Nick Cave says that he was “an incomplete or unformed human being” with a narrow worldview prior to the death of his teenage son. The Bad Seeds musician said writing in his upcoming memoir about the tragic incident had helped “strengthen his faith”.
Arthur Cave died in 2015 at the age of 15, after falling off a cliff in Ovingdean, near Brighton, reports Sussex Live. The Australian singer-songwriter spoke to Newsnight about his memoir, Faith, Hope and Carnage.
Asked if Arthur’s death had strengthened his faith, Cave replied: “Yeah, I think a lot of things happened. I think the writing of the book, weirdly enough, did that. The book itself starts with a kind of nervousness around questions of faith and ends more firm about those sorts of things.”
Speaking more broadly about his life after Arthur’s death, he continued: “I don’t know if I say this in the book – but I think after my son died, I personally think I became an actual person. Before that happened, I was an incomplete or unformed human being. I had a very narrow view of the world.”
Tragedy befell Cave again in May of this year with the death of his elder son Jethro, aged 31. He later thanked fans for their support on his blogging site The Red Hand Files, writing: “Many others have written to me about Jethro, sending condolences and kind words. These letters are a great source of comfort and I’d like to thank all of you for your support.”
Fashion model Jethro had previously been jailed following an assault on his mother Beau Lazenby, and was diagnosed with schizophrenia, according to the Guardian.
BBC Newsnight airs on November 10 at 10.30pm on BBC Two.
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