a feeling I’d never felt before – of stepping into a kind of outpouring of love. I think people had an enormous emotional commitment beyond the music. It was a beautiful thing.. completely unexpected and very helpful.” Last month, Cave, also a writer and actor, said he wants his children to “grow into somewhat better versions of ” himself.
Freed
He had son Luke (32) with first wife Viviane Carneiro in 1991 then Jethro with Beau Lazenby. He also has Earl (23), Arthur’s twin, with current wife Susie.
Jethro, who had schizophrenia, was found dead a week after being freed from jail. He had attacked his mum in Melbourne.
In his blog The Red Hand Files, Cave said he and his sons occasionally disagree but they all try to learn from each other.
He said: “When one of my sons criticises me for a view a little out of order, or less progressive, I am encouraged to see this as evidence the world is moving in a more positive direction.”