Conway Savage facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Conway Savage
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Savage in 1992
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| Birth name | Conway Victor Savage |
| Born | 27 July 1960 Victoria, Australia |
| Died | 2 September 2018 (aged 58) Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
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| Years active | 1980–2017 |
Conway Victor Savage (born July 27, 1960 – died September 2, 2018) was a talented Australian rock musician. He was best known as the piano and organ player, and backing vocalist, for the famous band Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds. He played with them for many years, from 1990 to 2017.
Conway also released his own music. He put out solo albums like Nothing Broken (2000) and Wrong Man's Hands (2004). He also released a collection of his songs called Rare Songs & Performances 1989–2004.
Contents
Early Life and Music Beginnings
Conway Victor Savage was born on July 27, 1960. He grew up in the countryside of Victoria, Australia. His parents ran pubs, which are like inns or hotels. Conway's brother, Frank Savage, is also a singer. His niece, Cash Savage, is the lead singer of a band called Cash Savage and the Last Drinks.
Conway started playing the piano when he was a young teenager. He would play in the dining room of one of his parents' pubs. He really enjoyed it and found it relaxing. He kept his piano playing a bit of a secret back then because he felt shy about it.
Conway's Music Journey
Conway Savage was part of many different bands before joining Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds.
Early Bands
From 1980 to 1981, Conway played piano and sang backing vocals in a band called Happy Orphans. He was also in a group called Scrap Museum around the same time.
Later, from 1982 to 1986, he played in a country music band called The Feral Dinosaurs. This band released a song called "Blue Day" and an album called You've all Got a Home to Go To. In the 1980s, he also played in a country-rock band from Melbourne called Dust on the Bible. His sister-in-law, Jane, was the lead singer. In 1988, he helped form another band called Dave Last and The Legendary Boy Kings.
Joining Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds
In 1990, Conway Savage joined the well-known band Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds. He played piano, organ, and sang backing vocals. He joined them to help promote their album The Good Son.
Conway played on many of their studio albums, including:
- Henry's Dream (1992)
- Let Love In (1994)
- Murder Ballads (1996)
- The Boatman's Call (1997)
- No More Shall We Part (2001)
- Abattoir Blues / The Lyre of Orpheus (2004)
In 1995, Conway sang the main vocals for a song called "The Willow Garden." This song was a B-side to the single "Where the Wild Roses Grow." On the band's 2008 album, Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!, Conway mainly sang backing vocals and clapped because there wasn't much piano needed.
Solo Work and Collaborations
Besides playing with The Bad Seeds, Conway also worked with other Australian musicians. He played on albums for artists like Kim Salmon, Dave Graney, David McComb, Spencer P. Jones, and Robert Forster.
In 1992, Conway started recording his own music. He released a four-song album where he sang and played piano and organ. Other members of The Bad Seeds, like Martyn P. Casey and Mick Harvey, helped him out.
In 1995, Conway teamed up with singer-songwriter Suzie Higgie for an album called Soon Will Be Tomorrow. This album was released in 1998. It was described as a "country-medieval record" with "soft-hued country 'n' blues tunes."
First Solo Albums
Conway's first full solo album, Nothing Broken, came out in 2000. He worked with Casey, Harvey, Charlie Owen, and Tony Wyzenbeek on this album. They recorded the music first without Conway's singing, which was added later. This made the album feel fresh and unplanned.
His next solo album, Wrong Man's Hands, was released in 2004. He recorded it in a room above a hotel with musicians Amanda Fox and Robert Tickner. In 2005, Conway released a collection called Rare Songs & Performances 1989–2004. This album included songs he recorded in Australia and Europe.
Later Projects
In 2007, Conway, Amanda Fox, and Robert Tickner released an album together. The next year, Conway released a solo album called Live in Ireland. This album was recorded live at a center in Ireland. A reviewer from NME magazine said Conway's voice was unique and that his piano-led songs fit his "ragged, whiskey-soaked vocals perfectly."
In 2010, Conway, Fox, and Tickner released a six-song album. It was recorded in Ireland. Reviewers praised the album for its different moods and sounds.
Health and Passing
In 2017, Conway Savage received medical treatment for a brain tumor. He passed away on September 2, 2018, at the age of 58.
The Bad Seeds' seventeenth album, Ghosteen, which came out in 2019, was dedicated to Conway Savage.
